The People vs. Neil Gorsuch
By Miriam Berg | April 5, 2017, 4:20 p.m.
Category: Abortion Access, Attacks on Planned Parenthood
Check out our handy chart to see where Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch stands on key issues and how his record compares to the American people’s values.
No Senate action has higher stakes than the confirmation of a U.S. Supreme Court nominee. With a lifetime appointment, a single Supreme Court justice can dramatically reshape our most fundamental rights. That’s why we at the Planned Parenthood Action Fund are opposing President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch — a man who has an alarming history of interfering with reproductive rights and health, including women’s access to birth control and care at Planned Parenthood health centers.
We need a strong Supreme Court that will defend our rights in the face of attacks from anti-women’s health politicians like Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, and Donald Trump. We need a Court that is in step with the American people. Here’s how Gorsuch stacks up to Americans’ beliefs and values on key women’s health issues.
The People vs. Neil Gorsuch
Planned Parenthood
| The People | Neil Gorsuch |
20 national polls show that the public overwhelmingly supports Planned Parenthood— including a Quinnipiac poll finding that 80% of voters oppose "defunding" Planned Parenthood and cutting patients off from preventive care. |
Gorsuch went to extraordinary lengths to try and block people from coming to Planned Parenthood for basic health care and education.In an unusual move, he called for a special type of rehearing when a court ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood in Utah. In his dissenting opinion, he sided with the politician who wanted to “defund” Planned Parenthood and deny people access to STI tests, health education, and other preventive care. |
Birth Control
| The People | Neil Gorsuch |
Policies that make it easier for people age 18 and up to get the full range of birth control options are wildly popular with the American public.91% of Democrats and 83% of Republicans like them. Meanwhile, 67% of Americans believe employers should be required to cover birth control — even when employers claim a religious objection. |
Gorsuch ruled in favor of the idea that corporations are people and that bosses can deny their employees birth control coverage.With his conservative views on “religious freedom,” it’s clear that he wants to go even further than the Hobby Lobby decision in blocking employees' access to insurance coverage for birth control. |
Abortion
| The People | Neil Gorsuch |
Support for keeping abortion safe and legal is at a record high.7 in 10 Americans oppose Roe v. Wade being overturned. |
Trump pledged to appoint anti-abortion judges to the Supreme Court, and now has appointed Gorsuch.His judicial philosophy and alarming record on reproductive rights leave no doubt that he would do everything in his power to restrict access to abortion. Gorsuch also has refused to definitively say that the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade was correctly decided. |
LGBTQ+ Rights
| The People | Neil Gorsuch |
Nearly three-quarters of Americans favor laws to protect lesbian, gay and transgender people from discrimination. |
Gorsuch has undermined the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals.He allowed Oklahoma to violate a transgender woman’s rights by denying her medically necessary hormone treatments while she was incarcerated. |
Gorsuch is the Wrong Person for the Job
We can’t allow Gorsuch’s open contempt for reproductive health and rights to shape Supreme Court rulings for decades to come. At risk is a woman’s basic right to control her own body and access health care, and the right of all people in this country to be free from discrimination against who they love, where they come from, their race, and their religious beliefs.
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Tags: Donald Trump, Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch
