Senate Judiciary Committee Must Question Gorsuch on Anti-Reproductive Health Record and Beliefs

WASHINGTON, DC - Planned Parenthood Action Fund called on the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold Judge Neil Gorsuch accountable on his extreme record and beliefs about reproductive rights, including access to birth control coverage and Roe v. Wade. Gorsuch’s confirmation hearings started this morning, just days after Planned Parenthood joined other advocates in delivering a petition with more than 1 million signatures from people across the country urging their Senators to oppose Gorsuch’s nomination.

Statement from Cecile Richards, President of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

The Senate Judiciary Committee must hold Gorsuch accountable for his dangerous record on reproductive health and rights -- and must oppose his nomination. The Supreme Court has never been more important -- it decides cases that determine a person’s fundamental right to decide whether and when to become a parent, the right to vote, and the right of all people in this country to be free from discrimination based on who they love, where they come from, their race, and their religious beliefs. Neil Gorsuch is wildly out of step with where the country is on these issues, and he is not fit to protect the rights and freedoms of Americans.

  

Last week Planned Parenthood joined more than 50 reproductive rights, health and justice organizations in a letter to urge senators to oppose Gorsuch’s nomination because of his extreme and dangerous record related to reproductive health, including:

• As a judge on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, Gorsuch ruled on numerous cases related to reproductive rights, and has been on the wrong side of every one of these decisions.

• Trump pledged to appoint anti-abortion judges to the Supreme Court, and Gorsuch has demonstrated an alarming history of using the courts to interfere with reproductive health care -- even basic access to birth control.

• In Planned Parenthood Association of Utah v. Herbert, Gorsuch sided with a politician who tried to defund Planned Parenthood in Utah, denying people access to STI tests, sex education, and other preventive care.

• Gorsuch ruled in favor of the idea that corporations are people and believes that bosses should be able to impede their employees' access to birth control. In fact, he wants to go even further than the Hobby Lobby decision in blocking employees' access to insurance coverage for birth control.

• Gorsuch has a troubling record of opposing LGBTQ rights and ruled against an incarcerated transgender woman seeking access to medically necessary hormone treatment in Druley v. Patton.

 

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