Trump’s high court nominee’s opinions may signal opposition to abortion rights and assisted suicide
Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, has ruled against the Affordable Care Act’s contraception coverage mandate and vehemently opposes assisted suicide.
Gorsuch, a federal judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for a decade, was nominated by President Trump to fill a vacancy left by the unexpected death of conservative Judge Antonin Scalia nearly a year ago and still vacant because Republicans blocked then-President Barack Obama’s nominee.
If Gorsuch’s nomination is approved, the majority of justices on the court will have been appointed by Republican presidents. Right now the court is split 4-4.
Senate Democrats have signaled they will filibuster the nomination to force the GOP to come up with 60 votes to confirm him. Trump has encouraged Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to “go nuclear” and eliminate the 60-vote threshold.
Although Gorsuch, 49, has never ruled on abortion rights, his opinions on contraception and assisted suicide signal he opposes it.
In two separate cases, Gorsuch ruled against the ACA contraception mandate.
Gorsuch sided with Hobby Lobby in a 2013 suit against the HHS claiming the company shouldn’t be required to cover contraception as part of their employer- sponsored health plans because that would be in conflict with the religious beliefs of the company’s founders. The Supreme Court eventually ruled 5-4 in favor of Hobby Lobby.
Trump said on the campaign trail he will nominate a candidate that supports overturning Roe v. Wade.
Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women’s Law Center, said Gorsuch can be relied upon to take an anti-abortion stance because Trump has begun his presidency by following through on campaign promises “that seem extreme.”
But even if Greenberger is right, Gorsuch’s vote probably wouldn’t be enough to dismantle Roe v. Wade. In a 5-3 decision last June the court struck down a Texas law that limited women’s access to abortion procedures. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was nominated by Republican President Ronald Reagan, ruled in favor of abortion access in that case.
But Gorsuch could still sway the court’s votes on related matters. Several states have passed measures that
Although Gorsuch has never ruled on abortion rights, his opinions on contraception and assisted suicide signal he opposes it.
limit access to abortions and some may end up in front of the Supreme Court. Kennedy doesn’t consistently vote in favor of abortion rights, Greenberger said.
Gorsuch also authored a book, The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, which argues against the practice.
Medical aid-in-dying is now legal in six states. The Supreme Court hasn’t ruled on the matter and has referred the issue to the states.
Robin Fretwell Wilson, a law professor at the University of Illinois, said
it is likely that despite Gorsuch’s opposition to aid-in-dying he would agree with the higher court that it should be left up to the states to decide the issue.
Wilson said based on opinions and published works by Gorsuch, he is a strong supporter of the important role local legislative bodies have to govern. He has said that “we are too quick to rely on judges for cultural issues, and that we should go to our legislators,” Wilson said.
The imminent repeal of the ACA also places greater importance on the Supreme Court. Four cases involving the law have already reached the Supreme Court, and legislation repealing it and replacing it is likely to spur more litigation that could end up there.
Trump may well have opportunities to fill more seats. Two members of the court’s liberal wing—Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 83, and Stephen Breyer, 78—as well as swing voter Kennedy, 80, may contemplate retirement soon.