January 31, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – Pro-life leaders praised President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch as “superb” and “exceptional” and called for the Senate to confirm him.
“President Trump has made an exceptional choice in nominating Neil Gorsuch to carry on the legacy of the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List. “In nominating Judge Gorsuch, President Trump has kept his promise to nominate only pro-life judges to the Supreme Court. Judge Gorsuch is a distinguished jurist with a strong record of protecting life and religious liberty, as evidenced by his opinions in the Hobby Lobby and Little Sisters of the Poor cases, and in his doctoral dissertation in which he wrote that ‘human life is fundamentally and inherently valuable.’”
“We are excited about the nomination of Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court,” said Judie Brown, President of the American Life League. “We firmly believe that he will be a fitting person to fill the seat formerly occupied by Justice Antonin Scalia. Judge Gorsuch shares the same values and commitment to life as American Life League and its supporters. We look forward to doing everything we can to see that this exemplary man is confirmed by the Senate and takes his seat as soon as possible.”
Gualberto Garcia Jones, Vice President of the Personhood Alliance, said he is “hopeful that [Gorsuch's] studies at Oxford under John Finnis gave him a strong grounding on natural law rights.” Finnis is a leading Catholic moral theologian and natural law expert.
“Also, the fact that he was confirmed unanimously for the Court of Appeals and ruled correctly in Hobby Lobby are all very good signs. Still, we have no concrete evidence of his position on the most important issue, his willingness to [revisit] and overturn Roe v. Wade,” said Jones.
“Judge Gorsuch's record over the last 14 years, especially on religious liberty, gives Americans every reason to believe he will make a fine Supreme Court justice,” said Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council. “His reputation as a judge with integrity and dedication to the Constitution should be an encouragement to all Americans.”
'We aren't tired of winning yet'
“The Supreme Court was of great concern to voters this past November and the Senate should take swift action to confirm Judge Gorsuch to the high Court to ensure a full slate of Justices,” said Kristan Hawkins, President of Students for Life of America. “The Senate unanimously confirmed Judge Gorsuch to the 10th U.S. Circuit of Appeals and they should follow their previous example. We aren't tired of winning yet.”
Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, called Gorsuch a “remarkably qualified” and “decidedly pro-life” nominee.
The Supreme Court “was a major issue that drove conservative women to the polls to overwhelmingly support [Trump],” said Penny Nance, President and CEO of Concerned Women for America. She called Gorsuch a “superb choice.”
“President Trump has kept his word and nominated someone who, by all indications, is 'in the mold of Justice Scalia,' something the president repeated over and over during his campaign,” said Nance.
National Right to Life President Carol Tobias said she was “heartened” by Gorsuch's nomination because he seems, like Scalia, to think judges shouldn't impose their policy preferences on people, just “enforce the text and original intent of constitutional provisions.”
Assisted suicide, abortion activists outraged
In 2009, Gorsuch wrote The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, in which he argued that human life has intrinsic value and “that intentional killing is always wrong.” The nuanced book examined legal and ethical issues surrounding assisted suicide and euthanasia, as well as the roles patient autonomy and refusal of unwanted medical care play. Its publisher Princeton University Press calls the book “the most comprehensive argument against their legalization ever published.”
“I am very encouraged by his writings on the sanctity of life at the end of life,” said Jones.
“If Judge Gorsuch sits on the high court, medical aid in dying in every state could be in danger,” warned Barbara Coombs Lee, President of the assisted suicide advocacy group Compassion & Choices, in an alarmed email. If Gorsuch is confirmed, “we could imagine a Supreme Court decision that bans the practice [of assisted suicide] nationwide…We may be entering the most challenging era this movement has ever seen,” she wrote.
The abortion lobby began panicking, too, with NARAL Pro-Choice America insisting Gorsuch “poses an existential threat to legal abortion.”
The Supreme Court “will uphold Roe v. Wade…or they will be responsible for dismantling our most fundamental rights” to abortion, Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards wrote in an email to supporters. She called Gorsuch's record “alarming,” noting Gorsuch is on the record favoring protecting employers from being forced to assist in the provision of contraception against their beliefs.
Democrats blocking Gorsuch will 'do so at their own political peril'
“We are very encouraged” that Trump is keeping his pro-life promises, Operation Rescue President Troy Newman said. “He has proved himself to be a man of his word.” Newman called Gorsuch a man of “stellar quality.”
“In the coming days, we will mobilize the pro-life grassroots nationwide and in key Senate battleground states to urge the Senate to swiftly confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Should pro-abortion Democratic Senators choose to filibuster this immensely qualified nominee, they do so at their own political peril,” Dannenfelser warned.
“I am especially encouraged by Judge Gorsuch’s opinions in the cases of Hobby Lobby vs. Sebelius and Little Sisters of the Poor vs. Burwell, which display a clear respect for religious freedom that has been missing in too many corners of Washington over the last eight years,” said Rep. Diane Black, R-TN. “He is uniquely qualified for this role, having already been confirmed without opposition to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals by the US Senate in 2006, and I know that he will be a worthy successor to the esteemed legacy of Justice Antonin Scalia. After Senate Democrats’ embarrassing display of boycotts and blanket opposition to President Trump’s cabinet picks this week, they have a golden opportunity to redeem themselves by giving the American people an up-or-down vote on Judge Gorsuch’s nomination without delay.”
ConfirmGorsuch.com contains statements of support by former clerks to Gorsuch, the former Solicitor General under President Obama, and various political leaders.