The views of Neil Gorsuch on abortion, President Trump’s 49-year-old Supreme Court nominee, will be an approval litmus test for both sides of the aisle. But Gorsuch has never ruled on an abortion case, leaving pro-choice advocates to wonder how he’ll rule when an abortion case goes before the court. A few hints point toward Gorsuch’s views on abortion and other social issues.
Gorsuch’s Previous Rulings
Gorsuch’s best-known ruling when he sat on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals was in a landmark Affordable Care Act decision. The decision in Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby found that closely held corporations could invoke religious freedom as a reason to deny contraceptive coverage to employees. Gorsuch joined the majority of the the 10th Circuit court in that ruling, which was eventually upheld by the U.S. Supreme court.
Gorsuch has also voted against assisted suicide and for the death penalty. In the latter decision, Gorsuch ruled that a juror in favor of the death penalty did not undermine the fairness and impartiality of a death penalty jury.
Gorsuch’s Personal Views on Social Issues
Gorsuch has made his conservative views on social issues clear in a number of publications. Like other conservatives, he argues that courts should not protect the rights of LGBT people and other minority groups.
“American liberals have become addicted to the courtroom, relying on judges and lawyers rather than elected leaders and the ballot box, as the primary means of effecting their social agenda on everything from gay marriage to assisted suicide to the use of vouchers for private-school education,” he argued in a 2005 piece for conservative outlet The National Review.
In the same piece, Gorsuch also argued against politicization of the judiciary. “It is a warning sign that our judiciary is losing its legitimacy when trial and circuit-court judges are viewed and treated as little more than politicians with robes,” he wrote.
Will Gorsuch Make it to the Court?
Progressives argue that this nomination represents a stolen seat, since Republicans refused to even vote on President Obama’s nominee for the Court, Merrick Garland. Protesters have targeted moderate Democrats for days in an attempt to discourage voting for various Trump nominees. Thousands have gathered outside Chuck Schumer’s apartment to encourage him to vote against various Trump nominees.
Republicans have vowed to do all they can to seat Gorsuch. Under President Obama, Republicans made it impossible to seat any nominee without a supermajority of 60 senators. Now that their candidate is in office, Republicans have threatened to do away with the filibuster to ensure Gorsuch gets a Supreme Court seat. If that happens, Gorsuch will easily be confirmed.
If the filibuster persists, eight Democrats will need to vote to confirm Gorsuch. Pressure on red state Democrats, a Democratic tendency toward conciliation, and fear that Mitch McConnell will take away the filibuster, make confirmation a near certainty.
Will a Trump Supreme Court Overturn Roe vs. Wade?
Gorsuch’s nomination will not tip the balance of the Supreme Court—although the seating of Garland would have. The Court will remain split 4-4, with Anthony Kennedy as the tie-breaker. Kennedy has expressed ambivalence about abortion, but respect for Roe vs. Wade. With Gorsuch on the Court, abortion will likely remain legal, but another Trump nominee could change that.