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| Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson photo credit: Lloyd DeGrane |
In her confirmation hearings, Jackson spoke about the importance of Supreme Court precedents. In this context, she stated that Roe v. Wade is "settled law." This statement clearly shows her stance on the issue of abortion, and it indicates that she believes a right to abortion exists in the US Constitution.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) questioned Jackson on life issues. He pressed Jackson on when she thought life begins.
“I have, um, personal religious and otherwise beliefs that have nothing to do with the law in terms of when life begins,” Jackson said.
Kennedy also asked, “When does equal protection of the laws attach to a human being?” Jackson responded that she did not know.
Sen Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) brought up an amicus brief co-authored by Jackson on behalf of the Massachusetts National Abortion Rights Action League. That brief supported a Massachusetts law creating buffer zones around abortion clinics in the state. In that brief, she described pro-life groups outside abortion facilities as, a "hostile, noisy crowd of ‘in-your-face protestors." Blackburn asked Jackson, “How do you justify that incendiary rhetoric against pro-life women?”
Jackson responded, “That was a statement in a brief, made an argument for my client, it’s not the way that I think of or characterize people.”
The heads of 40 pro-life groups, including National Right to Life President Carol Tobias, sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee this week to express concerns with Judge Jackson's record. It read in part:
"Even before Justice Breyer’s retirement announcement, radical pro-abortion groups had spent six-figure sums promoting Jackson. Now that she is the nominee, they have already pledged a million more.
Planned Parenthood NARAL and the National Women’s Law Center have issued support for Jackson’s confirmation. The American Constitution Society, which has frequently hosted Jackson as a speaker and applauded her nomination, has publicly supported efforts to “reform” the Supreme Court to protect abortion"
