NARAL Statement on Anti-Choice Judicial Nominee Greg Katsas

After the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the nomination of Greg Katsas to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, NARAL Pro-Choice America Senior Vice President Sasha Bruce issued the following statement:

“Like Trump’s other dangerous judicial nominees, Greg Katsas will help shape the courts in Donald Trump’s image for generations to come if confirmed to the bench. His anti-choice record and his role advising the White House’s response to the Robert Mueller investigation should disqualify him from this position.

“As we’ve said before, the Senate must stop being complicit and halt all action on Trump nominees until we know the full extent of the Trump administration’s crimes against our country. There should not be any lifetime appointments for this White House until the investigation into Russia’s effort to interfere in our elections is complete.”

Katsas was endorsed by prominent extremist anti-choice group Susan B. Anthony List, and had a long career rolling back reproductive freedom by defending the anti-choice policies of the George W. Bush Administration before the Supreme Court and appellate courts. As a litigator, Katsas also led two major cases challenging the Affordable Care Act as part of the GOP’s obsession with taking away the healthcare of millions of women and families across America.

Katsas has also admitted to working with the White House in crafting its response to Robert Mueller’s investigation, and helped craft some of Donald Trump’s most egregious policies such as the travel ban and ending DACA. In his confirmation hearing, Katsas also admitted to working on the Trump administration’s roll back of the Affordable Care Act’s birth control rule, allowing employers to deny birth control coverage to their employees for any reason.¹

Background on Greg Katsas’ record:

• Katsas was a key litigator defending the anti-choice policies of the George W. Bush Administration before the Supreme Court and appellate courts. In 2002, Katsas defended a challenge to the “global gag” rule, which resulted in dramatic drops in funding to organizations worldwide that provide necessary and comprehensive family planning services.²
• Katsas was part of the Bush Administration’s legal team defending the so-called “Partial-Birth” Abortion Ban, which banned a specific medical procedure for abortion. During oral arguments, Katsas argued that Congress, not physicians, could make the determination that “partial birth abortion is not safer than other forms of abortion” and that there was no need for an exception to preserve women’s health.
• As a litigator at Jones Day, Katsas represented the plaintiffs in two of the major cases challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA): Florida v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and NFIB v. Sebelius.³⁴
• At a panel sponsored by the Federalist Society at the Georgetown University Law Center, Katsas spoke in opposition to the ACA, noting that the birth-control refusal challenges were “really strong” and said that the failed origination-clause challenge “had constitutional merit.”⁵
• The anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List endorsed Katsas’ nomination when it was first announced, specifically noting his work arguing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He is also listed as an “expert” by the conservative Federalist Society.

 ¹ Nominations Before the Senate Comm. on the Judiciary, 115th Con. (2017) (statements of Sen. Dianne Feinstein and nominee Gregory Katsas).

² Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush, 304 F.3d 183 (2nd Cir. 2002).

³ 648 F.3d 1235 (11th Cir. 2011).

⁴ 567 U.S. 519 (2012).

⁵ Jane Norman, “Fight Over the Health Care Law Spawns a Second Generation of Lawsuits,” CQ HealthBeat (Nov. 30, 2012).