Judge Neil Gorsuch on Tuesday refused to bite on whether he would look to overturn the Roe v. Wade case granting abortion rights as a Supreme Court justice, but said the case was a precedent that has been repeatedly reaffirmed.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley asked Gorsuch about a series of cases at Tuesday’s hearings on Gorsuch’s Supreme Court nomination and honed in on Roe v. Wade.
“Roe v. Wade is a precedent of the United States Supreme Court,” Gorsuch said when asked about whether the case was rightly decided. “It has been reaffirmed.”
Pressed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, on whether Roe v. Wade has “super-precedent, Gorsuch answered, “It has been reaffirmed many times, I can say that.”
President Trump pledged as a candidate to appoint judges who would look to overturn Roe v. Wade. Gorsuch told the committee he tried “to live under a shell during the campaign season” but did hear many litmus tests being discussed.
“I don’t believe in litmus tests for judges,” Gorsuch said. “I think that’s the beginning of the end of the independent judiciary if judges have to make effectively campaign promises at confirmation.”
Other cases Gorsuch declined to state his views on included Citizens United, about campaign finance law, and Heller, about gun rights and regulations.
