The National Abortion Federation (NAF) opposes the nominations of John G. Roberts, Jr. and Timothy Tymkovich to the United States Courts of Appeal. Both these nominees have shown hostility toward the Roe v. Wade decision ensuring American women the right to a legal and safe abortion. This lack of respect for the principles of Roe v. Wade, so characteristic in other individuals nominated by the Bush administration, raises concerns that if approved by the Senate, these nominees would try to further erode abortion rights in America.
John G. Roberts is nominated to the DC Circuit of the Circuit Court of Appeals, widely perceived to be the most influential of the appellate courts and a stepping-stone to the United States Supreme Court. As an attorney in the Justice Departments of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, Roberts repeatedly argued for the reversal of Roe v. Wade stating that there was "no support in the text, structure or history of the Constitution" for the reasoning behind Roe. NAF believes that the appointment of Roberts will weaken the protections of Roe and its progeny. Numerous cases impacting the accessibility of abortion could come before this circuit, including administrative decisions such as the availability of mifepristone (RU-486).
Timothy Tymkovich is nominated to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which consists of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming. As the solicitor general in Colorado from 1991 to 1996 under now Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, Tymkovich defended a Colorado law that denied funding for the abortions of poor women whose pregnancies were caused by rape or incest. Tymkovich pursued this case despite federal law clearly stating that all states participating in Medicaid were required to fund these medically necessary abortions as a condition of receiving any Medicaid funding.1 Such a stance raises questions about Tymkovich's ability to apply well-established legal principles concerning abortion and causes NAF to oppose his nomination.
It is imperative to consider these nominees in the larger context. The Bush administration is committed to limiting a woman's right to a safe and legal abortion. The appointment of anti-choice judges is critical to President Bush's plans and will imperil the freedom of women to make choices about their reproductive health. It is essential that senators closely examine the records of all judicial nominees, including Roberts and Tymkovich, and question their commitment to the well-established constitutional principles of Roe v. Wade, as these principles will surely come before them as appellate court judges.
- In 1993 Congress expanded Medicaid funding for abortion beyond pregnancies endangering a woman's life to include funding for pregnancies due to rape and incest. Abortions provided in these situations fall under Medicaid's federal definition of "medically necessary" services for which the states must reimburse enrolled providers.
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