Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the nomination of Pennsylvania Attorney General Michael Fisher to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Fisher opposes the right to abortion, and as a state legislator and Attorney General has advocated draconian restrictions, including requiring spousal consent, in order to limit women’s access to abortion. Fisher also opposes requiring health insurance plans to cover the cost of contraception, as they cover the costs of other drugs.
Fisher’s nomination continues the trend of the administration selecting far-right nominees for the federal judiciary. In fact, according to a Philadelphia Daily News report, four women, all recommended by the Republican Senators of Pennsylvania, were rejected for this nomination because they were not sufficiently anti-abortion.
Just three months before his nomination, a federal jury found that Fisher violated the federal civil rights of two state employees by retaliating against them for reporting suspected wrongdoing. The case is being appealed to the Third Circuit–the very court to which Fisher has been nominated. During the hearing yesterday, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) expressed concern about a nominee to the federal bench having committed such a serious act, saying, “I am troubled by the jury verdict.”
TAKE ACTION Urge Committee Members to Oppose Fisher
LEARN MORE Read Coalition Letter Opposing Fisher’s Nomination
DONATE to the Feminist Majority’s campaign to keep abortion legal
