Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Celebrates President Biden’s Nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court
For Immediate Release: Friday, February 25, 2022
Contact: [email protected]
Washington, DC — Today, it has been widely reported that President Joe Biden plans to nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve as associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Jackson was nominated to fill Justice Stephen Breyer’s seat following his retirement at the end of this term. Judge Jackson will be the first Black woman nominated to serve on the Supreme Court.
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju released the following statement in response:
“We are thrilled with President Biden’s decision to nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson—the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court. This is a phenomenal and overdue milestone. Judge Jackson is both an eminently qualified jurist and someone who understands the disproportionate impact of our laws and justice system on communities of color. Judge Jackson also has a demonstrated record of defending and upholding our constitutional rights and fundamental freedoms—including reproductive freedom. We are confident that she will be a voice for justice, equity, and freedom on the Court in the decades to come. We urge the Senate to swiftly confirm Judge Jackson.”
Judge Jackson is an experienced, distinguished, and highly-qualified jurist and attorney who spent much of her career as an attorney working to achieve civil rights and justice. In order to protect and advance our fundamental rights—including abortion and voting rights—we need justices who understand the intent and impact of the laws and cases they are deciding and will ensure equal justice for all. NARAL Pro-Choice America and our 2.5 million members are ready to mobilize in support of Judge Jackson’s historic nomination.
Judge Jackson’s nomination comes at a pivotal moment in the fight for reproductive freedom. In the coming months, the anti-choice supermajority on the Supreme Court will issue a ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case regarding Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban that directly challenges Roe v. Wade and could end the constitutional right to abortion. Upholding Mississippi’s ban will end Roe’s protections. While Judge Jackson’s confirmation will not impact the outcome of this case, her presence will shape the Court in the decades to come.
If the Supreme Court upholds Mississippi’s ban on abortion in the Jackson Women’s Health case, it will open the floodgates for anti-choice lawmakers to take immediate action to ban abortion. Should Roe fall, 28 states would likely take action to prohibit abortion outright. Of those, 12 states already have “trigger bans” in place, which would ban abortion automatically if Roe falls. The consequences of overturning Roe would be devastating for pregnant people and families, and it will send shockwaves to all corners of the country.
The people hurt most by attacks on abortion access are those who already face barriers to accessing the care they need—including women; Black, Indigenous, and other people of color; those working to make ends meet; LGBTQ+ people; immigrants; young people; those living in rural communities; and people with disabilities.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its more than 2.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.