Critics: Kavanaugh's Ruling in Teen Immigrant Abortion Case Troubling
Saturday, July 7, 2018 12:35 PM
By: Sandy Fitzgerald
Federal Appeals Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh's handling of a case involving a 17-year-old immigrant's request for an abortion could create issues for his approval should President Donald Trump nominate him, according to some critics, but backers say his role shows the judicial restraint conservatives are seeking.
"This case exemplifies why Kavanaugh is not the best available Supreme Court prospect," Philip Jauregui of the Judicial Action Group told conservative leaders in a memo last week, reports Politico.
The memo went on to concede that Kavanaugh, a Washington, D.C., district judge, is "certainly not the worst judge" involved in the case, but his opinion that dissented from the court's decision to allow the abortion was not as "constitutionally principled" as the decision of another conservative judge in the case.
Kavanaugh, in his dissention, joined by two other GOP-appointed attorneys, said the majority on the court did give enough consideration to the Trump administration's claims that the girl should not have an abortion while being held in federal immigration custody.
"The Government has permissible interests in favoring fetal life, protecting the best interests of a minor, and refraining from facilitating abortion," Kavanaugh wrote. He also called the court's majority approach a "radical extension of the Supreme Court's abortion jurisprudence."
The Trump administration has refused to take a position on the issue, but Kavanaugh said it was "assumed" by the administration that a teen illegal immigrant in federal custody has a right to have an abortion.
His critics say his ruling shows that he tends toward acting with caution, and that it could signal that he won't be willing to make waves if he's approved as a Supreme Court justice.
Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said Friday he's troubled by Kavanaugh's opinion in the abortion case, and that "his view there was just quite troubling."
Cuccinelli has said he prefers either Judge Amy Coney Barrett or Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and that Kavanaugh's actions in the abortion case show he's not a reliable conservative.
He compared Kavanaugh to Chief Justice John Roberts, saying that he "came straight out of the Ivy League to Washington, was never outside the beltway and went to the Bush White House. To paraphrase, Sen. Feinstein, the Bush speaks loudly in him."
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/jud.../07/id/870468/
