Texas Judge Kacsmaryk Pulled Name From Religious Freedom Paper Before Judicial Nomination

Topline

Matthew Kacsmaryk, the Texas judge that blocked access to the abortion pill mifepristone last week, removed his name from an article that criticized transgender care and abortion protections on religious grounds during his judicial nomination process, all but ensuring it would not be brought up during the confirmation process, according to the Washington Post.

Kacsmaryk reportedly pulled his name from a religious freedom paper before his judicial nomination.

Associated Press

Key Facts

Kacsmaryk asked for his name to be removed from the article for “reasons I may discuss at a later date” and be replaced by two coworkers at the religious freedom-focused law firm First Liberty Institute where he worked, according to emails obtained by the Washington Post.

The article was not disclosed by Kacsmaryk—who had already been interviewed by Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and John Cornyn (Texas)—in a questionnaire submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which reviews all judicial nominations and requires nominees to disclose all published work.

The article, titled “The Jurisprudence of the Body,” argues that religious physicians “cannot use their scalpels to make female what God created male” and “cannot use their pens to prescribe” abortion medication “designed to kill unborn children.”

Kacsmaryk first emailed an editor with a draft of the article on April 11, 2017, a month after meeting with Cruz and Cornyn, according to the Washington Post.

Kacsmaryk notified the editor he wanted his name removed a month before meeting with former President Donald Trump, who subsequently nominated Kacsmaryk as a judge.

First Liberty supported Kacsmaryk removing his name and told the Washington Post Kacsmaryk only “provided some light edits” to the article.

Surprising Fact

Kacsmaryk was openly critical of same-sex marriage and transgender rights while working for First Liberty. In 2015, he wrote that “sexual revolutionaries” were removing the “pillars of marriage law,” and suggested the term “gender identity” was “even more problematic.” He also criticized Obergefell v. Hodges—the Supreme Court decision that ruled same-sex couples could marry—and Roe v. Wade, which he said provided an “unwritten right to abortion” that “collides” with other constitutional rights, like freedom of speech or religion.

Key Background

Kacsmaryk, one of nearly 230 federal judges appointed by Trump, blocked federal approval of the abortion pill mifepristone after a lawsuit was filed against the Food and Drug Administration, which approved the drug in 2000. His ruling has been widely criticized by Democrats, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. He also has faced controversy for other cases. Kacsmaryk previously blocked the Biden’s Administration’s attempt to halt Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy and ruled a federal program that provided free birth control violated state and federal law. Kacsmaryk also argued an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rule allowing people to dress or access facilities according to their gender identity violated Supreme Court precedent.

Tangent

The Department of Justice and Danco Laboratories, the manufacturer of mifepristone, asked the Supreme Court Friday to block the Kacsmaryk ruling that restricts access to the abortion drug. Danco argued the ruling would prevent the company “to both conduct its business nationwide and comply with its legal actions.” Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito issued a temporary stay on the decision Friday, allowing justices to consider Kacsmaryk’s ruling.

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