--- title: Donald Trump Supreme Court Choices on Abortion description: Find out what Donald Trump's three top Supreme Court picks stand on the issue of abortion. canonical: https://time.com/4653998/donald-trump-abortion-supreme-court/ author: Samantha Cooney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-30T20:58:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:04:36.081Z og:title: Here's Where Donald Trump's Supreme Court Picks Stand on Abortion og:description: One called 'Roe v. Wade' an ‘abomination' og:url: https://time.com/4653998/donald-trump-abortion-supreme-court/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6e133ecd16c9994/6988b7de524fc0163edfaea6/donald-trump-abortion.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: President Trump Signs Executive Order In Oval Office Of The White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's Where Donald Trump's Supreme Court Picks Stand on Abortion twitter:description: One called 'Roe v. Wade' an ‘abomination' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6e133ecd16c9994/6988b7de524fc0163edfaea6/donald-trump-abortion.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's Where Donald Trump's Supreme Court Picks Stand on Abortion  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Jan 30, 2017 8:58 PM CUT  President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order while surrounded by small business leaders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday, Jan. 30, 2017. President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order while surrounded by small business leaders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday, Jan. 30, 2017.Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Jan 30, 2017 8:58 PM CUT As President Donald Trump [prepares to](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/white-house-supreme-court-choice-announced-monday-45131791 "undefined") name his Supreme Court pick this week, abortion rights activists [fear](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/30/supreme-court-trump-senate-republicans-democrats-nomination-confirmation/97097870/ "undefined") the choice could unravel the rights guaranteed under _Roe v. Wade._ On the campaign trail, Trump promised that he’d [nominate](http://motto.time.com/4538293/donald-trump-partial-birth-abortion-third-debate/ "undefined") an anti-abortion Supreme Court justice. Vice President Mike Pence doubled down on that promise, saying that the next Supreme Court nominee [would be against](http://time.com/4651958/mike-pence-anti-abortion-supreme-court-justice-march-for-life/ "undefined") abortion at the recent [March for Life demonstration](http://motto.time.com/4651942/kellyanne-conway-speech-march-for-life/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined")**.** Three finalists [have emerged](http://time.com/4650544/supreme-court-nominees-donald-trump/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") for the seat vacated by the late [Justice Antonin Scalia](http://time.com/4220770/antonin-scalia-influence/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"). Here’s where each stands on issues of reproductive rights. **Neil Gorsuch** The Harvard Law School graduate has never ruled on the issue of abortion during his time on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. But some individuals on both sides of the issue have interpreted passages in [the judge’s book](http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-supreme-court-gorsuch-20170123-story.html "undefined"), _The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia,_ to indicate an anti-abortion stance, according [to the Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts%5Flaw/neil-gorsuch-naturally-equipped-for-his-spot-on-trumps-supreme-court-shortlist/2017/01/28/91b00a46-e49b-11e6-a453-19ec4b3d09ba%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.b6a8a93f7531 "undefined"). The book, according to the _Post,_ says “all human beings are intrinsically valuable and the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong.” Gorsuch also sided with religious organizations in [_Hobby Lobby v._ ](https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/opinions/12/12-6294.pdf "undefined")[_Sebelius_](https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/opinions/12/12-6294.pdf "undefined")in which the plaintiffs sought an exemption from the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act because of their beliefs. “The ACA’s mandate requires them to violate their religious faith by forcing them to lend an impermissible degree of assistance to conduct their religion teaches to be gravely wrong,” Gorsuch [wrote.](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/judge-neil-gorsuch-scotus-nominee/story?id=45008516 "undefined") (The Supreme Court upheld the appeals court when they [heard the case](http://time.com/2941323/supreme-court-contraception-ruling-hobby-lobby/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined").) And another part of his opinion in the _Hobby Lobby_ case is likely to have abortion rights advocates concerned, according to the _Post_. He [wrote](http://www.morelaw.com/verdicts/case.asp?n=12-6294&s=OK&d=61748 "undefined") that the mandate would require businesses with religious beliefs to “underwrite payments for drugs or devices that can have the effect of destroying a fertilized human egg” — language that resembles the rhetoric of the anti-abortion movement. **Thomas Hardiman** Like Gorsuch, Hardiman — a graduate of Georgetown Law School and a judge on the 3rd Circuit of Appeals — [has never ruled](http://www.scotusblog.com/2017/01/potential-nominee-profile-thomas-hardiman/ "undefined") on a case or spoken out about his personal beliefs on abortion rights. “Our role as judges is to interpret the law,” Hardiman has said, [according to CBS News.](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/march-for-life-anti-abortion-trump-supreme-court-justice-william-pryor-thomas-hardiman/ "undefined") He did, however, [vote in favor](http://www.scotusblog.com/2017/01/potential-nominee-profile-thomas-hardiman/ "undefined") of vacating the conviction of an anti-abortion protester in [_United States v. Marcavage_](http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/093573p.pdf "undefined")_._ In the case, the court agreed that the protester had the right to stand on a Philadelphia sidewalk after he was arrested for violating his permit. **William Pryor** Pryor, the former attorney general of Alabama and a judge on the 11th Circuit of Appeals, is outspoken on the issue of abortion. He once [called](http://motto.time.com/4538293/donald-trump-partial-birth-abortion-third-debate/ "undefined") _Roe v. Wade_ the “worst abomination in the history of constitutional law.” He has also been quoted as [saying](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/01/24/trump-s-final-supreme-court-candidates-are-all-arch-conservatives.html "undefined"): “I will never forget Jan. 22, 1973, the day seven members of our highest court ripped the Constitution and ripped out the life of millions of unborn children.” Pryor [opposes abortion](http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/21/us/bypassing-senate-for-second-time-bush-seats-judge.html "undefined") even in cases of rape and incest. He has [also written that corporations](http://www.scotusblog.com/2017/01/potential-nominee-profile-william-pryor/ "undefined") should not be required to provide contraceptive coverage to their employees should it violate their religious beliefs. And, during his tenure as attorney general of Alabama, he filed [an amicus brief](http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/pryor.html "undefined") against the Violence Against Women’s Act because a provision that would have allowed rape victims to sue their rapists in federal court was, Pryor wrote, a violation of “states’ rights.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4653998/donald-trump-abortion-supreme-court/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4653998/donald-trump-abortion-supreme-court/"},"headline":"Here's Where Donald Trump's Supreme Court Picks Stand on Abortion","datePublished":"2017-01-30T20:58:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:04:36.081Z","description":"One called Roe v. Wade an ‘abomination'","url":"https://time.com/4653998/donald-trump-abortion-supreme-court/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6e133ecd16c9994/6988b7de524fc0163edfaea6/donald-trump-abortion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Cooney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6e133ecd16c9994/6988b7de524fc0163edfaea6/donald-trump-abortion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Signs Executive Order In Oval Office Of The White House","caption":"President Trump Signs Executive Order In Oval Office Of The White House","creditText":"Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4653998/donald-trump-abortion-supreme-court/","name":"Here's Where Donald Trump's Supreme Court Picks Stand on Abortion"}}]}] ```