Brett Kavanaugh Is Latest Catholic Nominated for US Supreme Court

With the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, DC Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Brett Kavanaugh has been nominated by President Donald Trump to be the newest addition to the highest court in the United States. Speaking shortly after the nomination announcement, Kavanaugh was quick to state that he “is part of the vibrant Catholic community in the DC area.” He is a regular lector at his Washington church, the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Having spent more than a decade as a Judge on the DC Circuit, Kavanaugh’s previous judicial opinions offer insight into how he will rule if presented with certain issues. In 2017, Kavanaugh vigorously dissented in Garza v. Hargan—in which the majority of the court authorized an unaccompanied, pregnant 17-year-old immigrant to obtain an abortion while she was in the custody of federal immigration authorities—writing that “the Government has permissible interests in . . . refraining from facilitating abortion” and accusing the majority of perpetrating “a radical extension of the Supreme Court’s abortion jurisprudence.” Additionally, in 2011, he dissented against the majority’s finding in Seven-Sky v. Holder that the provisions of the Affordable Care Act were constitutional. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has announced a “Novena for the Legal Protection of Human Life” to occur every Friday from August 3 to September 28 in connection with the Senate’s confirmation hearings, set to begin in September.