President Trump has announced his nominee for Supreme Court Justice in Neil Gorsuch. Evangelicals are giving a big thumbs up to the ivy-league trained judge and Episcopalian father of two.
Appointing a pro-life, conservative Supreme Court Justice was something the conservative Christian base Trump rallied to win him the election wanted to see happen more than anything. Based on his track record, Gorsuch promises to follow in the conservative footsteps of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
Gorsuch has held the position of judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit since 2006. And while he has not been called on to review any abortion laws, he made his views on the sanctity of life known in his book The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia. In that work, he calls the “intentional taking of human life by private persons always wrong.”
Evangelicals commended Gorsuch when he argued in favor of Hobby Lobby and the Little Sisters of the Poor after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in 2016. Gorsuch argued requiring Christian companies or organizations to provide insurance coverage for abortifacients for their employees is a violation of their religious convictions.
Even Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and vocal Trump-critic, applauded the President for his nomination. In a statement, Moore called Gorsuch “a brilliant and articulate defender of Constitutional originalism in the mold of the man he will replace: Justice Antonin Scalia.”
Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, says he is “optimistic that Judge Gorsuch will continue to protect our cherished liberties.” Gorsuch is also known for being gracious with people who hold differing views than his own. Dana Bowen Matthew of the University of Colorado says, “I saw a meticulous respect for the contrary views of others in his scholarly writing, and yet I have long admired the genuine strength of Judge Gorsuch’s deep convictions, which he holds without a hint of being an ideologue.”
Gorsuch hails from Colorado; he currently lives in Boulder with his family. Now that he has been nominated, Gorsuch needs to gain the approval of the Senate.
