Gorsuch: ‘I accept’ Roe v. Wade as the ‘law of the land’

Judge Neil Gorsuch said Wednesday during his Senate confirmation hearing that he accepts Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that legalized abortion nationwide, as the “law of the land.”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) asked Gorsuch about a passage in his book “The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia,” which states that “the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong.”

“How could you square that statement with legal abortion?” Durbin asked.

Gorsuch replied that “as the book explains, the Supreme Court of the United States has held in Roe v. Wade that a fetus is not a person for purposes of the 14th Amendment and the book explains that.”

“Do you accept that?” Durbin asked.

“I accept the law of the land, senator, yes,” Gorsuch answered.

On Tuesday, Gorsuch said that Roe v. Wade is “a precedent of the United States Supreme Court,” but refused to elaborate on whether he would vote to uphold the ruling as a Supreme Court justice.

Gorsuch also said Tuesday that he would have "walked out the door" if Trump has asked him to repeal Roe. "That’s not what judges do," he said.

As a candidate, Trump pledged to appoint a “pro-life” justice to the court in an effort to woo pro-life voters who had doubts about his position on the issue. Although the judge has never ruled directly on abortion, pro-life groups have largely supported Gorsuch while pro-choice groups have opposed him.

Gorsuch is President Donald Trump’s nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.

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