Immediate Release:
September 25, 2019
STATEMENT OF INDEPENDENT WOMEN’S FORUM
IN RESPONSE TO CNN’S COLLEGE-CONTROVERSY ATTACK ON JUDICIAL NOMINEE STEVEN MENASHI
Menashi’s arguments are well within the mainstream of American political opinion.
“[N]ominees to the federal bench should not be judged on the political views they hold today, much less views they may have held while in college.”
WASHINGTON, DC — In response to an article by CNN's Em Steck, attacking President Trump’s nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2d Circuit Steven Menashi, Jennifer C. Braceras, the director of Independent Women's Law Center, issued the following statement:
"Opponents of Steven Menashi’s nomination to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit are attempting to further smear him with partial quotes from political columns he wrote when he was a college student. In the articles highlighted by CNN, Menashi expressed his then discomfort with denial of medical treatment to babies born after botched abortions and additionally made the case that female students should be provided complete medical information about the potential effects of the morning-after-pill. Menashi’s arguments, made nearly two decades ago as a student, were well within the mainstream of American political opinion at the time, and remain so today.
“More centrally, federal judicial nominees should not be judged on the basis of their current political viewpoints, much less on political opinions they may have toyed with as students. The role of a judge is to apply the law as written, not to advance his or her own personal beliefs. Steven Menashi understands the difference."
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Independent Women’s Law Center advocates for equal opportunity, individual liberty, and respect for the American constitutional order.
Independent Women's Forum is dedicated to developing and advancing policies that aren’t just well intended, but actually enhance people’s freedom, choices, and opportunities.