Rudofsky was a former Solicitor General of Arkansas and senior director of Walmart's global anti-corruption compliance program, and served as deputy general counsel to Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign
Planned Parenthood warned about Rudofsky's nomination in an October statement, saying that as Solicitor General of Arkansas he defended the state's ban on abortions after 12 weeks gestation as well as the state's effort to defund Planned Parenthood.
In October of 2015, Rudofsky – as Solicitor General of Arkansas – wrote a brief with the state's attorneys general arguing that the states should be allowed greater legal authority to regulate abortions, such as in Arkansas' ban on most abortions after 12 weeks gestation.
The Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade, and in subsequent decisions, legalized abortions before the "viability" of the baby, while excluding the states from the authority to determine a specific time when viability might occur before the accepted definition of 24 to 28 weeks.
The Supreme Court's jurisprudence on "viability" should be reconsidered, the brief said.
"A State should be allowed to advance its profound interests in protecting the life of the unborn child, protecting the health of the mother, and upholding the integrity of the medical profession by enforcing a restriction on abortion prior to viability especially where, as here, a woman is given a reasonable amount of time to terminate her pregnancy and the State provides a safe haven statute allowing a woman to abandon an unwanted child carried to term," the brief stated.
Trump, in his Wednesday remarks, did mention nominees being questioned for their religious beliefs.
"Nominees have been attacked in hearings for their religious beliefs," he said, without mention of any specific cases. One nominee, Brian Buescher to the district court of Nebraska, was grilled by senators in 2018 over his membership in the Knights of Columbus, and how it would affect his jurisprudence on abortion.
"Every judge we have placed on the bench will hear thousands of cases over their careers. They will ensure equal justice for every party before them, regardless of age, race, income, religion, beliefs, or background," Trump said.
Matt Hadro was the political editor at Catholic News Agency through October 2021. He previously worked as CNA senior D.C. correspondent and as a press secretary for U.S. Congressman Chris Smith.