Who is Matthew Kacsmaryk, the judge who suspended an abortion pill in the United States?
Justice Kacsmaryk during his appearance before senators on December 13, 2017. via REUTERS - POOL
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
This Texas judge announced Friday, April 7, suspend the marketing authorization of one of the two abortion pills used in the United States. A decision in line with his conservative career.
Advertising
Read more
Just a few weeks ago, Judge Kacsmaryk was unknown to the general public. Today, after suspending the marketing authorization in the United States of mifepristone (RU 486), the main abortion pill in the United States, the judge who officiates in North Texas is spilling a lot of ink.
Matthew Kacsmaryk, 45, has a long career as an ultraconservative behind him. Before being appointed in 2017 by Donald Trump as a federal judge in Texas, he worked as a lawyer for the First Liberty Institute, a conservative Christian organization that fights against abortion rights.
► Read also: A federal judge suspends the abortion pill in the United States
He himself has never hidden his anti-abortion convictions, reports our correspondent, Loubna Anaki. In 2015, for example, he wrote in an article that he found regrettable the "sexual revolution (...) advocated by atheist libertarians" for whom "marriage, sexuality, gender, identity and even the child take second place to the desires of adults."
His pro-life commitment, according to the American media, began after a personal tragedy. In 2006, her first child was stillborn. But his convictions also come from his Catholic upbringing and his family. For example, he supported his sister Jennifer Griffith when she had a child who was then placed up for adoption at age 17. Questioned by the Washington Post, she believes that her brother is "made to" judge the file around the pill and that "it is exactlywhere it should be". Matthew Kacsmaryk "is passionate about the fact that you can't preach pro-life and do nothing," she adds.
« Victories for the right »
When he was nominated in 2017, Senate Democrats accused him of not separating his personal beliefs from his court decisions. After calling him "narrow-minded and bigoted," Senator Chuck Schumercriticized him for showing "hostility to the LGBTQ community that borders on paranoia."
According to the New York Times, citing longtime friends of the Florida-born judge in 1977, Matthew Kacsmaryk is "an experienced litigator, shaped by his religious upbringing and faith" and would "not let personal opinions influence a decision." But this is exactly what women's rights organizations are now accusing her of. He was called an "extremist" by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Hakeem Jeffries, his successor, slammed a "rogue judge".
Judge Kacsmaryk has always assured that he makes his decisions impartially. "Nevertheless, many of his recent decisions have been victories for the right," the Washington Post said. For example, in November 2022, he canceled the Biden administration's health protections for LGBT people.
On the abortion pill, the US president said he was determined to "fight" this decision that could end up before the Supreme Court.
(
And with AFP)
Newsletter Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
Read on on the same topics:
- United States