Julie Rikelman, nominee to be U.S. circuit judge for the First Circuit, left, and Maria Araújo Kahn, nominee to be U.S. circuit judge for the Second Circuit, right, walk to the start of their Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, on Sept. 21, 2022. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
The attorney who argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of abortion providers this past term faced brutal questioning Wednesday from Republican senators who oppose her nomination to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Among the critics of Julie Rikelman, the U.S. litigation director for the Center for Reproductive Rights, was Utah Sen. Mike Lee who quoted articles and comments made by the nominee following the release of the opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which overturned the right to abortion that was established in 1973 with the landmark ruling of Roe v. Wade.
