WASHINGTON, D.C., April 11, 2018 – Following today’s confirmation hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee for Wendy Vitter, President Trump’s nominee for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, AFJ President Nan Aron released the following statement:
“At her confirmation hearing today, Wendy Vitter repeatedly misrepresented her record before the Senate Judiciary Committee, including statements that are easily located in recordings of her appearances. We know that Vitter has publicly endorsed dangerous misinformation about women’s reproductive health. We know that she once urged an audience to ask their doctors to distribute a brochure containing false claims that contraceptive pills contribute to violent deaths among users. Yet today, Vitter repeatedly maintained that on that occasion, all she did was encourage women to consult their doctors for an opinion on this claim. This is demonstrably false, and was only one of several ways in which Vitter today raised even more doubts about whether she has the integrity and judgment to perform the vital role of a federal judge. Following Vitter’s testimony, we are more convinced that she has no place on the federal bench.”
AFJ’s research on Vitter’s record revealed numerous omissions in her original responses to her Senate Judiciary Questionnaire, including her appearance at an event titled “Abortion Hurts Women’s Health.” Video of that event, at which Vitter urged women to ask their doctors to distribute brochures that contained false information, is available here.