US President Donald Trump has named a pro-life defender of religious freedom as his nomination for the Supreme Court. The man chosen to fill the vacant seat in the court is Neil Gorsuch, 49, a judge of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. During his tenure with that court, Gorsuch sided with the Christians owners of a crafts store that opposed being required by government to provide certain contraceptives through its health plan. In a similar case, he also sided with the Little Sisters of the Poor when they argued on conscience grounds that they would not supply contraception or abortifacients. Gorsuch is also the author of a 2009 book, The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, in which he argued that human life has intrinsic value and “that intentional killing is always wrong”. In that book he also wrote of Roe v. Wade, that there is “no constitutional basis” for giving a mother more rights than her unborn child.
