Sherrill Aims to End Anti-Abortion Tactic of Handpicking Favorable Judges

Washington, DC— Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) is taking action to stop extreme anti-choice activists from pursuing their ultimate goal of banning abortion nationwide with new legislation to stop the unfair practice of “judge-shopping.”

Judge-shopping is a known tactic anti-choice advocates use to cherry-pick a court and outcome by filing lawsuits in single-judge divisions where they are all but assured to get a favorable ruling. This is what took place in the Amarillo division of the Northern District of Texas where Judge Kacsmaryk ruled against 23 years of FDA approval of Mifepristone, a medication abortion pill used in 54% of all abortions in America.

“Anti-abortion extremists want to roll back women’s access to basic reproductive health and are completely out of touch with the majority of Americans. They are now using court loopholes to attack the rights and freedoms of women across the country – despite their original position that this was a states’ rights issue. My bill prevents shopping for judges and predetermining the outcome of a case that would result in a decision that impacts people across the country. It would have prevented the recent case where a single judge, with little understanding of women’s health, ordered a nationwide ban on Mifepristone. It is my hope that this legislation would also help restore people’s faith in our courts,” said Rep. Sherrill. “In states like New Jersey, we have enacted necessary abortion protection laws but cases like AHM v. FDA threaten our freedoms. I will continue to be a proactive fighter for women’s health and autonomy in Congress.”

Rep. Sherrill is a former federal prosecutor and fierce pro-choice advocate. In the wake of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA case in Texas, Rep. Sherrill gathered leaders from Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Agile Therapeutics for a panel discussion on the threat to abortion access in New Jersey. Watch a recording of the panel here.

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