He is the man who withdrew the marketing authorization in the United States of an abortion pill approved for more than 20 years and used each year by half a million American women. Matthew Kacsmaryk, an American federal judge from Texas, has gained notoriety in recent hours, at the same time as he entered the sights of Democrats and pro-abortion activists.
Ten months after a landmark Supreme Court ruling that gave every US state the freedom to ban pregnancy terminations on its soil, the magistrate, known for his ultra-conservative views, issued a ruling meant to apply to the whole country.
Born in Florida in 1977, Matthew Kacsmaryk grew up in Texas. His dream then was to work for the CIA, the American secret services, testifies one of his college friends to the New York Times. A lawyer by training, he then became a prosecutor in the late 2000s, before becoming a lawyer for a Christian association, First Liberty Institute, in 2014. This structure specializes in the accommodation of women and children in cases of pregnancy. unwanted. It also offers adoption services to avoid recourse to abortion.
Appointed by Donald Trump
After this experience, Matthew Kacsmaryk took up his post five years later in Amarillo, Texas, appointed by Donald Trump. He is the only federal judge there, so it is no coincidence that opponents of abortion have filed a complaint precisely in this city. They were indeed certain that the file would return to him.
“In this specific case, what they asked for was a single judge, from one district in one state, to make a decision that will affect the lives of millions of people in all 50 states. And it’s terrifying”, denounced to CNN Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Since taking office in 2019, Matthew Kacsmaryk “has helped make Texas a legal cemetery for Joe Biden’s policies”, notes CNN. Notoriously opposed to abortion, he is described in the New York Times by his relatives as a judge “shaped by his religious education and his faith”. In an interview at Washington Posthis sister, Jennifer Griffith, has also declared that he was “a fervent defender of the idea that one cannot be pro-life and do nothing”.
Opinions defended publicly
“Matthew and his wife Shelly’s first child was stillborn, and I think that contributed to his willingness to support women in any way possible, but especially when they are pregnant,” explained to The New York. Times Sherri Statler, president of Christian Homes & Family Services in Abilene, Texas. Matthew Kacsmaryk was also a member of the board of directors of this association in 2016 and 2019.
Pro-abortion activists also deplore a decision based on the judge’s personal opinions: “The politics and ideology behind Judge Kacsmaryk’s decision are evident in the inflammatory anti-abortion language he uses throughout his demonstration”, thundered with the BBC Allison Whelan, professor at the University of Georgia. “He selects the studies that go in his direction to support his conclusion that abortions are dangerous (…), without citing the many studies that refute these conclusions”, she argued.
Described as an “extremist judge” by the former Democratic leader of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Matthew Kacsmaryk notably published in 2015 an article vitriolic as the United States legalized same-sex marriage across the country. “If enacted, the misleadingly titled Equality Act would punish dissenters, and leave no room for Americans who continue to believe that marriage and sexual relations are only for the union of a man and a woman. ‘a woman,’ he wrote at the time.