Franklin Graham Calls on Hillary Clinton to Release Supreme Court Nominees List Before Election
Evangelical preacher the Rev. Franklin Graham expressed his dismay at the Supreme Court's decision Monday to strike down key provisions of a Texas law regulating abortion clinics, and asked Hillary Clinton to reveal her list of potential justices.
"I'm not surprised that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state of Texas' regulations on abortion today — but I am disappointed. In the absence of more conservative justices, rulings are going the other way. This is another example of how critical the positions of Supreme Court Justices are to our country," Graham wrote after the ruling.
The justices decided in a 5-3 decision to strike down parts of HB 2 that gave abortion clinics one year to obtain hospital admitting privileges in cases of patient emergencies and to upgrade their clinics, which are usually old houses, to meet basic health and safety standards.
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Graham continued: "Remember, the next president we elect will appoint one justice immediately, and then be able to possibly appoint up to five more during his or her term. Those appointments are of paramount importance to the future of this country. We need judges who will consider God's laws and His Word — He is the ultimate Judge for each one of us and for the nation."
Graham told readers that Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump has already released a list of justices he would choose from, giving Americans a chance to review the potential candidates and where they stand on important issues.
"But we haven't seen a list from the Democratic presumptive nominee. Secretary Hillary Clinton — where's your list?" the evangelist asked.
While Clinton has yet to reveal a list of nominees, her campaign claims Trump's selections for consideration would upend America's "most fundamental rights."
Three of the current justices are nearing or older than 80 years of age, which means that the next president will likely have the opportunity to nominate several new justices to the Supreme Court, and in doing so influence American law for generations to come.
Pro-life groups have also slammed the HB 2 decision, arguing that the abortion industry is getting a "free pass" on medical safety standards.
"It sets a national precedent because it is a 5-3 decision," Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, told The Christian Post on Monday.
"We think what it means is that states are not able to pass reasonable safety standards to regulate abortion facilities, to bring them up to the same standards of care that patients enjoy for similar procedures other than abortion."
