Sen. Tim Kaine (D., Va.) falsely accused Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch twice on Wednesday of referring to contraception use as "the wrongdoing of others."
In a Wednesday press release, Kaine announced that he would not vote for Gorsuch's nomination.
"He has taken extraordinary steps to force reconsideration of rulings that preserve access to reproductive health. And he has cavalierly referred to contraceptive use as 'the wrongdoing of others,'" the statement reads.
Kaine repeated the accusation in a tweet on Wednesday.
He has cavalierly referred to contraceptive use - a constitutionally protected right for 50+ yrs - as ‘the wrongdoing of others.’
— Senator Tim Kaine (@timkaine) March 29, 2017
Kaine is taking Gorsuch out of context. Gorsuch indeed used the words "the wrongdoing of others" in his ruling on Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, but he was not referring to contraception. He used the term in his introduction, which was a broad summary of the greater issues at stake.
All of us face the problem of complicity. All of us must answer for ourselves whether and to what degree we are willing to be involved in the wrongdoing of others. For some, religion provides an essential source of guidance both about what constitutes wrongful conduct and the degree to which those who assist others in committing wrongful conduct themselves bear moral culpability. The Green family members are among those who seek guidance from their faith on these questions. Understanding that is the key to understanding this case.
Gorsuch noted that Hobby Lobby's owners, the Green family, saw contraception as wrongdoing; he did not say that it was his view that contraception was wrongdoing.
"No doubt, the Greens’ religious convictions are contestable. Some may even find the Greens’ beliefs offensive. But no one disputes that they are sincerely held religious beliefs," Gorsuch wrote.
The majority opinion—which was not written by Gorsuch—used similar language when summarizing the Supreme Court's precedent in Lee v. United States (emphasis added).
The Court first identified the religious belief at issue, namely, that "it [is] sinful [for the Amish] not to provide for their own elderly and needy," and it is concomitantly sinful to pay into the social security system and thereby enable other Amish to shirk their duties toward the elderly and needy. Thus, the belief at issue in Lee turned in part on a concern of facilitating others’ wrongdoing.
Presumably, the non-Amish judges in the majority were not saying that accepting Social Security benefits was "wrongdoing." Like Gorsuch, they were summarizing the petitioner's beliefs.
Kaine's hometown paper the Richmond Times-Dispatch called him out in an op-ed. "This is simply false. And Kaine should know it," they argued.
"Kaine’s policy views and ours differ in several respects, but we have always thought of him as a deeply honorable public servant — which is why his smear against Gorsuch is so disappointing. It suggests he can’t come up with a defensible reason to oppose the nomination," the editors wrote.