Texas judge behind abortion drug ruling didn’t disclose radio interviews where he said being gay was ‘a lifestyle’

The judge who blocked the FDA’s authorisation of mifepristone says he did not recall the interivew

The federal judge who suspended the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion pill mifepristone failed to disclose two interviews where he discussed contraception and gay rights, CNN reported.

Matthew Kacsmaryk, a judge on the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, made the remarks in two interviews with the Chosen Generation, a show that bills itself as having a “biblical constitutional worldview.”

Mr Kacsmaryk served as deputy general counsel at the First Liberty Institute, which was previously known as the Liberty Institute, and went on the show to discuss how the “the homosexual agenda” could be used to silence churches and stifle religious liberty.

Judicial nominees must submit paperwork to the Senate Judiciary Committee before their confirmation hearing that includes nearly every public writing or statement they have given. Mr Kacsmaryk did not include either interview in the materials when former president Donald Trump nominated him in 2017.

The report follows revelations that Mr Kacsmaryk also failed to disclose to members of Congress that he authored an article attacking abortion rights and transgender healthcare in a right-wing legal journal.

Mr Kacsmaryk told CNN in a statement that he did not locate the interview when he was searching and did not recall it.

“I used the DOJ-OLP manual to run searches for all media but did not locate this interview and did not recall this event, which involved a call-in to a local radio show,” he said. “After listening to the audio file supplied by CNN, I agree that the content is equivalent to the legal analysis appearing throughout my SJQ and discussed extensively during my Senate confirmation hearing. Additionally, the transcript supplied by CNN appears to track with the audio and accurately recounts my responses during the phone call — when quoted in full.”

At the time, Mr Kacsmaryk’s employers promoted the interviews on their social media channels. In one interview in February 2014, Mr Kacsmaryk responded to a question about the “homosexual agenda” and he expressed concerns about social norms around same-sex marriage.

“I just want to make very clear, people who experience a same-sex attraction are not responsible individually or solely for the atmosphere of the sexual revolution,” he said. “You know it. It’s a long time coming. It came after no-fault divorce. It came after we implemented very permissive policies on contraception. The sexual revolution has gone through several phases. We just happen to be at the phase now where same sex marriages is at the fore.”

He then said that religious liberty may come in conflict with same-sex marriage, including tax-exempt statuses, adoption services, federal government programs and discrimination at colleges and universities.

In July 2014, he made another appearance where he discussed the Obama administration banning federal contractors from discriminating against people based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Mr Kacsmaryk said the rules did not differentiate between gay people who were celibate and those who made it a “lifestyle.”

“Most Abrahamic faith traditions will draw a distinction between someone who experiences the same sex attraction but is willing to live celibate and somebody who experiences the same sex attraction and makes it a lifestyle and seeks to sexualise that lifestyle,” he said. “Those are two different categories that most Abrahamic faith traditions recognize.”

Earlier this month, Mr Kacsmaryk issued a ruling that blocked the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. An appeals court later stopped the ruling but rolled back some 2016 rules that made it easier to access. Then, last week, the US Supreme Court said that Mr Kacmaryk’s ruling would be stayed for the time being. The Supreme Court is expected to further weigh in on the case by midnight on 21 April.