Ketanji Brown Jackson Under Fire For Refusing to Define the Word ‘Woman’
Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, is under fire for refusing to define the term “woman” on the second day of her confirmation hearings before the Senate’s Judiciary Committee. Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn questioned Jackson on transgender issues Tuesday night and asked, “Do you agree that schools should teach children that they can choose their gender?” Jackson responded first by noting that Georgetown Day School is a private school. She then told Sen. Blackburn, “Senator, I’m not making comments about what schools can teach.”
During the course of their conversation, Blackburn turned to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who wrote the majority opinion in U.S. v. Virginia (1996), in which the Supreme Court overturned the Virginia Military Institute’s male-only admission policy. Blackburn began quoting Ginsburg by saying, “Supposed inherent differences are no longer accepted as a ground for race or national origin classifications. Physical differences, between men and women, however, are enduring. The two sexes are not fungible. A community made up exclusively of one sex is different from a community composed of both.” Blackburn then asked Jackson, “Do you agree with Justice Ginsburg that there are physical differences between men and women that are enduring?” Judge Jackson responded, “Um, senator, respectfully I am not familiar with that particular quote or case, so it’s hard for me to comment.”
Sen. Blackburn then posed the question to Judge Jackson, “Can you provide a definition for the word ‘woman?’” Jackson replied “Can I provide a definition? No, I can’t.” “You can’t?” Blackburn asked. “Not in this context, I’m not a biologist,” Judge Jackson replied. “Do you believe the meaning of the word woman is so unclear and controversial that you can’t give me a definition?” Blackburn urged. Judge Jackson replied, “Senator, in my work as a judge, what I do is I address disputes. If there’s a dispute about a definition, people make arguments, and I look at the law, and I decide.” Detroit, what do you think? Was Sen. Blackburn line of questioning unfair to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson? or Should Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson have given her definition of what she believes a women is?
Sen. @MarshaBlackburn: "Can you provide a definition for the word 'woman'?"
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 23, 2022
Judge Jackson: "Can I provide a definition? No. I can't." pic.twitter.com/7sxWCvM2xB
