Graham followed up: “Are you aware of the fact that anesthesia is provided to the unborn child of that time period if there’s an operation to save the baby’s life because they can, in fact, feel pain?”
She said she was not.
Jackson’s abortion record
Blackburn on Tuesday, along with Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina on Wednesday, asked about Jackson’s record in a case related to abortion.
In addition to having the support of abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood for her nomination, Jackson co-authored a 2001 amicus brief in McGuire v. Reilly in support of a Massachusetts law that created a “buffer zone” preventing pro-life sidewalk counselors from approaching women outside of abortion clinics, according to Susan B. Anthony List.
In a letter dated March 21, a coalition of nearly 40 national and state pro-life leaders led by Susan B. Anthony List expressed concerns about this case to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“In an amicus brief co-authored by Jackson on behalf of the Massachusetts National Abortion Rights Action League (Mass. NARAL) and other abortion groups regarding buffer zones around abortion clinics in Massachusetts, she portrayed pro-life sidewalk counselors as a ‘hostile, noisy crowd of 'in-your-face protesters,’” they wrote.
Blackburn accused Jackson of attacking pro-life women while in private practice.
“You described them, and I’m quoting, ‘hostile, noisy crowd of ‘in-your-face protestors,’” Blackburn brought up. “How do you justify that incendiary rhetoric against pro-life women?”
Jackson said that the brief represented her law firm’s clients.
“I drafted a brief along with the partners in my law firm who reviewed it and we filed it on behalf of our client,” she said.
After a follow-up question from Blackburn, Jackson clarified, “That was a statement in a brief, made an argument for my client, it’s not the way that I think of or characterize people.”
Jackson agreed with Cornyn and Blackburn that the U.S. Constitution does not include the word “abortion.”
Echoes of Barrett hearing
As happened on Tuesday, when Graham asked pointed questions about Jackson's Christian faith, the abortion-related questions senators have asked this week have been similar to those that senators asked of President Donald Trump's 2020 nominee, Amy Coney Barrett.
During her confirmation hearing, Barrett was asked a number of questions about Roe, and about a statement that she signed in 2006 as a private citizen at church affirming the protection of life from conception to natural death.
"What I would like to say about that is, I signed that almost 15 years ago in my personal capacity when I was still a private citizen, and now I’m a public official. And so while I was free to express my private views at that time, I don’t feel like it is appropriate for me anymore because of the canons of conduct to express an affirmative view at this point in time," Barrett responded then.
"But what that statement plainly says is that when I signed that statement, that is what I was doing at that point as a private citizen," she added.
Former Washington, D. C., correspondent Katie Yoder covered pro-life issues, the U.S. Catholic bishops, public policy, and Congress for Catholic News Agency. She previously worked for Townhall.com, National Review, and the Media Research Center.