Bill Pryor
Bill Pryor is being promoted in the media as though he were likely to overturn Roe v. Wade, but his record casts substantial doubt on that claim. Since his confirmation to the Eleventh Circuit by a narrow vote of only 53-45 in the U.S. Senate (with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski abstaining), Pryor has repeatedly caved into the liberal social agenda in multiple cases.
In early December 2016, Judge Pryor extended application of the federal Equal Access Act to a public middle school (grades 6-8) in Florida, over the objection of the local school board and superintendent, in order to compel the middle school to establish a "Gay-Straight Alliance" school club. Carver Middle Sch. Gay-Straight All. v. Sch. Bd. of Lake Cnty., Fla., No. 15-14183, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 21702 (11th Cir. Dec. 6, 2016).
In Keeton v. Anderson-WiIley, 664 F.3d 865 (11th Cir. 2011), Pryor joined an opinion that held against a Christian woman who was forced out of a masters-degree counseling program due to her faith-based objections to being compelled to provide advice about homosexuality that was contrary to her religious beliefs.
In Glenn v. Brumby, 662 F.3d 1312 (11th Cir. 2011), Pryor joined a court decision granting special constitutional protections under the Equal Protection Clause to transgender employees based on the Equal Protection Clause.
Judge Pryor cited favorably a pro-abortion decision that is used in many pro-abortion rulings, even summarizing the ruling in a positive way:
- Cf. Singleton v. Wulff, 428 U.S. 106, 114, 96 S. Ct. 2868, 2874, 49 L. Ed. 2d 826 (1976) (holding that doctors in abortion clinics had standing to challenge a city ordinance that impinged on a woman's right to an abortion)
So wrote Judge Pryor in Camp Legal Def. Fund, Inc. v. City of Atlanta, 451 F.3d 1257, 1272 (11th Cir. 2006).
During his confirmation hearings in the U.S. Senate, Pryor refused to state that Roe v. Wade should be overturned, and even testified that he advised the Attorney General of Nebraska Attorney General to omit any challenge to Roe in a filing with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Judge Pryor also recently ruled against a school board to force a middle school (grades 6-8) to have a "gay straight" club, and he previously ruled against a Christian college student who had objected to being asked to go along with views contrary to her beliefs.
Before becoming a federal appellate judge, Pryor prosecuted Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore for an alleged ethics violation due to having the Ten Commandments on display.
