"Supreme Court justices are appointed for life and their decisions impact Americans for decades. The next Supreme Court justice will likely make decisions that affect the health and lives of women for generations to come. If confirmed, Judge Roberts could rule on whether to uphold Roe v. Wade, and a host of other cases involving reproductive rights, including the right to access contraception.

"It is appropriate and imperative that the Senators explore, and Judge Roberts fully answer questions about, his judicial philosophy on the Constitution’s protection of the right to privacy, including women’s freedom to make decisions about their reproductive health and lives. Given that in Judge Roberts’ writings as a government lawyer he questioned ‘the so-called right to privacy’ and said that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and should be overruled, it is all the more important to ask him these questions. Eight critical questions for Judge Roberts to answer are:

1. Do you believe that the Constitution includes unenumerated rights, or rights not explicitly listed in the text?

2. What method should the Court use in determining whether an asserted unenumerated right is protected by the Constitution, in particular by the broadly worded Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

3. Do you believe that the Constitution includes a ‘right to privacy’?

4. Do you consider the right to privacy a fundamental right?

5. Can you explain your understanding of the parameters of the right to privacy as it applies to married couples, contraception, reproduction, and the sexual activity of consenting adults who are not married?

6. Do you believe that Griswold v. Connecticut was correctly decided?

7. As a government lawyer, you wrote that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided. Was that your opinion as well? Is it your view today?

8. Do you agree with the Supreme Court’s decision in Stenberg v. Carhart?

"These questions and the resulting debates and exchange of ideas are not about obtaining commitments or promises from the nominee. They are about the right of the Senate and the American people to know the ideology of a nominee for a lifetime appointment before deciding on confirmation."