WATCHDOG: Trump Judicial Nominee Jennifer Mascott Sat on Board of Crisis Pregnancy Center, Adding To Her Anti-Choice Record

WASHINGTON, DC – A new Accountable.US report released today has revealed that Jennifer Mascott, senior counsel in the White House Counsel’s Office, and President Trump’s nominee to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, holds an extreme anti-choice record of trying to strip away reproductive rights. In a Senate Judiciary questionnaire form, Mascott disclosed that she served as a volunteer board member at the Rockville Pregnancy Clinic, a crisis pregnancy center operating with the goal of dissuading women from seeking abortions, from 2021 to 2023. 

“Donald Trump is hand-selecting judicial nominees whose primary qualification is their loyalty to the President, and their commitment to enacting an extreme judicial agenda which guts fundamental freedoms,” said Accountable.US President Caroline Ciccone. “Jennifer Mascott is no different. Her involvement in the leadership of a crisis pregnancy center, and years of advocacy for an extreme anti-choice agenda calls into question whether she could rule on the bench with impartiality. Senators should know that a vote for Mascott is a vote to roll back reproductive rights.”

Crisis pregnancy centers often use deceptive tactics including “sidewalk counseling” to intercept women and redirect them away from reproductive healthcare services. The website for Rockville Pregnancy Clinic (now known as Rockville Women’s Center) features articles designed to discourage abortion through fear tactics. The center provides graphic descriptions of abortion procedures, emphasizes potential complications in misleading ways, and highlights costs—all while presenting itself as offering “unbiased” medical advice. In reality, scientific studies show that abortion pills, such as mifepristone, are safer than common medications like penicillin.

Today’s report is just the latest reminder of the danger that Mascott poses for women’s freedom to make their own health care decisions. In 2021, she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee defending the Supreme Court’s decision not to block Texas Senate Bill 8—one of the most extreme abortion restrictions in the country. This law banned abortion before many women know they’re pregnant, and uniquely allowed private citizens to file civil lawsuits against abortion providers and anyone who “aids and abets” someone seeking an abortion, offering $10,000 bounties for successful suits. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Mascott appeared on Fox News to defend the decision and reject criticism that it undermined the Court’s legitimacy.