Guy already wrote about the sexism smear that was going to be used to portray Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch as a sexist and anti-woman. It revolves around a question about maternity leave. Gorsuch asks this question in front of his students while teaching an ethics class at the University of Colorado Law School, a position he’s had for several years.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said that he was going to bring this up at the hearings, a throwback to the Democrats' war on women attacks.
“Did you ask your students in class that day to raise their hands if they knew of a woman who had taken maternity benefits from a company and then left the company after having a baby?”
Gorsuch vociferously denied that he asked this question, the source of which comes from a student who worked as a Democratic operative for former Sen. Tom Udall (D-CO). He said that he teaches from a standard textbook, which has this glaring omission in it—and it’s directed at young women. What happens when an older female partner asks a younger female lawyer if she thinks she will get become pregnant soon at a job interview? He noted how young lawyers often graduate with massive debts, which inhibits them from not only take on public service work, but a job that could help them relieve their crushing school loans thanks to this absurd question. He said you can answer honestly and not get the job, you can lie and get the job, or you can pushback in some fashion. And that is where Gorsuch says he has a debate with his students, weighing the pros and cons in a "Socratic dialogue" on how to answer that question. Here’s the real question he asks in his class when this issue comes up: “How many of you have had questions like this asked of you in the employment environment; an inappropriate question about your family planning?
Gorsuch said he finds it disturbing how many young women raise their hands in his class. He noted that former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was a victim of it, as was his own mother when she graduated law school in the 1960s. He thanked Sen. Durbin for allowing him to clear up this groundless smear.
Wow, did #gorsuch just demolish durbin in that exchange about the law school incident...
— Jeffrey Toobin (@JeffreyToobin) March 21, 2017