Abortion rights become early flash point in RI Supreme Court nomination

Gov. Dan McKee’s pick to join the Rhode Island Supreme Court will face his initial vetting before state lawmakers next week, with questions about his past views on abortion already emerging as a central issue in the confirmation process.

Luis M. Matos, who was selected by McKee in August to fill the seat vacated by Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg, is scheduled to appear before the House Judiciary Committee at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, in Room 35 of the State House. The hearing will be open to the public.

Matos, 62, immigrated with his family from Portugal in 1969 and grew up in Providence’s Fox Point neighborhood. The first in his family to graduate from college, he earned degrees from Brown University and the University of Connecticut School of Law.

A former assistant U.S. attorney in Rhode Island and Delaware, Matos was first appointed to the bench in 2012 by then-Gov. Lincoln Chafee. He has served on the Superior Court since then, including as a member of the Judiciary’s Committee on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts since 2020.

McKee praised Matos as the “most qualified” of the five candidates he interviewed for the lifetime position. But his nomination is facing scrutiny after a Baltimore woman who says she dated Matos in the 1990s wrote an email to lawmakers questioning his “stance on women’s reproductive rights.”

Amanda Nelson wrote that she knew Matos did not support abortion rights when they began dating in Washington, D.C., in 1994. After Nelson became pregnant during their relationship, she said, Matos urged her not to have an abortion, and told her about a woman who had raised a child as a single mother before going on to Harvard Law School.

“I would hope his views and character have evolved over time, but I think his position on women’s reproductive rights should be scrutinized before giving him a lifetime appointment where he is able to make decisions in this area,” she wrote.

Matos, in a statement provided by the Rhode Island Judiciary, said he supports abortion rights and has “for many years.” He acknowledged the email had been shared and said he would address questions about the matter, his positions and his qualifications during the legislative hearings.

Rhode Island lawmakers have enacted several laws expanding or protecting access to abortion in recent years. 

In 2019, then-Gov. Gina Raimondo signed the Reproductive Privacy Act, which codified Roe v. Wade into state law. The Rhode Island Supreme Court upheld the law in 2022, affirming a Superior Court judge’s dismissal of a challenge brought by abortion opponents.

A 2023 law extended abortion coverage to people enrolled in Medicaid and state employee health plans, while a 2024 shield law established protections for Rhode Island providers facing certain out-of-state legal actions over reproductive health care.

Nelson’s email, first reported by the Boston Globe Nov. 5, was addressed to the chairs and members of the House and Senate judiciary committees.

Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee, a South Kingstown Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Judiciary, and Sen. Matthew LaMountain, a Warwick Democrat who chairs the Senate’s panel, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

House Speaker Christopher Blazejewski and Senate President Valarie Lawson in a joint statement said the email “raises serious questions that the nominee should expect to address with Judiciary Committee members and other legislators in both chambers.”  

“We are committed to a full, fair, and diligent public hearing process,” they said.

The Senate has scheduled hearings on numerous judicial appointments, including Matos’, Nov. 17 and Nov. 18.

McKee defended his selection in a statement, saying Matos had assured him of his support for abortion rights.

“Judge Matos made clear to me that he firmly believes in a woman’s right to choose,” McKee said. “He brings extensive judicial experience and a strong record of service to the bench, and I look forward to his nomination moving through the advice and consent process.”

Democratic Gov.-elect Helena Buonanno Foulkes told reporters at a press conference Tuesday that Matos deserves an opportunity to address the concerns during the confirmation process, while reiterating her support for abortion rights.

“The House will have their day to have that conversation with him,” she said. “I believe he deserves that — to explain the situation.”

Matos also received an endorsement Monday from five federal judges in Rhode Island: U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr., U.S. District Judges Mary S. McElroy and Melissa R. DuBose, and U.S. Magistrate Judges Rebecca L. Aitchison and Patricia A. Sullivan.

In a letter to the House and Senate judiciary committees, the judges praised Matos’ judgment, integrity and judicial temperament. They pointed to his recent selection to chair the federal court’s Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel and his work helping implement Rhode Island’s court fine reduction law.

“Judge Luis Matos is eminently qualified to serve on the Rhode Island Supreme Court,” the judges wrote, endorsing his nomination “without reservation and with the greatest enthusiasm.”