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Activism 101 Profiles
Katie Lane’s Record Against Reproductive Freedom
We strongly oppose Katie Lane, Trump's pick to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Montana
Key Takeaways
- Reproductive Freedom for All strongly opposes Katie Lane for the United States District Court for the District of Montana
- Reproductive Freedom for All opposes her due to her record of hostility toward reproductive freedom.
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- In her short legal career, Katie Lane has built a record opposing reproductive freedom and has worked to undermine the right to vote.
- Katie Lane also has a record of attacking fundamental rights beyond reproductive freedom, including voting rights, LGBTQ+ equality, racial justice, and immigrants’ rights.
- Trump has a deeply troubling track record of nominating judges who oppose reproductive freedom, reflecting the Trump administration’s vision for courts that are hostile to the basic reproductive rights and freedoms of all Americans.
Who is Katie Lane?
In her short legal career, Lane has built a record opposing reproductive freedom and has worked to undermine the right to vote.
Lane is unqualified and unfit to be confirmed to a lifetime appointment on the federal bench.
- During her stint at the Montana Attorney General’s office, Lane defended a number of cruel and unnecessary abortion laws aimed at restricting abortion access in the state.
- She then went on to attack abortion access while in private practice when she unsuccessfully supported efforts to institute a total abortion ban in Guam.
- Her overall lack of legal experience—including the fact that she’s less than eight years into her legal career and has never tried a case as lead counsel—led the American Bar Association to rate her as “not qualified” for a federal judgeship.
- Lane also has a record of attacking fundamental rights beyond reproductive freedom, including voting rights, LGBTQ+ equality, racial justice, and immigrants’ rights.
Dive Deeper: Katie Lane’s Anti-Repro Record
Defended a Total Abortion Ban
Lane defended Guam’s abortion ban as an attorney in private practice. Guam’s abortion ban was initially blocked by a federal court over 25 years ago. In 2023, Lane supported Guam’s Attorney General in a case arguing that the ban should go into effect because abortion was no longer a guaranteed constitutional right following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The case was eventually appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which denied their arguments, thereby allowing abortion to remain legal in Guam.
Defended Abortion Restrictions
At the Montana Attorney General’s office, Lane defended various abortion restrictions:
- Lane defended a Montana law that limited the kind of providers that can provide abortion care to licensed physicians and physician assistants. A family nurse practitioner and certified midwife challenged the law, arguing that limiting who can provide abortion care to only licensed physicians and physician assistants violated the state’s constitutional right to privacy. The case was eventually appealed to the Supreme Court of Montana, which denied Lane’s arguments and struck down the Montana law that aimed to restrict access to reproductive care.
- Lane also defended several of Montana’s abortion restrictions after abortion providers filed a lawsuit alleging the laws violated the state’s constitution. The restrictions Lane defended included: (1) a 20-week abortion ban, (2) a burdensome and medically unnecessary requirement that banned providing medication abortion care via telehealth, and (3) required medically unnecessary ultrasounds and biased counselling. The case was eventually appealed to the Supreme Court of Montana, which denied Lane’s arguments and prevented further restrictions on abortion care in Montana from going into effect.
Spread Anti-Reproductive Freedom Rhetoric
During her time at the Montana Office of the Attorney General, Lane publicized her anti-reproductive freedom views in local news outlets. For example, when discussing the 1999 Armstrong v. State decision that created the grounds for a state constitutional right to abortion, Lane stated that the precedent was “fundamentally broken” and argued that the Montana Supreme Court should overturn the decision.
Maintains Ties to Anti-Abortion Organizations
Lane is a member of several organizations that work to advance anti-reproductive freedom agendas.
Lane has been an active member of the Federalist Society since 2015. Earlier this year, Lane participated in a chapter event titled “Do DEI Programs Violate Equal Protection” as a panel member. The Federalist Society is a well-funded, conservative legal network that exerts influence through law schools, professional networks, and conferences, and over the judiciary at large. It serves as a talent and influence pipeline for the conservative movement to cultivate young lawyers and then pack the courts with judges who will execute their unpopular agenda, which includes undermining reproductive freedom.
Lane was a Fellow at the James Wilson Institute in 2021. The James Wilson Institute is an ultra-conservative legal network that pushes anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ, and Christian nationalist ideology under the guise of so-called “pre-existing natural rights.” It serves as a mentorship, networking, and career development organization for the conservative movement, which aims to incorporate anti-abortion and so-called “fetal personhood” ideology into law.
Lane was an Aquinas Fellow at the Center for Constitutional and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition from 2024 to 2025. The Center for Constitutional and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (CIT) is a conservative education and professional organization that purports to promote Catholic intellectual tradition and constitutional originalism. It serves as a conduit for the conservative movement to develop young lawyers and college students that will promote narrow, ideological interpretations of the constitution and the law—including those that advance anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ policies.
Career
- Bachelor of Arts, Furman University, 2014
- Juris Doctor, George Mason University – Antonin Scalia Law School, 2017
- Law Clerk, United States Senate Judiciary Committee, 2017
- Law Clerk to the Hon. Thomas Varlan, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, 2017-2018
- Law Clerk to the Hon. Timothy Tymkovich, 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, 2018-2020
- Associate, Jones Day, 2020-2021
- Montana Office of the Attorney General, 2021-2023
- Assistant Solicitor General, 2021-2022
- Deputy Solicitor General, 2022-2023
- Associate, Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, 2023-2025
- Senior Legal Counsel, Republican National Committee, 2025-present
Katie Lane's Record Against Democracy and Voting Rights
In private practice, Lane defended various restrictions that prevented people from exercising their constitutional right to vote.
- Lane defended an Alabama county’s redistricting plan that created an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Civil rights organizations and Black residents of the county challenged the redistricting plan, arguing that using race as the predominant factor in creating voting districts violated the Constitution. A federal court rejected Lane’s arguments and struck down the redistricting plan that would have disenfranchised Black Alabama voters.
- Lane defended a Montana bill that would have imposed criminal penalties for being registered to vote in Montana and another state and failing to provide previous voting registration information when registering to vote in Montana. A Montana voter registration organization working with college students and union members challenged the amendment, arguing that the amendment was overbroad, vague and infringed on the right to vote. The case was eventually appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which denied Lane’s arguments and struck down the amendment.
Katie Lane's Record Against LGBTQIA+ Equality
While at the Montana Attorney General’s office, Lane was a staunch opponent of LGBTQIA+ equality.
- Lane defended Montana after the state was sued for forcing a man to register as a sex offender because of a 1994 conviction under an Idaho law criminalizing consensual sex between same-sex adults.
- She defended various bills that aimed to ban transgender athletes from playing on girls’ and women’s sports teams, and defended a bill that would make it more difficult for transgender people to correct the sex marker on their birth certificate.
- While defending legislation intended to impose significant burdens on transgender peoples’ ability to change the sex marker on their birth certificate in Montana, Lane was held in contempt by the court for violating an order.
- Lane supported and endorsed the discriminatory notion that sexual relationships should only be permissible within marriage and “between one man and one woman.”
Katie Lane's Record Against Racial Justice
During a Federalist Society event, Lane espoused an anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) position equating programs that expand access for underrepresented groups to racial discrimination and racial stereotyping. This narrative perpetuates harmful and exclusionary systems that affect marginalized communities.
Katie Lane's Record Against Immigrant Rights
In private practice, Lane defended an anti-immigration policy that greatly jeopardized the safety of families seeking asylum in the United States despite courts having already found the policy to be unlawful.
The Big Picture
Trump has a deeply troubling track record of nominating judges who oppose reproductive freedom, reflecting the Trump administration’s vision for courts that are hostile to the basic reproductive rights and freedoms of all Americans.
Decisions made by these judges will impact our health, access to care, and daily lives, and we deserve to know whether these nominees are committed to fairness and equality under the law or if they are beholden to an ideology or agenda opposing reproductive freedom.
Citations and Sources
- Katie Lane, Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Feb. 26, 2026).
- In re Leon Guerrero, 2023 Guam 11 (Guam Oct. 31, 2023).
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- Brief of Defendant-Appellant, Guam Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees v. Douglas Moylan, Defendant-Appellant v. Lourdes Leon Guerrero, Defendants-Appellees, No. 23-15602 (9th Cir. Aug. 28, 2023), https://www.aclu.org/cases/guam-society-of-obgyns-v-guerrero?document=Appellants-Opening-Brief-#legal-documents.
- Order of Dismissal, Guam Society of OBGYNs v. Moylan v. Guerrero, No. 23-15602 (9th Cir. Apr. 28, 2025), https://www.aclu.org/cases/guam-society-of-obgyns-v-guerrero?document=Order-of-Dismissal#legal-documents.
- Weems v. State by and through Knudsen, 412 Mont. 132 (Mont., 2023).
- Planned Parenthood of Montana v. State by and through Knudsen, 409 Mont. 378 (Mont., 2022).
- Emma Wulfhorst, Attorney general makes move in legal battle against controversial abortion laws, NBC Montana (Jan. 21, 2022), https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/attorney-general-makes-move-in-legal-battle-against-controversial-abortion-laws.
- Katie Lane, Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees, P. 5, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Feb. 26, 2026).
- Katie Lane, Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees, P. 7, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Feb. 26, 2026).
- Katie Lane, Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees, P. 3, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Feb. 26, 2026).
- See “A Natural Law Manifesto - by Hadley Arkes,” James Wilson Institute, https://www.jameswilsoninstitute.org/a-natural-law-manifesto.
- McClure v. Jefferson Cnty. Comm'n, 800 F. Supp. 3d 1209 (N.D. Ala. 2025).
- McClure, et al. v. Jefferson County Commission, Legal Defense Fund (2023), https://www.naacpldf.org/case-issue/mcclure-et-al-v-jefferson-county-commission/.
- Montana Pub. Int. Rsch. Grp. v. Jacobsen, No. 24-2811, 2024 WL 4023781 (9th Cir. Sept. 3, 2024).
- Menges v. Knudsen, No. 21-35370, 2023 WL 2301431 (9th Cir. Mar. 1, 2023).
- Barrett v. State, 416 Mont. 226 (Mont., 2024).
- Marquez v. State of Montana, American Civil Liberties Union, (Feb. 27, 2026), https://www.aclu.org/cases/marquez-v-state-montana.
- Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgement, American Civil Liberties Union, (February 27, 2026), https://www.aclu.org/cases/marquez-v-state-montana?document=Order-Granting-Plaintiffs-Motion-for-Summary-Judgment-#legal-documents.
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes v. San Jose Unified Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 82 F.4th 664 (9th Cir. 2023).
- Katie Lane, Daniel Webster Debate Series: Do DEI Programs Violate Equal Protection at Georgetown Law (March 18, 2025), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxwYlBL8fFg.
- Huisha-Huisha v. Mayorkas, No. 22-5325, 2023 WL 5921335 (D.C. Cir. Sept. 7, 2023).
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