Julie Rikelman, the attorney who famously represented the Mississippi abortion clinic in the pivotal Supreme Court case that resulted in the overturning of Roe v. Wade, has been confirmed as a

federal appeals court judge.

In a 51-43 vote on Tuesday, the Senate approved Rikelman's appointment to the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Boston. This confirmation comes just days before the one-year anniversary of the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, where Rikelman experienced a significant loss as the conservative majority reversed decades of abortion rights precedence.

President Joe Biden nominated Rikelman for the appeals court position in July of the previous year.

Known as a highly skilled reproductive rights attorney, Rikelman has been the senior litigation director for the Center for Reproductive Rights since 2011. Her nomination by President Biden reflects an effort to strengthen the judiciary with an expert in this field, considering the increasing authority granted to states to regulate abortion.

Following the Supreme Court case, the Mississippi clinic that Rikelman represented ceased operations last summer after the state's trigger ban came into effect. This ban prohibits most abortions in the state, allowing exceptions only in cases of rape or when the life of the pregnant person is at risk.

Before joining the Center for Reproductive Rights, Rikelman had a professional tenure at NBC Universal, where she held the position of vice president of litigation. She also worked at private law firms in New York and Alaska and previously served as a clerk for a federal judge in the Philadelphia-based appeals court. Photo by United States Senate, Wikimedia commons.