The Senate voted Tuesday to confirm Julie Rikelman to a lifetime federal judgeship, overcoming opposition from conservatives and anti-abortion groups angry about her long record of advocating for womens reproductive rights.

Rikelman, 51, was confirmed 51 to 43 to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, based in Boston. Every Democrat present voted for her, along with two Republicans : Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine), both of whom identify as pro-choice.

Rikelman has been the litigation director for the Center for Reproductive Rights since 2011, and is well known for representing abortion providers in federal court challenges. Most recently, she argued for a Mississippi clinic in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, the landmark 2022 Supreme Court case that led to Roe v. Wade being overturned.

President Joe Biden nominated Rikelman for a judgeship one month after the Supreme Court ruled in the Dobbs case a sign of his efforts to strengthen the federal bench with legal experts on reproductive rights at a time when more than half of the states in the country are banning or further restricting abortions.

Few lawyers have fought harder, smarter, and more effectively to protect womens rights in America than Ms. Rikelman, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday. On the bench, I am confident she will serve with excellence to uphold the Constitution.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) recommended Rikelman to the White House for a judgeship. They hailed her confirmation Tuesday night, saying her professional and personal background will contribute to her being an excellent judge.

Rikelman was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and fled to the U.S. in 1979. She went on to graduate from Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Rikelman has a deep and unwavering commitment to the rule of law and our Constitution, informed by her own personal experience fleeing religious persecution with her family and moving to the United States, the senators said in a joint statement. We were proud to recommend Rikelman as a candidate for the First Circuit, and we applaud President Biden for his commitment to building a federal judiciary with exceptional legal minds who bring diverse professional and personal experiences to the bench.