PROVIDENCE — A Maryland woman has written to state legislators saying Rhode Island Supreme Court nominee Luis M. Matos “expressed extreme anti-choice rhetoric and demonstrated a profound lack of personal accountability” when she became pregnant while they were dating in 1994.
Governor Daniel J. McKee, a Democrat who supports abortion rights, picked Matos, now a Superior Court judge, for a Supreme Court vacancy in August. He submitted Matos’ nomination letter on Wednesday, starting the 60-day period for the House and Senate to act on it.
Asked about the email on Thursday, McKee issued a statement, saying, “Judge Matos made clear to me that he firmly believes in a woman’s right to choose. 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.”
Matos issued a statement, saying, “I am pro-choice and have been for many years. I am aware of an e-mail that has been shared, and out of respect for the confirmation process, I will answer questions about this matter, my positions, and qualifications during the legislative hearings.”
In an Oct. 10 email obtained by the Globe, Amanda Nelson wrote to leaders of the Senate and House judiciary committees, saying, “I think [Matos’] 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.”
Nelson said she became “romantically involved” with Matos in 1994, when she was 24, in Washington, D.C. Matos began his legal career at the Department of Justice in the Capitol.
“I knew he was staunchly pro-life, a position I did not share, but I ‘agreed to disagree’ on this topic,” Nelson wrote. “Mr. Matos shared lurid and graphic anecdotes with me about abortions gone wrong.”
So, she said, she considered it “ironic” that Matos “acted irresponsibly and was the one person I was ever involved with to cause an unwanted pregnancy.”
Nelson said Matos urged her not to have an abortion and told her about a woman he knew who got pregnant, raised the child as a single mother, and went on to Harvard Law School. “I told him I had no plans to go to Harvard Law School and offered to allow him to raise the child as a single father, which he declined,” she wrote.
Nelson said she had an abortion and was harassed by protestors outside of Planned Parenthood. She described it as “a traumatic experience.”
“Interestingly, my roommate bumped into Mr. Matos the evening of the abortion, out at a bar, partying, totally unconcerned,” Nelson wrote. “This was the end of the relationship.”
She said she hopes Matos’ “views and character” have evolved since then. But, she wrote, “Based on my experience, I deeply question his judgment in making policy decisions for women at the state’s highest court.”
In an interview, Nelson told the Globe that she wrote the letter after reading online that Matos had been nominated for the Supreme Court.
Nelson said the Rhode Island State Police contacted her a couple of weeks ago to ask about her letter. “I was clear I am not accusing him of any legal wrongdoing whatsoever,” she said.
“I knew Lou 30 years ago,” she said. “I don’t have any lingering hostility toward him. But when I saw he could be in line for a lifetime position to make decisions for women on reproductive rights, I got concerned.”
Nelson, who now works for a software company, said she was working as an intern at the Smithsonian Institution when she met Matos at a bar, the Big Hunt. She said they were together for about three months before she became pregnant. She said Matos expressed views that went beyond typical “pro-life” views.
“The Lou I knew 30 years ago is the last person I would want making these decisions for women,” Nelson said. “But he may have changed. I don’t know. Things are more black and white when you are young.”
She said she would not have spoken up if he had been nominated to be an ambassador, for example, rather than a judge on the state’s highest court.
“If he becomes a Supreme Court judge, fine by me as long as the people of Rhode Island are aware that at least in the past he held pretty extreme views,” Nelson said. “That is up to people of Rhode Island, but I think he should be asked about it.”
On Thursday, House Speaker Christopher R. Blazejewski and Senate President Valarie J. Lawson issued a statement, saying they promptly provided the email to McKee’s office after it was received in October, and they gave it to the State Police for their statutorily mandated background report.
“The email raises serious questions that the nominee should expect to address with judiciary committee members and other legislators in both chambers,” Blazejewski and Lawson said. “We are committed to a full, fair, and diligent public hearing process.”
McKee chose Matos for the Supreme Court seat left vacant by Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg’s retirement.
Attention focused on whether McKee would appoint former House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, who stepped down as speaker to apply for the position, touching off a legal battle over whether he had violated a “revolving door” provision of the state ethics code.
The Judicial Nominating Commission provided McKee with a list of five finalists — Shekarchi, Matos, Family Court Judge Laureen D’Ambra, Assistant Attorney General Christopher Bush, and attorney John E. Roberts.
Matos, 62, of Providence, was born in Batalha, Portugal, and came to the United States as a child, not knowing English. He became the first in his family to attend college, earning a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a law degree from the University of Connecticut.
Matos worked for the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., serving as a trial and appellate attorney, representing US interests before the Federal Court of Claims. He transferred to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, eventually becoming the national health care fraud coordinator.
In 2001, Matos returned to Rhode Island to serve as an Assistant US Attorney here, and he was part of the team that prosecuted Operation Dollar Bill, an investigation into bribery schemes involving state lawmakers and health care executives.
In 2012, former Governor Lincoln D. Chafee appointed Matos to the Superior Court. As a judge, he became involved in the Committee for Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts.
While most judicial nominations require only Senate approval, Supreme Court nominees must be confirmed by both the House and Senate.
The Senate met shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday to accept nominations for the Supreme Court vacancy and other judicial positions. The appointments were referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee for hearings on Nov. 17 and 18 and possible Senate floor votes on Dec. 1 and 2, a spokesman said. The House will take up the Supreme Court nomination some time in the coming weeks, a spokesman said.
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.