| For Immediate Release: September 26, 2018 Contact: [email protected] |
With new reports of a third woman speaking out publicly on allegations of sexual assault at the hands of Brett Kavanaugh, NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue issued the following statement:
“The graphic allegations of Julie Swetnick are horrifying to read and we believe her, just as we believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, and we believe Deborah Ramirez. The details of her story are truly horrifying, and the media and the Senate GOP must not add to the trauma she has already been forced to bear. Short of withdrawing Kavanaugh’s nomination, there is no path forward with him as the nominee that does not wholly compromise the integrity of the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh has lied over and over, and the GOP is holding onto him in spite of mounting credible allegations against him because they know he will gut Roe v. Wade.
“The hearing tomorrow is an insult to women everywhere. Dr. Ford’s story should have been enough to deny Brett Kavanaugh the huge promotion he seeks to sit on the Supreme Court where he would hold power over women everywhere. Should the GOP go forward with this—on top of Ms. Swetnick’s story—they will be telling women everywhere that we simply do not matter. They are obviously aware of this and the fact that the Senate GOP is having a female outside counsel question Dr. Ford on Thursday shows how deeply aware and terrified they are of the optics—of having a group of 11 men question a survivor of sexual assault. The GOP and Trump administration must know women across the country are watching them at every turn, and now as a third credible woman comes forward, there should be no doubt in their minds that they will pay a heavy political and moral price for moving their nominee forward to a vote.”
This news comes shortly after a new Fox poll that shows a record number of voters oppose Brett Kavanaugh.
NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates are dedicated to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom for all Americans. NARAL works to guarantee that every woman has the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion. In recognition of its work defending our constitutional right to choose, Fortune Magazine described NARAL as “one of the top 10 advocacy groups in America.”