Press Release California
Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Reminds Voters: Sen. Susan Collins Betrayed Mainers When Casting Decisive Vote for Justice Brett Kavanaugh
For Immediate Release: October 05, 2020
Contact: [email protected]
Washington, DC — Today marks two years since Senator Susan Collins’ (R-ME) October 5th, 2018 speech on the Senate floor in support of Brett Kavanaugh. In her speech—ahead of her decisive vote confirming Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court—Susan Collins repeatedly claimed that Brett Kavanaugh would respect the precedent of Roe v. Wade, which he failed to do in last term’s June Medical Services v. Russo case that would have gutted abortion access in Louisiana. Susan Collins used this false claim as justification for casting the deciding vote to confirm Kavanaugh to the Court, tipping the balance to a majority hostile to reproductive freedom.
On this anniversary, NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue said:
“Susan Collins wants to claim pro-choice bona fides while continuing to act as a rubber-stamp on Trump and Mitch McConnell’s power grab in the courts, which will undermine our fundamental rights and throw the protections promised by Roe v. Wade under the bus. She can’t have it both ways. We will never forget her decisive vote to install anti-choice ideologue Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. She sold out women and families in Maine and across the country, putting their fundamental freedoms in peril to score political points.
Despite Susan Collins’ false claim that Kavanaugh would respect the precedent of Roe, he has made clear his willingness to overturn precedent to accomplish his insidious agenda of power and control. We are yet again faced with Susan Collins refusing to either condemn the illegitimate process or address the troubling record of this new nominee. This makes her complicit in the GOP’s attempt to undermine democracy and subvert the will of the American people. Voters see right through her continued deception and come November, Susan Collins will be held accountable for her constant betrayal.”
Susan Collins was perfectly willing to gamble with the freedoms of millions of Americans while falsely claiming Brett Kavanaugh would respect precedent, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary and overwhelming opposition from her constituents. As a result of Susan Collins’ vote for Justice Kavanaugh, we are in an all-out state of emergency when it comes to the future of reproductive freedom and the rights guaranteed by Roe v. Wade. In the wake of Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Court, an emboldened anti-choice movement has pounced on the opportunity to gut Roe v. Wade. Extreme bans on abortion were introduced, passed, or signed in 31 states in 2019 alone and at least two dozen cases are in the pipeline that could completely overturn Roe.
NARAL Pro-Choice America is in the midst of our largest-ever electoral program designed to reach, persuade, and mobilize key voters, including driving thousands of calls to Mainers who are motivated by Susan Collins’ betrayal of their values and Trump and Republicans’ unyielding attacks on reproductive freedom. Come November, NARAL and its 2.5 million members are ready to flip the Senate and hold senators like Susan Collins accountable.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates and chapters have fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom—including access to abortion, contraception, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its more than 2.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 7 in 10 Americans who believe every person should have the freedom to make the best decision for themselves about if, when, and how to raise a family.