Memo Georgia
Memo
NARAL Pro-Choice America Reminds Voters: Sen. Gardner Betrayed Coloradans When Voting to Confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Contact: [email protected]
Colorado — Today marks two years since Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) voted to confirm anti-choice, anti-freedom conservative ideologue Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Today’s anniversary takes place at a critical point in our nation’s history, as Senators like Gardner are already delivering on their strategy to jam through Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination and install another Trump ideologue to the Court—even as Americans are already casting their ballots in the November presidential election.
On this anniversary, NARAL Pro-Choice America president Ilyse Hogue said:
“Two years ago, Senator Gardner made his extreme, out-of-touch ideological agenda crystal-clear by voting to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kavanaugh was as unfit to serve on the Court then as he is today. Justice Kavanaugh has shown his true colors, taking it upon himself to write the dissenting opinion in June Medical Services v. Russo—a case that would have shuttered abortion clinics in Louisiana and opened the door to roll back abortion access nationwide.
Trump and McConnell’s effort to jam through Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination at the 11th hour is an affront to our democracy, and comes at a time when Roe v. Wade and reproductive freedom are on the line like never before. If Barrett joins Kavanaugh on the bench, our fundamental rights will remain under siege for generations.
What Mitch McConnell and Republicans like Cory Gardner fail to remember is that Kavanaugh’s confirmation galvanized millions of voters across the country to turn out in support of champions for reproductive freedom up and down the ballot in 2018. Once again we are facing a confirmation fight that will power even more of our champions—like John Hickenlooper— to electoral victory in November.”
Justice Kavanaugh was narrowly confirmed with the lowest favorable rating of any Supreme Court nominee in recent history and in the face of massive outrage, including the largest ever single-day protest against a Supreme Court nominee led by NARAL and its partners.
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.
In addition to being home to a high-stakes U.S. Senate race, Coloradans will also vote on Proposition 115, an intentionally confusing abortion ban that would force a woman to carry a pregnancy to term with zero exceptions for health and individual circumstances.
Colorado already restricts access to abortion, including by pushing access further out of reach for people with low incomes. And because there’s no law expressly protecting the right to abortion in Colorado, if Roe were to be overturned, those hostile to reproductive freedom could quickly work to criminalize abortion.
NARAL Pro-Choice America is in the midst of its largest-ever electoral program designed to reach, persuade, and mobilize key voters, including driving thousands of calls to Coloradans who are motivated by Gardner’s 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 Cory Gardner 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.