Memo
NARAL Pro-Choice America Reminds Voters: Sen. Graham Betrayed South Carolinians When Voting to Confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Contact: [email protected]
South Carolina— Today marks two years since Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) 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 Lindsey Graham 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 today, Senator Graham voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court over the cries of countless women in this country who knew our rights and our freedoms were in jeopardy, as was our ability to believe in justice. Graham rubber-stamped Trump’s pick and prioritized extreme ideology over voters’ concerns. 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 rolling 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 decades.
What Mitch McConnell and Republicans like Lindsey Graham 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 Jaime Harrison— 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 South Carolina, 71% of women live in counties with no abortion clinic. With Roe in the crosshairs, the stakes for women and families are higher than ever. South Carolina already has some of the most severe restrictions on reproductive freedom in the United States, which include forcing a pregnant person to wait 24 hours before they can receive abortion care, and subjecting people to mandatory biased counseling.
A new Quinnipiac poll found that a majority of likely voters in South Carolina agree with the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that established a woman’s right to an abortion—including 90% of Democrats and 66% of independent voters.
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 South Carolinians who are motivated by Senator Graham’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 Lindsey Graham accountable.
###
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.