Kavanaugh Calls Roe v. Wade ‘Important Precedent’ During Supreme Court Hearing
Brett Kavanaugh testifies during his Supreme Court nomination hearing on Sept. 5, 2018. Image by Win McNamee/Getty Images
Updated Sept. 7, 11 a.m.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh said during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday that Roe v. Wade is “important precedent” that as been “reaffirmed many times.”
The Trump nominee, who would give conservatives a clear 5-4 majority on the country’s highest court, made the remarks while being questioned by Democratic California Sen. Diane Feinstein.
A coalition of faith-based groups, including Jewish Women International and Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, sent an Aug. 31 letter to the senator saying they “fear that Judge Kavanaugh, if confirmed, will not uphold the right of each pregnant woman to make the best choice for her circumstance.” The National Council of Jewish Women led the effort, initiating and coordinating the letter.
Hillary Clinton tweeted that the federal court judge may be changing his tune on the 1973 decision legalizing abortion nationwide.
A few weeks before Kavanaugh’s name appeared on President Trump’s short list for a new justice, Kavanaugh praised the dissent in the Roe v. Wade case and called former Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist his “hero,” noting that “he clearly wanted to overrule Roe.”
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 5, 2018
Kavanaugh was careful to say he was expressing his views “as a judge” and not his personal opinion on a woman’s right to choose. He then cited the 1992 case Casey v. Planned Parenthood, which reaffirmed the basic tenants of Roe, but said states may regulate abortion under certain circumstances like protecting a mother’s health.
Protesters affiliated with the Women’s March tried to disrupt the hearing Wednesday, as they did Tuesday.
“Stop the slaughter of our children!”
Disruptions and arrests continue inside the #KavanaughConfirmation hearing. #CancelKavanaugh @CPDAction pic.twitter.com/bzVAv3hoFg
— Women’s March (@womensmarch) September 5, 2018
Democrats have tried to stall the process, claiming Republicans have withheld documents related to Kavanaugh’s work in the George W. Bush White House and dumped more than 40,000 other pages the night before the hearings began.
Contact Ben Fractenberg at [email protected] or on Twitter, @fractenberg
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
2X match on all Passover gifts!
Dive In
-
Fast Forward From ‘October 8’ to ‘The Encampments,’ these new documentaries illuminate the post-Oct. 7 American experience
-
Fast Forward Jews at Tufts are furious over ICE seizing a pro-Palestinian grad student. But they’re wary of joining protests for her.
-
Fast Forward Federal spending cuts could affect aid for Holocaust survivors and kosher Meal on Wheels deliveries
-
Fast Forward Pennsylvania Jewish groups condemn ‘genocide’ slogan on Gisele Fetterman’s charity
Most Popular
- 1
News A Jewish Republican and Muslim Democrat are suddenly in a tight race for a special seat in Congress
- 2
Fast Forward The NCAA men’s Final Four has 3 Jewish coaches
- 3
Fast Forward Cory Booker proclaims, ‘Hineni’ — I am here — 19 hours into anti-Trump Senate speech
- 4
Film & TV What Gal Gadot has said about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion I co-wrote Biden’s antisemitism strategy. Trump is making the threat worse
-
Fast Forward From ‘October 8’ to ‘The Encampments,’ these new documentaries illuminate the post-Oct. 7 American experience
-
Fast Forward Jews at Tufts are furious over ICE seizing a pro-Palestinian grad student. But they’re wary of joining protests for her.
-
Film & TV How Marlene Dietrich saved me — or maybe my twin sister — and helped inspire me to become a lifelong activist
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.