Twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has been very vocal in opposition to President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Twitter. She tweeted Wednesday that “of course” Kavanuagh will “help gut or overturn Roe v. Wade,” pointing to the support for him by “anti-abortion groups.”
If Brett Kavanaugh becomes a Supreme Court justice, will he help gut or overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in America? Yes, of course he will.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 5, 2018
During day two of his confirmation hearings Wednesday, Kavanaugh referred to the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion as an “important precedent.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) pressed Kavanaugh on the issue and he emphasized that due to the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision, Roe v. Wade has stronger precedent backing it.
"I understand the importance of the issue,” he emphasized. “I understand the importance that people attach to the Roe v. Wade decision, to the Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision.”
"It's not as if it's just a run-of-the-mill case that was decided and has never been reconsidered,” he said of Roe v. Wade. “But Casey specifically reconsidered it, applied the stare decisis factors, and decided to reaffirm it. That makes Casey a precedent on precedent."
Sen. Feinstein was dismissive of Kavanaugh’s reply, tweeting that voicing “respect for precedent” wasn’t enough in relation to Roe v. Wade. She, and other Democrats, have been calling on Kavanaugh to affirm the Roe v. Wade decision in line with talking points from abortion advocacy groups.
Thomas, Alito, Roberts and Gorsuch used the same playbook: 1. Profess loyalty to precedent in Senate hearings 2. Overturn precedent once on the bench. We can’t accept vague promises from Brett Kavanaugh when women’s reproductive freedom is at stake.
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) September 5, 2018
Planned Parenthood and NARAL have been pushing for a “personal liberty standard” meaning that any Supreme Court nominee has to affirm Roe v. Wade.
“The Senate must only confirm a justice who firmly declares that the constitution protects individual liberty and the right of all people to make personal decisions about their bodies and relationships, including the right to have contraception, the right to an abortion, and to marry the person who you choose,” Planned Parenthood executive vice president Dawn Laguens said in July.