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What You Need to Know About Brett Kavanaugh

Clarissa

As a feminist, I take nominations to the Supreme Court seriously, especially when things I believe in are hanging by a thread. For years to come, having a conservative bench could change the balance of the law, seeing as how Justice Anthony Kennedy was often a swing vote. However, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee for the supreme court bench, is far from being a swing vote. Who is Kavanaugh and what do we need to know about him and his nomination?

 

Kavanaugh Nomination
From Deseret News Utah

 

About Brett Kavanaugh

Kavanaugh is a conservative judge from the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. He is 53 years old, one of the youngest to be recommended for the bench. In 1990, he graduated from Yale Law School and in 1993, clerked for Justice Kennedy. He was also part of the independent counsel Kenneth Starr’s team during the investigation of President Bill Clinton. He is also part of the Catholic church Blessed Sacrament Church in Washington DC (NPR). All of these things have a bearing on the issues that will be on the chopping block.

Issues

Kavanaugh is known to have beliefs on everything from abortion to gun control to immigration and criminal investigations. He believes abortion is wrong but that laws are “precedents that we must follow.” (BBC) He is pro-second amendment, against the Obama-era environmental regulations, and believes that a sitting president should be protected from litigation and criminal investigations. PBS News states that Kavanaugh’s appointment “could weaken or imperil abortion rights, beef up support on the court for capital punishment and clamp down on the power of regulatory agencies.” HelloGiggles reported on the hashtag #OneinFour that represents “the number of women who will have an abortion by the time they reach age 45 — and the number that will lose safe access to reproductive care if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned.” Overturning Roe v. Wade is one of Trump’s main goals.

In an article on HelloGiggles, Dr. Logan Levkoff stated that if Kavanaugh is appointed to the Supreme Court, we could see a total rollback or Roe v. Wade. She noted that states could even deny women access to abortion services. She stated that women “really do care about universal access to good reproductive and sexual health care.” However, Kavanaugh’s appointment could make it difficult for women to get contraceptives under their medical insurance after his opinion was released on Hobby Lobby and religious freedoms.

In closing, I would like to mention that Kavanaugh will meet with the Senate Judiciary Committee before being confirmed. He will need to get a majority of 51 votes from the Senate after visiting the Committee. In my opinion, Brett Kavanaugh is not the right man for this job. And hopefully, next week, I can help prevent his appointment by volunteering with Planned Parenthood to call Alaska voters to speak with Senator Lisa Murkowski to block Kavanaugh’s nomination. I would love to hear your thoughts so don’t be afraid to comment.

 

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