New Video and New Poll: Americans Want Brett Kavanaugh to Give a Straight Answer on Roe v. Wade

Planned Parenthood Releases New Video Making Clear that Kavanaugh Cannot Continue to Dodge Questions on Roe v. Wade  

Video Comes as New Poll Finds Majority of Americans Think Kavanaugh Should be Required to Answer Questions about Abortion 

Washington, D.C. — Planned Parenthood Action Fund released a new video making clear that President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, cannot continue to dodge questions about Roe v. Wade with vague statements about “precedent” or “settled law.” This comes as a new survey, released by Pew Research Center, found that 61 percent of Americans think Supreme Court nominees should be required to answer questions about abortion – including 70 percent of Democrats and 51 percent of Republicans.

Watch the full video here.  

As a lower court judge, Kavanaugh said that he would “respect precedent” on Roe v. Wade — but Donald Trump promised that his Supreme Court nominees would “overturn” Roe v. Wade. Just last year, Kavanaugh ruled to limit access to safe, legal abortion for a young, undocumented woman. During many previous Supreme Court nomination hearings, the use of the term “precedent” was common. Several nominees said they would take established law into consideration when ruling on a case, but once they were confirmed as judges, they turned around and voted to overturn, disregard, or limit precedent — rulings that would have eviscerated our fundamental rights, including the right to have an abortion.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts both described Roe as precedent during their confirmation hearings. However, both Alito and Roberts voted against protecting women’s access to abortion in the 2016 Whole Woman’s Health ruling.  

With the right to access safe, legal abortion on the line, the stakes are too high for dodging questions or for vague answers about precedent to be acceptable. One thing is clear: Americans want nominees to give clear answers and go on the record when it comes to Roe v. Wade. 

Statement from Dawn Laguens, Executive Vice President, Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

There’s too much at stake to accept non-committal answers from Kavanaugh on whether he believes we have the right to access abortion in this country. The balance of the Supreme Court and the right to safe, legal abortion is at stake. Donald Trump pledged to only appoint justices who would ‘automatically’ overturn Roe v. Wade. Brett Kavanaugh must assure the American people that he believes that the U.S. Constitution protects the individual right of all people to make personal decisions about their bodies — including the right to have an abortion. The American people do not want to see the Senate let Kavanaugh get away with sidestepping this question.

Watch the full video here.  

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Planned Parenthood Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Action Fund engages in educational and electoral activity, including voter education, grassroots organizing, and legislative advocacy.