Editor’s note: This commentary is by Lucy Leriche, who is vice president of public policy for the Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund. This piece was first published in the Times Argus.
With Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States, the right to access abortion safely and legally in this country is on the line.
Brett Kavanaugh has already ruled to limit access to safe, legal abortion. Just last year, he attempted to use his judicial power to prevent a young undocumented woman in U.S. custody from accessing a safe, legal abortion. Had Kavanaugh had his way, the government would have delayed the young woman’s abortion by more than one month, pushing her into the second trimester. He’s also ruled against women’s access to birth control: Kavanaugh authored the dissenting opinion in the D.C. Circuit’s 2015 ruling on the Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit, writing that he believed employers have the right to deny employees health insurance coverage for birth control. He has also been vetted and approved by the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation — two organizations devoted to, among other things, overturning Roe v. Wade. It is clear that Kavanaugh is ideologically extreme and would threaten our rights.
Anti-abortion groups are already declaring this as their opportunity to overturn Roe v. Wade. At least 20 states are poised to automatically seek to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade were overturned. Not only that, but this open seat is an invitation for hostile states to pursue additional restrictions and bans. It gives fuel to the politicians across the country who have not been shy about seeing this as their opportunity to make access to abortion illegal in this country. Just look at the extreme bans politicians have enacted in Iowa and Mississippi. In fact, in the first quarter of 2018, 308 new abortion restrictions were introduced in 37 states.
All of this goes against what Americans actually want: 72 percent of Americans — including a majority of Democrats, independents and Republicans — do not want to see Roe V. Wade overturned.
Abortion rights for women is about having the right to self-determination. There is no better way to illustrate that than in the words of a woman in Vermont: “38 years ago I came to Planned Parenthood, a scared, pregnant 17-year-old girl. I was able to terminate a pregnancy I was not ready for. I have had an amazing life since then. I went to college, graduate school, and post-grad school. Finally, at 43 years old, and when I was ready, I had my son!”
Women have the right to live life on their terms. We cannot allow our children and grandchildren to have fewer rights than we do. Abortion has been legal in this country for more than 45 years – most people today have only known a country where they have the right to access abortion.
In Vermont, support for abortion access is on par with the national sentiment at 70 percent. We are incredibly fortunate to have elected officials – Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Congressman Peter Welch – who stand by the vast majority of Vermonters who support protecting legal access to abortion.
While we do not have a battle at the state level that many other Americans do, Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund is often asked by Vermonters what they can do. We tell them to reach out to their family and friends in other states to urge them to contact their senators, asking them to oppose Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination. We tell them they can participate in one of our events where we work the phones to contact residents in other states, reminding them to call or write their senators.
We need all hands on deck to protect our rights to abortion access. If Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed, the rights and access to abortion we’ve spent decades fighting for could disappear.
