Just last fall, Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, used his judicial power to try to prevent a young, undocumented woman in U.S. custody from accessing the safe, legal abortion she had asked for.
The Trump administration blocked “Jane Doe,” who was detained in Texas, from accessing an abortion for over a month. Kavanaugh ruled in favor of allowing further delay. Fortunately, the full court on which Kavanaugh sits intervened and allowed her to access the health care she needed.
While Jane Doe was able to have the abortion, Kavanaugh’s actions show a disregard for the constitutional right to abortion and the human right of undocumented immigrants to health care and dignity. The Trump administration attempted to “run out the clock” until her pregnancy passed the 20-week mark – at which point abortion is banned in Texas – and Kavanaugh would have let that happen.
Supreme Court judges are appointed for life, which means that if Kavanaugh is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, there will be far-reaching effects on issues like reproductive rights, immigration rights, LGBTQ rights, gun reform, criminal justice reform, environmental protection, voting rights, and more – and not just for Trump’s presidential term, but for decades to come.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., or Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally.
