Sen. Merkley Decries President Trump's Supreme Court Pick: "Everything We Feared Is On the Line"
Oregon's U.S. senators tonight issued instant denunciations of President Donald Trump's selection of Brett Kavanaugh as his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying the conservative judge would seek to overturn legal abortion and restrict voting rights.
"We knew that if Donald Trump picked anyone off his list of extremists, fundamental rights would be at stake," said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). "Now, the decision has arrived, and everything we feared is on the line."
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) focused his remarks on reproductive rights.
"Tonight the president begins a forced march back to the days when women's health care choices were made by government," Wyden said. "There can be no mistaking Trump's Supreme Court nomination for anything but what it is: a direct attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade."
Merkley also raised the specter of Kavanaugh giving conservatives the victory they have long sought: the end of federal protections for women seeking abortions and contraception.
Read more: http://www.wweek.com/news/2018/07/09/sen-jeff-merkley-decries-president-trumps-supreme-court-pick-everything-we-feared-is-on-the-line/