4 Things to Look for at Trump Supreme Court Nominee Kavanaugh's Senate Hearing
Abortion
A major point of contention over the Kavanaugh nomination is the circuit court judge's position on abortion and whether or not he will be key to the overturning of the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade.
"There's no way to sugarcoat it: with this nomination, the constitutional right to access legal abortion in this country is on the line," stated Dawn Laguens, executive vice president for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, earlier this year.
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"The balance of the Supreme Court is at stake — we cannot allow it to be tilted against the constitutional right to access abortion. Generations of women, especially women of color, will be affected."
Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser stated in July that Kavanaugh "is an experienced, principled jurist with a strong record of protecting life and constitutional rights."
"President Trump has made another outstanding choice in nominating Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, keeping his promise to nominate only originalist judges to the court," said Dannenfelser.
As the issue of abortion has been a major point of past hearings on Supreme Court nominees, questions on how Kavanaugh would rule on an abortion case will likely turn up.
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine held a one-on-one meeting with Kavanaugh in August, telling reporters that the nominee had told her that he believed Roe v. Wade was "settled law."
"We talked about whether he considered Roe to be settled law. He said that he agreed with what [Chief Justice John Roberts] said at his nomination hearing, in which he said that it was settled law," said Collins.
