Friend,
Donald Trump just released a shortlist of Supreme Court nominees packed with ultraconservatives who have voiced extreme hostility to women's reproductive freedom – including Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton. Just after the list was released, Cotton despicably tweeted, "It's time for Roe v. Wade to go."
While this may be a desperate attempt by Trump to throw red meat to his base and boost his re-election odds, make no mistake: He is deadly serious and would follow through with such unqualified appointments to the highest court in the land. We cannot take this dangerous threat to our fundamental rights and our judicial system lightly. The prospect of a Republican victory in November is a five-alarm fire for reproductive freedom and the rule of law.
As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I've seen Trump and Mitch McConnell spend the last four years orchestrating a confirmation conveyor belt of extremist – and often unqualified and inexperienced – judges, including railroading Brett Kavanaugh's disgraceful appointment to the Supreme Court. I will fight as hard as ever against Trump's extremist judicial nominees. But with the very future of the Supreme Court and our rights on the line, I need to hear from you directly:
If Roe v. Wade were overturned, 25 million women would lose access to safe and legal abortion – and millions more would live with a cloud of uncertainty over their heads. Trump's attacks on abortion and reproductive healthcare are a real threat to women's dignity, economic freedom, physical well-being, and their very lives.
We simply can't afford another right-wing extremist Supreme Court justice who would attack a woman's fundamental right to make decisions about her own body. We can only imagine with horror what other basic freedoms would be stripped from our citizens were the nominees Trump has proposed to be on the court. I promise to keep doing everything I can to stop these radical nominees, but it's so important for me to hear where you stand.
Thank you,
Dick
