As the nation considers the very disturbing testimony presented to the Senate Judiciary Committee by Dr. Ford as well as Judge Kavanaugh’s angry response, it’s critical to remember that there have been many other concerns about Kavanaugh.
By no means are we minimizing the importance of Dr. Ford’s testimony, or of Judge Kavanaugh’s rage at the prospect of an investigation. Dr. Ford’s allegations halted the rush to Kavanaugh’s nomination and at last an investigation of some kind is taking place.
But we can’t forget that from the beginning, Kavanaugh’s nomination has posed problems for many advocacy organizations.
For example, here’s what the Human Rights Campaign staff posted on July 19, 2018 about Kavanaugh:
The next Supreme Court justice will shape civil and constitutional rights jurisprudence in the country for decades to come. In nominating Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump has followed through on his threat to nominate a justice who would undermine basic rights and freedoms.
His record is clear: Brett Kavanaugh poses a direct threat to LGBTQ equality, reproductive rights, affordable healthcare, immigrants’ rights, workers’ rights and so much more.
Kavanaugh’s major organizational supporters oppose women’s reproductive rights, marriage equality and sexual equality, while supporting gun rights:
- Focus on the Family
- Family Research Council
- Susan B. Anthony List
- National Right to Life Committee (NRLC)
- Concerned Women for America
- National Organization for Marriage (NOM)
- Breitbart
- National Rifle Association (NRA)
His major detractors include advocates for civil, immigrant, healthcare, labor, voting, LGBTQ, women’s and environmental rights:
- ACLU
- Alliance for Justice
- Center for American Progress
- Center for Biological Diversity
- Earthjustice
- Equality California
- Human Rights Campaign
- Immigrant Legal Resource Center
- Jobs With Justice
- NAACP
- National Council of Jewish Women
- National Lawyers Guild
- National Women’s Law Center
- Sierra Club
The concerns of these groups and many others center on analyses of Kavanaugh’s judicial record, like this one by CNN: Where Supreme Court Brett Kavanaugh Stands on Key Issues.
The article, which is definitely worth the read, focuses on Kavanaugh’s positions on Roe v Wade, abortion, executive branch authority, agency power and government regulation, religious liberty, gun rights, privacy and national security and net neutrality.
At HEAL California, our focus is decidedly on healthcare advocacy, and we find Kavanaugh’s positions on the Affordable Care Act, reproductive rights, the healthcare regulatory framework (and more) to be concerning.
An in-depth article by Kristen Rasmussen in the National Law Journal, Kavanaugh on Health Care: How Might He Rule as a Supreme Court Justice, examines his record with respect to the Affordable Care Act, Abortion, the FDA and Health Care Mergers. . . .again, worth the read.
Meanwhile, Health Leaders reported the following on Kavanaugh’s decisions in a July 2018 review:
- In 2011 Kavanaugh dissented when the DC Circuit Court held that the Individual Mandate was legal;
- In 2015 Kavanaugh concluded that mandatory contraceptive coverage violated religious employers’ rights;
- In 2017 Kavanaugh delayed an immigrant minor from getting an abortion, writing that the government has “permissible interests in favoring fetal life, protecting the best interests of a minor, and refraining from facilitating an abortion,”
These positions strongly suggest that Kavanaugh is no friend when it comes to protecting Americans’ access to health care.
Above Photo by Lorie Shaull
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