Maine Sen. Susan Collins has received thousands of coat hangers from abortion activists who want her to vote against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Though a Republican, Collins supports abortion and has not made a final decision about President Donald Trump’s second nominee to the high court. With Republicans holding just a two-member majority in the U.S. Senate, every vote counts.
Abortion activists have been targeting Collins and several other swing-vote senators with huge spending campaigns. The Guardian reports they recently sent Collins’ office about 3,000 coat hangers to pressure her to oppose Kavanaugh.
The coat hanger is a symbol of the dangerous illegal abortions that occurred prior to Roe v. Wade. Abortion activists claim thousands of women died every year from illegal abortions, but this is false.
Pro-abortion groups have labeled Kavanaugh a “serious threat” to “women’s right to safe, legal abortion,” while national pro-life leaders have expressed high hopes for Kavanaugh and the future of unborn babies’ rights.
Collins has said she is concerned about Kavanaugh’s views on Roe v. Wade, but she also has praised him as a highly qualified, fair judge.
“I always wait until after the hearings are complete before making a decision, and I’ll do so in this case as well,” Collins told reporters.
“I have voted for Justice Sotomayor, and I’ve also voted for Justice Alito,” she continued. “I respect the fact that one of my jobs is to determine whether or not the candidate is qualified for the court, has the requisite experience, and has the judicial temperament, as well as respect for precedence.”
The AP reports abortion activists also are vowing to fight against Collins in the next election if she votes in favor of Kavanaugh’s confirmation. They already announced plans to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a pro-abortion opponent if she does, according to the report.
SIGN THE PETITION: Vote to Confirm Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh
Collins and fellow pro-abortion Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski are key swing votes. Both have pro-abortion voting records, though they did vote to confirm President Donald Trump’s first nominee to the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch.
Planned Parenthood has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to pressure Collins, Murkowski and several moderately pro-life Democrats to oppose him.
Collins told The Guardian that she was “shocked when many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle took a position on the nominee before his identity was even known. That’s just extraordinary.”
Senate hearings on Kavanaugh began last week with repeated interruptions by protesters. Several prominent abortion activists were among the 70 protesters arrested Sept.4 during the opening hearing, according to the AP.
Kavanaugh has served on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for D.C. for more than a decade, where he developed an extensive record of protecting religious liberty and enforcing restrictions on abortion. Pro-life leaders believe he would do the same on the Supreme Court.
The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on his confirmation this fall.
ACTION: Contact Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.
