Organizations defending abortion rights and Obamacare are teaming up for a series of events in August to rally voter opposition to Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
Planned Parenthood and state advocates will host more than 80 events from Aug. 6-10 across the U.S., including in Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Seattle, holding phone banks and writing postcards to send to voters. They plan to put pressure on senators while they are back in town for the summer recess.
“If all the Americans who care about these issues make their voices heard we can and we will win this fight,” Kelley Robinson, national organizing director of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a call with reporters.
The organizations warn that Kavanaugh may be the deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that made abortion legal across the U.S., and that he may decide on a current case impacting Obamacare that would invalidate parts of the law.
It is not clear how Kavanaugh would rule in either situation, but should these rulings take place, the decision to legalize abortion would fall to states and health insurers in most states would be permitted to charge certain customers more based on their health status, or could deny them coverage.
Kavanaugh will need at least 50 votes to be confirmed, assuming a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Pence.
[More: Abortion rights groups quickly oppose Supreme Court nominee]
The organizations are putting pressure on centrist GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota all voted for Trump’s former nominee, Neil Gorsuch, and are running re-election in states that that voted for Trump. They are facing pressure to side with Democrats, but could still confirm Kavanaugh if Murkowski and Collins defect.
“The name of the game is clear: We have to get to 51 votes,” Robinson said. “To be honest with you, I’ll take any 51. We have to get there.”
The organizations did not cite a specific funding amount for the effort but said that it was in the “millions of dollars.” Others included in the effort were Iowa Citizen Action Network, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Alliance for Justice, and The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
They are hitting Kavanaugh, as well, over the fact that the National Archives has said they will not release his records from his time in the George W. Bush White House until the end of October. The Senate Judiciary Committee has said that it still plans to move forward on considering the nomination next month.
Brad Woodhouse, executive director of the pro-Obamacare group Protect Our Care, said on the call that the goal of the August events was to have senators understand the impact their votes could have even if they choose to vote in the affirmative.
“We feel like there are senators that need to feel this heat,” Woodhouse said.
