Sometimes the world changes in a moment. One of those moments came last week, when Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement.
It had already been a very bad week with the Supreme Court. We’d had some horrendous decisions. The Court said states can’t prevent fake anti-abortion outfits from preying on women who need abortion care — that bias and religious bigotry can shape our asylum law — that unions will be weaker, despite the fact that they enhance safety and economic security for millions.
Then this retirement left us looking squarely at the possibility of a U.S. Supreme Court that will take away the fundamental women’s rights, civil rights, LGBTQ and immigrant rights that we have long relied on the courts to protect. We could lose our right to privacy and abortion, to fair and equal treatment at school and work, and to live and love freely.
It’s an understatement to say this is a scary moment for the country. All our rights are now on the line.
A president with no mandate to reshape our courts — who the majority of voters opposed in the presidential election — is now poised to do just that. We all need to send President Trump a message: We don’t share your sexist, racist, anti-immigrant, anti-worker agenda. Your promise to appoint only justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade was a disgrace. We won’t let you take away our constitutional right to abortion and our access to abortion care.
America is counting on the Senate to prevent that from happening. We have an election in less than five months and no nominee should be considered until a new Senate is seated next January.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stole a Supreme Court seat from President Obama and senators must hold him accountable. He can’t be allowed to change the rules every time it suits his agenda.
We will be looking to every fair-minded senator to reject any nominee who will roll back our rights and freedoms: our right to choose abortion, our right to privacy, women’s rights, workers’ rights, civil rights, immigrants’ rights, LGBTQ rights, voting rights and more. We deserve a Supreme Court that protects us all, not just the wealthy and powerful.
Democracy is messy, and it’s hard. But this is a moment of truth. We all need to step up, now, because our future is on the line.
This is going to be the fight of our lives — and it’s a fight we simply have to win.
