“The retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy puts all our rights on the line. We are now 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.

This is a scary moment for the country. President Trump has no mandate to reshape our courts; the majority of voters opposed him in the presidential election and do not share his sexist, racist, anti-immigrant, anti-worker agenda. His promise to appoint only justices who will overturn Roe v. Wade is a disgrace. If he is able to make good on that promise, we would lose our constitutional right to abortion and our access to abortion. In fact, another justice in the mode of Justice Gorsuch would put all our civil rights and liberties — and our country’s progress toward equality for all — in grave peril.

The Senate must step up and 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 in January. And every senator must pledge to reject any nominee who will roll back our cherished rights and freedoms. We deserve a Supreme Court that protects us all, not just the wealthy and powerful.

In the years ahead, the Supreme Court will issue decisions that protect or destroy our right to choose abortion, our right to privacy, women’s rights, workers’ rights, civil rights, immigrants’ rights, LGBTQ rights, voting rights and more. Justice Kennedy’s replacement will be positioned to either protect or undermine our precious rights and liberties. We are counting on the Senate to step up.”