“Today’s vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is a painful low point for our country and our democracy. This confirmation is a travesty, particularly for women who now see our reproductive autonomy, access to health care, quest for equality and opportunity, hanging in the balance. From start to finish, the Senate Republican majority’s confirmation process has damaged the dignity and integrity of the Supreme Court and revealed the appalling state of our national leadership.

But we are also heartened by the extraordinary surge of activism across the country and the outpouring of support for survivors. Women of all backgrounds have come together and spoken out to protect our rights and freedoms. We are speaking our truth, and telling our stories, and demanding that survivors be heard and treated with dignity and respect. The tidal wave of activism now unleashed will not be turned back.

We will build on this activism in the fights ahead — fights that require us to be vigilant in protecting access to abortion and affordable health care; that demand equality in schools and workplaces; that continue our quest for genuine economic opportunity, fairness and justice for all people.

To those who have ignored women and who have turned their backs on our right to a secure and safe future — we will not forget. We will not be quiet. We are not going back. Women will take this energy to the ballot box. What happens next is up to us. Today, women stand poised to seize the pen that will write our history going forward.”