“For the Senate Judiciary Committee to move forward with a vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh this week, without pausing for a thorough investigation of the allegations of sexual violence, would be a gross injustice and an insult to women. This cannot be business as usual. The Republican majority must halt the confirmation process and address these very serious charges now.

Christine Blasey Ford faced a terribly difficult decision and it was not her choice to be in the spotlight. Only reluctantly — and with great courage — did she share her deeply painful personal experience, after she realized that her privacy was no longer secure. She deserves protections from the kinds of vicious, personal attacks that so many other victims of sexual violence face.

The Senate’s confirmation of Justice Clarence Thomas, and the way members treated Anita Hill, stands as one of the most disgraceful episodes in our country’s modern history — a stark misuse of male political power. Senators must get it right this time. Women deserve nothing less.”