| Dear Katy, An anti-abortion zealot has no place on the federal bench. The Senate Judiciary Committee has begun proceedings to confirm one of Donald Trump's extreme anti-abortion judicial nominees, Wendy Vitter.1 Vitter – a Republican anti-abortion operative – has tried only one federal case in her entire legal career. If the Senate confirms Vitter, it would empower a dangerously unqualified right-wing extremist who could use her power to undo decades of progress in the fight for reproductive freedom. We cannot allow that to happen. Tell the Senate: Stand with women. Block anti-abortion extremist Wendy Vitter's confirmation to the federal bench. Click here to sign the petition. Trump's anti-woman administration wants to end abortion in our lifetime. Since Trump took office:2,3,4 - He expanded the global gag rule, which restricts access to abortion and STI prevention in countries that receive U.S. foreign aid.
- His Department of Health and Human Services is trying to defund abortion providers like Planned Parenthood by restricting Medicare and Title X funding.
- Trump Republicans in Congress and state legislatures have also advanced unconstitutional abortion bans.
Federal courts have been the strongest line of defense against many of the country's most extreme anti-abortion laws. When North Dakota and Arkansas passed statewide abortion bans, federal courts stopped lawmakers from enforcing them.5 We cannot let Trump destroy this firewall by stacking the courts with right-wing Republicans like Wendy Vitter. Vitter has won awards for her anti-abortion extremism.6 She has used her platform as an attorney for the Catholic Church and wife of former right-wing senator David Vitter to spread dangerous lies that scare many women into carrying unwanted or life-endangering pregnancies to term. She once spoke on a panel called "Abortion Hurts Women" where she falsely linked abortion to breast cancer, violent death and mental illness.7 At an anti-abortion rally in Baton Rouge, Lousiana, she tried to discredit and demonize Planned Parenthood by accusing it of "killing over 150,000 females a year."8 We must make clear to every member of the Senate that there is no place on the federal bench for a Republican extremist who endangers women's lives by promoting junk science and anti-abortion propaganda. Speak out now to demand that Senate Democrats and Republicans of good conscience refuse to confirm Wendy Vitter. Tell the Senate: Stand with women. Block anti-abortion extremist Wendy Vitter's confirmation to the federal bench. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/block_vitter?t=7&akid=28623%2E12967895%2EZs-8i7 Thanks for speaking out to protect our courts, Nicole Regalado, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: - Nina Totenberg, "Judicial Nominee Wendy Vitter Gets Tough Questions On Birth Control And Abortion," NPR, April 11, 2018.
- Casey Quackenbush, "The Impact of President Trump's 'Global Gag Rule' on Women's Health is Becoming Clear," TIME, Feb. 4, 2018.
- Sarah McCammon, "Planned Parenthood Sues To Block Trump's 'Radical Shift' In Family Planning Program," NPR, May 2, 2018.
- Jonathan Swan and Caitlin Owens, "Trump weighs cutting Planned Parenthood's Title X funds," Axios, April 30, 2018.
- Julie Bosman and Mitch Smith, "Iowa Lawmakers Pass Abortion Bill With Roe v. Wade in Sights," The New York Times, May 2, 2018.
- Dana Singiser, "In a field of terrible judicial nominees, Wendy Vitter is exceptionally unfit," The Hill, April 11, 2018.
- Totenberg, "Judicial Nominee Wendy Vitter Gets Tough Questions On Birth Control And Abortion."
- Amanda Arnold, "Trump's Latest Judicial Nominee Said Planned Parenthood Kills '150,000 Females a Year,'" New York Magazine, April 11, 2018.
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