>>> FOR OUR SPECIAL REPORT TONIGHT LET’S BEGIN WITH AN
IMPORTANT FACT.
IMPORTANT FACT. THERE’S NO PART OF AMERICAN
GOVERNMENT WHERE DONALD TRUMP IS
HAVING A LONGER TERM IMPACT THAN
ON THE COURTS WHICH DECIDE THE
LIMITS ON YOUR RIGHT TO SPEAK,
BEAR ARMS OR MAKE PERSONAL
DECISIONS ABOUT YOUR BODY AS SO
MANY ACTIVISTS EMPHASIZED DURING
THE WOMEN’S MARCH.
BUT UNLIKE THE THINGS THAT
DONALD TRUMP CAN DO ALL BY
HIMSELF LIKE A TRAVEL BAN OR
LIKE HIS RESPONSE TO
CHARLOTTESVILLE, TRUMP CANNOT
RESHAPE THE COURTS ALONE.
HE NEEDS THE SENATE’S APPROVAL.
SO IN OUR POLITICS RIGHT NOW TO
IGNORE THAT FACT OR TO MOVE ON
TO THE NEXT TRUMP SCANDAL AND
LOSE TRACK OF HOW MANY SENATORS
ARE ACTUALLY HELPING HIM WOULD
BE A MISTAKE WITH REAL
CONSEQUENCES, ESPECIALLY AT A
TIME LIKE THIS, AS THE SUPREME
COURT IS SHIFTING FURTHER RIGHT
ON CHOICE AND ABORTION RIGHT
BEFORE OUR EYES.
SO CONSIDER THE FACT ABOUT ONE
OF TRUMP’S KEY ALLIES FOR HIS
SUPREME COURT PICKS, REPUBLICAN
SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS WHO HAS
LONG CLAIMED TO BE A PRO CHOICE
MODERATE WHICH IS ALSO GOOD
POLITICS FOR HER IN A STATE
WHERE A HUGE MAJORITY, 64%,
BELIEVE ABORTION SHOULD BE
LEGAL.
LEGAL. FROM COLLINS’ VERY FIRST SENATE
RUN SHE’S DECLARED HERSELF PRO
CHOICE, A SUPPORTER OF ROE V.
WADE, AND SHE’S ARGUED THAT IS A
CONTRAST AGAINST HER OPPONENTS.
>> I AM PRO CHOICE, UNLIKE JOE
BRENNAN.
BRENNAN. I’VE ALWAYS BEEN PRO CHOICE.
>> DO YOU AGREE WITH A WOMAN’S
RIGHT TO CHOOSE?
>> YES.
>> YES. >> SUSAN COLLINS?
>> YES.
>> YES. >> I BELIEVE VERY MUCH THAT ROE
V. WADE IS SETTLED LAW.
I’M VERY PROUD OF MY STRONG PRO
CHOICE RECORD.
CHOICE RECORD. I’VE BEEN ENDORSED BY PLANNED
PARENTHOOD.
PARENTHOOD. >> THAT WAS THEN BUT THAT RECORD
IS NOW THE PROBLEM.
IF THERE’S ONE THING THAT PRO
CHOICE AND PRO LIFE ADVOCATES
AGREE ON IS THAT THIS ALL COMES
DOWN TO THE SUPREME COURT WHICH
HAS THE FINAL SAY ON WHETHER
FIRST THERE’S A RIGHT TO
ABORTION AND SECOND WHETHER
WOMEN HAVE ACCESS TO DOCTORS WHO
PERFORM THEM.
PERFORM THEM. TAKE EITHER OF THOSE AWAY, THE
RIGHT IN ROE V. WADE OR THE
DOCTORS IN ANY GIVEN STATE AND
THAT CHOICE IS PRACTICALLY GONE.
THAT’S WHY PRO CHOICE PROTESTORS
WERE GATHERING THERE.
YOU REMEMBER AT COLLINS’ OFFICE
LAST FALL, URGING HER TO LIVE UP
TO HER PLEDGES ABOUT THIS ISSUE
AND OPPOSE BRETT KAVANAUGH WHO
WAS WIDELY EXPECTED TO BE A VOTE
AGAINST ABORTION AND ABORTION
ACCESS AT THE TIME.
NOW, IN A SIGN THAT COLLINS
DIDN’T WANT TO BE SEEN AS ANY
KIND OF AUTOMATIC YES FOR HIM
AND THAT SHE WANTED TO TELEGRAPH
SOME KIND OF UNCERTAINTY ABOUT
KAVANAUGH, SENATOR COLLINS MADE
A POINT OF JOINING A HANDFUL OF
OTHER SENATORS WHO SAID THEY
WERE UNDECIDED SWING VOTES ABOUT
CONFIRMING KAVANAUGH.
CONFIRMING KAVANAUGH. THEY REMAINED UNDECIDED DURING
KAVANAUGH’S TENSE AND AT TIMES
ANGRY TESTIMONY ON EVERYTHING
FROM THESE ABORTION PRECEDENTS
TO THE MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS HE
FACED FROM DR. CHRISTINE BLASEY
FORD.
FORD. >> THIS IS A CIRCUS.
THE CONSEQUENCES WILL EXTEND
LONG PAST MY NOMINATION.
REVENGE ON BEHALF OF THE
CLINTONS FOR YOUR COORDINATED
AND WELL FUNDED EFFORT TO
DESTROY MY GOOD NAME AND DESTROY
MY FAMILY WILL NOT DRIVE ME OUT.
YOU’RE ASKING ABOUT BLACKOUT, I
DON’T KNOW.
DON’T KNOW. HAVE YOU?
HAVE YOU? >> AFTER ALL THAT AND THOSE
HEARINGS, COLLINS CONTINUED,
REMEMBER, TO DELAY HER DECISION
ON KAVANAUGH.
ON KAVANAUGH. THIS WAS LONGER THAN VIRTUALLY
EVERY OTHER SENATOR, SLOWLY
BUILDING SUSPENSE FOR A BIG
SENATE FLOOR SPEECH WHERE
COLLINS AGAIN CAST HERSELF AS A
DEFENDER OF ABORTION RIGHTS.
SHE SOLEMNLY TOLD OUR SENATORS
HOW KAVANAUGH WAS GOING TO KEEP
THE ROE V. WADE PRECEDENT.
THE QUESTION IS WHETHER THE
JUDGE WOULD NARROW THE QUESTIONS
LIKE HIS BACKERS EXPECTED.
>> HE NOTED REPEATEDLY THAT ROE
HAD BEEN UPHELD, DESCRIBING IT
AS PRECEDENT.
AS PRECEDENT. WOULD IT BE SUFFICIENT TO
OVERTURN A LONG ESTABLISHED
PRECEDENT, HE EMPHATICALLY SAID
NO.
NO. I WILL VOTE TO CONFIRM JUDGE
KAVANAUGH.
KAVANAUGH. COLLINS’ VOTE HELPED ENSURE THAT
TRUMP COULD PUT KAVANAUGH ON THE
SUPREME COURT WHILE ALSO
CLAIMING, AS YOU JUST SAW, SHE
CLAIMED HIS WORDS ASSURED HER
THAT THESE ABORTION PRECEDENTS
WERE SAFE AND WOULDN’T CHANGE.
WAS SHE RIGHT?
WHEN WILL WE KNOW?
WHY AM I TALKING TO YOU ABOUT
THIS RIGHT NOW, THIS IMPORTANT
ISSUE?
ISSUE? WHEN WILL WE KNOW?
IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG.
THIS IS IN THE NEWS RIGHT NOW
BECAUSE JUSTICE KAVANAUGH JUST
VOTED TO BACK A VERY RESTRICTIVE
STATE LAW TO ELIMINATE ACCESS TO
ABORTION FOR MOST PEOPLE WHO
LIVE IN LOUISIANA, MAKING
ABORTION UNAVAILABLE EVERYWHERE
THERE BUT A SINGLE CLINIC,
ACCORDING TO ABORTION RIGHTS
EXPERTS AND ADVOCATES IN THE
STATE.
STATE. THIS WAS CONSIDERED A VERY
SIGNIFICANT CASE.
SIGNIFICANT CASE. >> THE SUPREME COURT HAS WEIGHED
IN ON ITS MOST SIGNIFICANT
ABORTION CASE SINCE CONSERVATIVE
BRETT KAVANAUGH JOINED THE
COURT.
COURT. >> THIS IS ONE OF THE CONCERNS
ABOUT HIM FOR LIBERALS WITH
KAVANAUGH ON THE COURT.
>> THE DISSENTING OPINION CAME
FROM JUSTICE BRETT KAVANAUGH.
>> KAVANAUGH TAKING A POSITION
IN THE MINORITY AGAINST THE
CURRENT PRECEDENT PROTECTING
CHOICE AND THIS IS SOMETHING
HE’S DOING AS SOON AS HE JOINED
THE COURT.
THE COURT. NOTE, THAT’S WHAT HIS
CONSERVATIVE BACKERS EXPECTED.
AND NOTE, THAT’S WHAT HIS
LIBERAL CRITICS EXPECTED.
SO IT APPEARS ONE OF THE ONLY
POLICY EXPERTS IN THE COUNTRY
WHO WOULD CLAIM TO BE SURPRISED
BY THIS RULING WOULD BE SUSAN
COLLINS.
COLLINS. IF KAVANAUGH HAD HIS WAY, THAT
CONTROVERSIAL RULING THAT I JUST
DESCRIBED DRASTICALLY
DESCRIBED DRASTICALLY RESTRICTING CHOICE, THAT WOULD
BE LAW TODAY, AND IF THAT
APPROACH WORKED IN THAT STATE,
IT WOULD BE OPEN SEASON IN MANY
OTHER CONSERVATIVE STATES.
THE ONLY REASON THIS IS SO
IMPORTANT, THE ONLY REASON THIS
IS NOT LAW IS THAT OTHER
JUSTICES INCLUDING A DIFFERENT
REPUBLICAN APPOINTEE, JOHN
ROBERTS, VOTED THE OTHER WAY.
ROBERTS SIDING WITH SEVERAL
DEMOCRATIC APPOINTED JUSTICES TO
BLOCK THIS LAW UNDER -- YOU SEE
WHERE WE’RE GOING, UNDER THE ROE
PRECEDENT THAT COLLINS HAS
DISCUSSED SO MUCH.
LET’S LOOK AT THE JUSTICES WHO
VOTED WITH KAVANAUGH.
THIS IS SO IMPORTANT.
FOUR OF THEM THERE, SO THEY’RE
NOW ONE VOTE SHY OF A MAJORITY
TO DO THIS KIND OF THING, TO
RESTRICT ABORTION DOCTORS IN THE
UNITED STATES.
UNITED STATES. THOMAS, ALITO AND GORSUCH WITH
KAVANAUGH.
KAVANAUGH. NOTE, SENATOR COLLINS HAS SOME
EXPERIENCE WITH A PATTERN HERE.
SHE BACKED TRUMP AND VOTED TO
CONFIRM GORSUCH AS WELL AS
KAVANAUGH, JUST LIKE SHE VOTED
TO CONFIRM ALITO.
AS FOR THOMAS, THE FOURTH VOTE,
SHE WASN’T EVEN IN OFFICE YET.
NOW, THERE ARE POTENTIAL
LEGITIMATE ARGUMENTS FOR THAT
KIND OF VOTING RECORD.
FOR PRO LIFE CANDIDATES THE
ANSWER IS, YEAH, THESE ARE THE
PRO LIFE JUDGES THEY WANT.
FOR TRADITIONALISTS, TO BE FAIR,
THE ANSWER IS YEAH, BUT THE
SENATE VETS JUDGES AND SHOULDN’T
TRY TO PREENGINEER THEIR VOTES
ON THE COURT.
THAT’S A DIFFERENT DEFENSE.
SENATOR COLLINS CLAIMS NEITHER
OF THOSE DEFENSES.
SHE STILL CLAIMS EVEN NOW THAT
SHE’S DOING HER PART TO KEEP THE
COURT PRO CHOICE AGAINST ALL
THIS EVIDENCE.
THIS EVIDENCE. RESPONDING TO KAVANAUGH’S NEW
OPINION, SHE CITES THIS AS A,
QUOTE, VERY CAREFUL DISSENT, THE
IDEA HE WOULD STILL REPEAL ROE
IS, QUOTE, ABSURD.
IS IT?
IS IT? WE ASKED SENATOR COLLINS’ OFFICE
WHETHER POINT BLANK SHE VIEWS
KAVANAUGH’S RULING AS A
LIMITATION ON ABORTION ACCESS
WHICH IT IS.
SHE DID NOT REPLY TO THOSE
QUESTIONS TODAY.
QUESTIONS TODAY. BUT IF LAST FALL ANYONE WAS
UNCLEAR HOW THEN JUDGE KAVANAUGH
WOULD APPROACH ABORTION LAWS ON
THE SUPREME COURT, THE ANSWER IS
NOW CLEAR.
NOW CLEAR. FACTS MATTER.
FACTS MATTER. OUR REPORT TONIGHT DOES NOT IN
ANY WAY PRETEND TO ADDRESS ALL
THE STRONGLY HELD PERSONAL,
MORAL, AND RELIGIOUS BELIEFS ON
ABORTION IN THE SENATOR ACROSS
OUR NATION.
OUR NATION. BUT IT DOES REVEAL THAT IN THIS
IMPORTANT DEBATE FULL OF PEOPLE
IN POWER AND OUT OF POWER
STANDING UP FOR THEIR VIEWS,
TAKING RISKS FOR THEIR VIEWS,
FIGHTING FOR YEARS FOR THEIR
VIEWS, SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS’
RECORD REVEALS HERSELF TO BE ON
AN UNUSUAL ISLAND WHERE HER
STATED VIEWS ARE OPENLY AND
BLATANTLY, REPEATEDLY
BLATANTLY, REPEATEDLY CONTRADICTED BY HER RECORD.
>> CANDIDATE FOR THIS IMPORTANT
POSITION WHO WOULD OVERTURN ROE
V. WADE WOULD NOT BE ACCEPTABLE