The state director of Planned Parenthood in Alaska has resorted to criticizing the religious faith of President Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court – Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
In an effort to rally fellow pro-abortion activists, Jessica Cler sent a Sept. 26 email asserting “health care access, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, civil rights, worker’s rights, economic security, and our democracy” were all at stake with the nomination of Barrett.
Cler asked abortion advocates to urge Sen. Lisa Murkowski to oppose Trump’s nominee.
“Barrett is an anti-abortion member of a patriarchal Catholic group called People of Praise and has called Roe an “erroneous decision” and a “dramatic shift.”
People of Praise is an ecumenical group made up of Catholics and Protestants. It focuses on living in community, supporting marriages, education and serving the poor. Barrett’s membership in the group has been used by her opponents to try and paint her as a religious zealot.
Cler called Barrett “out of step with popular opinion” and a threat to the LGBT political agenda. She said abortion and LGBTQ rights groups need Murkowksi’s leadership.
“This is a lifetime appointment,” Cler said. “Adding Barrett to the Supreme Court will change our lives for decades, so we must speak up for our futures because we are strong and united in defense of Justice Ginsberg’s legacy.”
Murkowski has waffled on whether she would vote for a Trump nominee in the lead up to the presidential election. Earlier this month, she said she would not, claiming it was unfair because the Republican controlled Senate refused to vote on President Obama’s nominee in the months before the 2016 election.
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Murkowski has since walked back this stance. On Sept. 26 she affirmed that Trump has the constitutional right to nominate a Supreme Court judge to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“For weeks I have stated that I do not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to an election,” Murkowski said. “But today the President exercised his constitutional authority to nominate an individual to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I welcome the opportunity to meet with the Supreme Court nominee, just as I did in 2016.”
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Click here to contact Murkowski regarding a vote on Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court.
