Mazie Hirono: “I rise today in opposition to the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States. Based on an…”

“I rise today in opposition to the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States. Based on an in-depth examination of his legal career, academic writings, and judicial record, I conclude that he has a long pattern of misstating facts and misapplying the law in order to further his partisan political agenda. His partisan, ideologically driven agenda is particularly troubling in cases involving women's intimate personal decisions. Roe v. Wade and its progeny represent an acknowledgment in American law and life that women ought to have control over whether and when to bear children, but it is more than that. As Justice O'Connor explained in Casey v. Planned Parenthood, ``It is a promise of the Constitution that there is a realm of personal liberty which the government may not enter.'' The Supreme Court's jurisprudence on reproductive rights is based on case law going back decades that has assured Americans the right to educate their children as they see fit; to marry anyone, no matter their race; and to decide whether to use contraception inside or outside of marriage. It is part of a jurisprudence of privacy and autonomy that became a bedrock of American society that we have all relied on to create families, choose professions, and raise children.…”