Supreme Court Nominee Kavanaugh Tells Senator Susan Collins: "Roe Is Settled Law"

Pro-life and anti-abortion advocates demonstrate in front of the Supreme Court early Monday, June 25, 2018. The justices are expected to hand down decisions today as the court's term comes to a close. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

On Tuesday, Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh met with Senator Susan Collins of Maine to discuss a wide range of topics.

The start of the judge’s confirmation hearings, September 4th, is only two weeks away. In the lead-up to those hearings, Pro-aborts have been raging about Roe v Wade and how a court that includes Kavanaugh could signal doom for their most treasured “right”.

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At this point, the hysteria is full-blown, as actress Alyssa Milano proudly displays.

In more serious corners of the world, actual discussions about precedent are taking place.

As reported, the meeting between the two included an agreement from Kavanaugh that Roe is settled.

Collins met with Kavanaugh behind closed doors for more than two hours Tuesday morning. She described the meeting as productive and informative and said the wide-ranging discussion touched on precedent and the application of the legal principle stare decisis to abortion cases, executive power, the District of Columbia v. Heller decision and which judges he admires and feels he’s most similar to.

“We talked about whether he considered Roe to be settled law,” Collins told reporters. “He said that he agreed with what [Chief] Justice [John] Roberts said at his nomination hearing in which he said that it was settled law.”

Senator Collins remains undecided about her vote and while she admits to being encouraged by the meeting, will wait and see what unfolds during the scheduled hearings.

For those of us who are pro-life conservatives, overturning Roe v Wade/PP v Casey would be a monumental decision that is sure to change the course of our nation.

As you remember, Justice Gorsuch made similar statements during his March 2017 confirmation hearings when he told Senator Durbin that Roe was “the law of the land.” But neither Kavanaugh’s nor Gorsuch’s declarations should cause pro-life Americans to lose all hope.

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Stating that an earlier Supreme Court decision is settled doesn’t mean it isn’t a garbage decision to begin with nor does it remove the possibility of reconsideration in the future. One example is Brown v Board of Education which overruled the earlier, landmark decision in Plessy v Ferguson. And perhaps that is why Collins, and other lawmakers like her, remain unsure about supporting President Trump’s second nominee to the highest court in the land.

The upcoming hearings are sure to be explosive.

Even if abortion precedent is somehow overturned by the court, that will only be the beginning. Shifting a culture of death into one of life will still take decades of work long after nine justices decide.

Kimberly Ross is a senior contributor at RedState and a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

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