Kavanaugh: abortion "precedent on precedent"

Subscribe and share!    / @lifeandlibertyreport   --------------------------------------------------- TRANSCRIPT: SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: Roe v. Wade. Are you familiar with the case? JUDGE BRETT KAVANAUGH: I am, Senator. [laughter] [MUSIC: Can you hear the prayer of the children . . . ] KAVANAUGH: As elaborated upon in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a woman has a constitutional right, as interpreted by the Supreme Court and the Constitution, to obtain an abortion. [MUSIC: On bended knees . . .] SEN. SUSAN COLLINS: I would not support a nominee who demonstrated hostility to Roe v. Wade. [MUSIC: . . . in the shadow of an unknown room?] SEN. COLLINS: Protecting this right is important to me. [MUSIC: Empty eyes, with no more tears to cry . . .] JUDGE KAVANAUGH: Planned Parenthood v. Casey reaffirmed Roe, and did so on the basis of stare decisis. So, Casey becomes a precedent on precedent. SEN. COLLINS: Judge Kavanaugh . . . noted repeatedly that Roe had been upheld by Planned Parenthood v. Casey, describing it as "precedent on precedent." [MUSIC: . . . turning heavenward, toward the light.] JUDGE KAVANAUGH: Planned Parenthood v. Casey reaffirmed Roe, and did so by considering the stare decisis factors. So, Casey now becomes a precedent on precedent. [MUSIC: Will someone help me to see the morning light of one more day?] JUDGE KAVANAUGH: One of the important things to keep in mind about Roe v. Wade is that it has been reaffirmed many times over the past forty-five years. SEN. COLLINS: I asked Judge Kavanaugh whether the passage of time is relevant to following precedent. He said decisions become part of our legal framework with the passage of time, and that honoring precedent is essential to maintaining public confidence. [MUSIC: But if I should die before I wake, I pray my soul to take.] SEN. COLLINS: When I asked him, "Would it be sufficient to overturn a long-established precedent if five current justices believed that it was wrongly decided," he emphatically said “No.” [MUSIC: Can you feel the heart of the children, aching for home, for something of their very own?] SEN. COLLINS: Judge Kavanaugh and Chief Judge Merrick Garland voted the same way in ninety-three percent of the cases that they heard together. [PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Today I am nominating Chief Judge Merrick Brian Garland to join the Supreme Court.] [MUSIC: Reaching hands, with nothing to hold on to but hope for a better day, a better day.] SEN. COLLINS: Indeed, Chief Judge Garland joined in more than ninety-six percent of the majority opinions authored by Judge Kavanaugh, dissenting only once. [MUSIC: Will someone help me to feel the love again in my own land?] SEN. COLLINS: Republican presidents have appointed Justices O’Connor, Souter and Kennedy to the Supreme Court. These are the very three justices--Republican president appointed justices--who authored the Casey decision which reaffirmed Roe. [MUSIC: But if unknown roads lead away from home, give me loving arms, away from harm] SEN. COLLINS: To my knowledge, Judge Kavanaugh is the first Supreme Court nominee to express the view that precedent is not merely a practice and tradition, but rooted in Article III of our Constitution, itself. He believes set precedent is not just a judicial policy, it is constitutionally dictated. JUDGE KAVANAUGH: As I see it, the system of precedent comes from Article III, itself. JUDGE KAVANAUGH: Judges make decisions based on precedent. And precedent, therefore, as I read judicial power, has constitutional origins and a constitutional basis in the text of the Constitution. U.S. CONSTITUTION: No person shall be deprived of life without due process of law.