Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Talking Points: If Supreme Court Overturns Roe, GOP Might Not Have Anything Left To Offer Loyal Antiabortion Voters
The Washington Post: Brett Kavanaugh Could Shatter The Alliance Between The GOP And The Antiabortion Movement
Brett M. Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing is a triumphant moment for both the Republican Party and its social movement allies, especially antiabortion organizations. For years, these groups have built a strategic alliance with the GOP. This partnership centers on activists’ hope that Republican presidents would nominate Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade. After the first day of Kavanaugh’s hearings, the marriage between the Republican Party and the antiabortion movement seems closer than ever.But if a post-Kavanaugh court overturns Roe, this alliance could fracture, costing the GOP the loyalty of antiabortion voters. (Mary Ziegler, 9/4)
The Hill: 'Settled Law' Is Not Enough To Protect Roe V. Wade
At Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing, which gets underway today, you’ll hear buzzwords like “settled law,” the importance of “precedent,” and stare decisis — a Latin term meaning “to stand by things decided.” These terms are meant to sound reassuring — a commitment that a nominee won’t upend the status quo. But these phrases contain more lawyerly wiggle room than you might think. (Nancy Northup, 9/4)
Bloomberg: Brett Kavanaugh And The Second Amendment
President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court gives cause for concern — not least because of the nominee’s views on the Second Amendment. Senators should use this week’s confirmation hearings to question him closely on the weight he attaches to public safety when it comes to regulating guns. ...More than one-quarter of the U.S. population, for example, lives in places where “assault weapons” are banned. Kavanaugh appears committed to ending such local control, thereby forcing the NRA agenda on everyone, everywhere, in the U.S. (9/4)
