ABORTION/GOP/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s retirement announcement was less than a day old when liberal activists rallied on the steps of the Supreme Court on Thursday [6-28-18], invoking the names of two Republican senators who, they believe, hold the future of Roe v. Wade in their hands…Ms. Collins, of Maine, and Ms. Murkowski, of Alaska, are powerful — and rare — creatures in Washington: moderate Republican women who favor abortion rights and are unafraid to break with their party. Their no votes helped sink the Republican repeal of the Affordable Care Act last year; both objected vociferously to a provision that would have stripped funding from Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the women’s health and reproductive rights organization. Now, with President Trump’s pledge to nominate a ‘pro-life’ jurist to replace the retiring Justice Kennedy, the senators are under pressure as never before. Much like Justice Kennedy, they are swing votes — not in a court case, but in a coming confirmation battle that will shape the Supreme Court, and American jurisprudence, for generations to come.”
-Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “With Roe in the Balance, Two Republicans Hold High Court in Their Hands,” The New York Times online, June 28, 2018