ABORTION/NOMINATION/SENATE/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “U.S. President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh considers the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion to be settled law, Republican Senator Susan Collins said on Tuesday [8-21-18], but Democrats were deeply skeptical. Collins, a Republican who backs abortion rights and is considered a key vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination, spoke to reporters after meeting the judge in her office. Settled law refers to a legal position that has been consistently upheld by judges, although it can still be overturned. Speculation has centered on whether Kavanaugh, a federal appeals court judge with a solidly conservative judicial record, would vote to overturn a woman’s right to abortion. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who met Kavanaugh separately later Tuesday, said the judge did not make it clear whether Roe v. Wade was correctly decided, which Schumer said was the important question that needed to be answered.”
–Susan Cornwell, “U.S. senators quibble over Kavanaugh stance on abortion,” Reuters, August 21, 2018 10:10 am