Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt

WASHINGTON–This changes everything. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement opens uncharted, unimagined territory for women’s rights.

Now, Donald Trump will have the chance to radically alter the Supreme Court for generations to come. Never mind repealing every initiative of the Obama Administration-the Trump Supreme Court could erase programs going back to the New Deal!

But it will start with Roe v. Wade. Donald Trump’s next Court pick will promise to repeal Roe and block access to women’s reproductive health care. And starting today, Donald Trump and his enablers in the Republican party will make every conversation about the Supreme Court.

Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell think they’ve just handed themselves a winning hand in the next election, but this week’s primary results dramatize how determined women are to elect candidates with strong, feminist priorities. Now, those voters have an even greater incentive to build a blue wave in November.

NOW is saddened and alarmed by Anthony Kennedy’s retirement, but we are more determined than ever to strengthen our grassroots movement and win overdue victories for women. We’re calling on Trump to hold on proposing nominations and urge the Senate to not approve any nominations until after this election. It’s time to hold the Trump administration accountable and do what’s right.

Contact

Dee Donavanik, press@now.org, (951) 547-1241