President Donald Trump's nomination of U.S. Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh is drawing criticism from those who fear he'll pave the way to overturn Roe v. Wade, the ruling that legalized abortion. Felicia Brown-Williams is with Planned Parenthood. They led rallies this week in Gulfport, Hattiesburg and Jackson to oppose the nomination. Speaking of Trump Williams says,
"He made his litmus test clear. He is only going to appoint biased judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade and strike down the Affordable Care Act. It would leave millions of people without access to healthcare including birth control, the very thing people need to prevent unintended pregnancies," said Williams.
Williams says Mississippi state has a law on the books that would go into effect should the U.S. Supreme Court strike down Roe v. Wade. Lucien Smith is chair of the state Republican Party. He says Mississippi does have what's referred to as a trigger law. Smith notes it was a House Democrat, Jamie Franks, who introduced the bill in 2007.
"Yes, if Roe were to be overturned, which I don't think is likely, you would see abortion no longer permitted in the State of Mississippi. The legislature under both parties has done the work that they can to make Mississippi one of the safest places in the nation if not the safest place to be an unborn child," said Smith.
Smith says the left was stirred-up to oppose any nomination made by Trump. He says Kavanaugh is an outstanding U.S. Supreme Court nominee and should be confirmed quickly. Felicia Brown-Williams is urging people to tell their U.S. Senators not to confirm the nominee. Planned Parenthood doesn't operate an abortion clinic in Mississippi. The only one in the state is in Jackson and independently operated.
