Trump's Supreme Court Pick Slammed At NYC Rally

UNION SQUARE, NY — Politicians and more than 100 activists decried Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court and called for stronger abortion-rights protections in state law at a Union Square rally Tuesday afternoon. The protesters, including Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, cast Kavanaugh as a threat to reproductive rights that a conservative-leaning court could trample if he's confirmed.

“We must fight like hell in New York and across the country to preserve Roe vs. Wade so that no woman will ever feel compelled to use something like this on herself again,” Nixon told the crowd, holding up a wire coat hanger as a symbol of dangerous abortions women performed on themselves.

President Donald Trump nominated Kavanaugh on Monday to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement about two weeks ago.

Trump said Kavanaugh, a federal appeals court judge, “has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law.”

But Democratic New York lawmakers and liberal advocates argue his conservative track record could lead the court to overturn or further weaken Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that said the right to have an abortion was protected by the Constitution. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said she would vote against Kavanaugh's confirmation and called on her fellow senators to do the same.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whom Nixon is challenging, held two rallies Tuesday demanding the Republican-controlled state Senate reconvene and pass the Reproductive Health Act, which would update New York's abortion protections and move them from the criminal law to the public health law.

Supporters of the bill say it would codify Roe v. Wade, keeping abortion rights alive if the case is diminished or overturned outright. The Democratic-controlled Assembly passed it in March, but it narrowly failed a Senate Health Committee vote in May.

Cuomo said Republican senators have privately said they're "pro-choice" but have not let the bill come up for a vote.

"We need that law," Cuomo said Tuesday at a Long Island rally. "We have to call to question and we have to say to the Republican senators who have been having it both ways for too long, 'That's over.'"

But Nixon and other Democratic candidates for state office blamed Cuomo for the bill being stalled. They said he hasn't pushed for it aggressively enough and enabled the Independent Democratic Conference — a now-disbanded bloc of eight Democrats who had an alliance with Republicans — which some accused of blocking the measure.

"Many states are lapping us, and it is embarrassing that we do not have a sanctuary reproductive state in New York," said Alessandra Biaggi, who is challenging Democratic Sen. Jeff Klein, the IDC's former leader, in the Sept. 13 primary.

Nixon also put out a campaign video Tuesday attacking Cuomo's record on reproductive rights.

The governor reportedly brokered a deal that led the IDC to rejoin the mainline Democrats in April. The Senate didn't have the votes until that month to codify the Roe ruling "in part because there has never been a 100% pro-choice Democratic conference until now," said Dani Lever, Cuomo's press secretary, in a statement.

"Cynthia Nixon can produce and star in as many silly, fact-free videos as she wants," Cuomo campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said in a statement. "The governor is focused on uniting Democrats to fight against Donald Trump and his destructive anti-woman agenda."

Senate GOP spokeswoman Candice Giove — who formerly worked for Klein and the IDC — said Democrats have also been lax in advancing the Reproductive Health Act.

"Dems now use women's health as a political football even though Roe is the law of the land," Giove tweeted Tuesday. "The Dems only moved RHA in election years."

(Lead image: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon holds a wire coat hanger while speaking at a rally on Tuesday against Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. Photo by Noah Manskar/Patch)