Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly has not yet announced whether he will support Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. A coalition of anti-abortion groups held a press conference outside his Evansville office Monday morning and called on him to break ranks with his party.
Around 30 anti-abortion activists carrying signs that read “#ConfirmKavanaugh” and “I Vote Pro-Life” flanked Sue Swayze Liebel as she led them in a rallying call.
Swayze Liebel is with the Susan B. Anthony List, which supports anti-abortion candidates running for office. The organization partnered with Students for Life and Right-to-Life of Southwest Indiana for the press conference.
She told the crowd Kavanaugh could tip the court against federal abortion rights, so Donnelly should support him since the senator represents a state she says opposes abortion.
“Senator Donnelly claims to be pro-life but he has a history of betrayal on important pro-life votes…saying one thing here and voting another way in Washington,” she said.
The senator’s office said he is pro-life.
A 2014 survey from the Pew Research Center found a slim majority of Hoosiers, 51 percent, said abortion should be illegal in most or all cases.
A spokesperson for the senator said Donnelly will meet with the nominee later this week and continues to look into his record.
Confirmation hearings begin after Labor Day.