June 29, 2018

Pro-Choicers Are Sending Coat Hangers to Sen. Susan Collins

The Maine Republican reportedly won’t weigh Supreme Court nominees’ position on Roe v. Wade.

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With President Donald Trump poised to nominate a new Supreme Court justice in the wake of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement, all eyes are on senators such as Maine’s Sen. Susan Collins, who is considered a critical vote in the confirmation process. Today, the moderate Republican came under fire after an article in Maine’s Portland Press Herald reported that she “won’t factor a nominee’s support for the landmark abortion-rights ruling of Roe v. Wade into her confirmation decision.” Collins’ spokeswoman Annie Clark told the paper that “Senator Collins does not apply ideological litmus tests to nominees.” 

Some have interpreted Collins’ noncommittal stance as a potential threat to Roe v. Wade, which experts believe a more conservative Supreme Court lineup could overturn. In response, Twitter users have posted photos showing they’re sending metal coat hangers—a symbol of the pro-choice movement that evokes the dangers of illegal abortions—to Collins’ offices in Washington, DC, and Maine. More have started using the hashtag #HangersForCollins.

Some of their tweets:

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Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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