Sen. Tillis Backing SCOTUS Nominee Who Would Turn Back Clock on Women's Health

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Oct. 15 -- Former North Carolina State Sen. James Calvin "Cal" Cunningham, Democratic nominee for the Senate, and vice president and general counsel to WasteZero Inc., issued the following campaign news:

Senator Tillis continues to reveal his priorities this week as he goes along with his Republican colleagues in the Senate to rush a Supreme Court confirmation process in less than a month, while failing to provide COVID-19 relief for months.

Yesterday, we highlighted Senator Tillis' efforts to downplay concerns over the specifics of Amy Coney Barrett's health care record as "just another political stunt," but Judge Barrett has made her position on the Affordable Care Act clear -- she signaled support for "full invalidation" of the law.

Today, we're looking at Judge Barrett's record on women's health. Senator Tillis "contended that it's not certain how Barrett would vote on Roe if she were confirmed," in an effort to downplay Barrett's "clear paper trail on abortion."

Here are the facts:

* Barrett cited Roe as an example of a case in which "soft stare decisis" left "space for reargument."

* In 2006, Barrett signed an open letter that called for "an end to the barbaric legacy of Roe v. Wade."

* In 2017, 17 reproductive rights organizations said Barrett would "put reproductive freedom in danger."

One GOP strategist called the efforts by Tillis and other vulnerable GOP incumbents to play down the impact the new Court could have "the worst poker playing."

In trying to avoid Barrett's true record on women's health, Senator Tillis is again attempting to distract from his rigid record when it comes to women's health. Earlier this year, he asked the Supreme Court to revisit and potentially overturn the Roe v. Wade decision. Now, he's trying to convince voters that "even with six conservative justices -- three nominated by Trump -- the court might not always rule in favor of the GOP's core policy goals."

In a Medium post this week, Cal Cunningham laid out questions he would have asked of Judge Barrett. On women's health, he asks: "You've given several speeches and talks on the subject of Roe v. Wade hosted by issue-advocacy groups and signed a paid advertisement that was critical of this landmark Supreme Court decision. You chose not to disclose those speeches. Where do you stand on a woman's right to privacy, dignity, liberty, choice and due process established in Roe v. Wade and relied on by American women in family planning decisions for more than forty-five years? And will you uphold the precedent set by Roe v. Wade?"

"Senator Tillis' attempts to downplay Judge Barrett's record on women's health reeks of election-year desperation and North Carolina voters won't buy it," said Kate Frauenfelder, a spokeswoman for Cal Cunningham's campaign. "Efforts to distance himself from his own rigid and uncompromising record on women's health fall flat when he's wholeheartedly backing a nominee who has made her position on reproductive rights clear."