PHYSICIANS URGE DELAY IN KAVANAUGH VOTE
The U.S. Senate must exercise great caution in handling Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Physicians for Social Responsibility began examining Kavanaugh’s record with respect to its implications for mortality and morbidity in America. To our discomfort, his nomination now presents a much bigger question.
More recent allegations about his behavior in high school and college warrant serious investigation. Many have reason to expect the initial accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, to be a credible witness at today’s Senate confirmation hearing.
On the question of why Ford did not report the alleged incident earlier, it is very common for victims of sexual assault to be hesitant to come forward. A vast number do not seek medical attention and as such, only one-third of sexual assaults are ever reported to police. The consequent trauma remains for psychiatric treatment years or decades later.
In the meantime, a close high school friend of Kavanaugh’s has written about a 1980s Georgetown Prep party scene defined by heavy drinking and violent sexual encounters. Several contemporaries identified Kavanaugh as part of that scene.
Importantly, developments over the past week have significantly increased doubts as to whether Kavanaugh has the right character to serve on the Supreme Court. A second woman, who was a fellow student at Yale University, alleged that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her. She, too, is requesting an FBI investigation and a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Next, attorney attorney stated that he is representing a third alleged victim, whose identity and story are highly anticipated. This is not a case of “he says, she says.” It is more like: “He says … then she says, she says, she says, and they say.”
Reasonable people across the political spectrum are increasingly tempted to conclude that the GOP will, at best, appear to be railroading the nomination in a rush to judgment under a menacing cloud of growing allegations. Worse, the party in power gives evidence that, while ignoring these serious allegations, they are prepared to belittle Professor Ford, trivialize accusations of predatory behavior, and simultaneously refuse to allow an FBI investigation, which is a standard procedure in these circumstances.
In the end, the Senate’s rush to confirmation will taint the reputation of the Supreme Court for generations and place a cloud over every decision that Kavanaugh participates in. This haste runs the risk of irreparable damage to the Senate’s Republican majority and more important, to the fabric of two-party democracy in America.
These are times that call for someone with the values and integrity of John McCain, offering a clear-thinking Republican voice that places the rule of law and the best of our democratic traditions above loyalty to the GOP’s titular leader in the White House. This is the socially responsible thing to do, regardless of political ideology. America is desperate for that kind of heroism at this moment. We believe that Sen. Bob Corker is the best candidate to lead that charge.
On behalf of Physicians for Social Responsibility, we have asked that Sen. Corker demand a delay in the nomination process to allow these allegations to be fully investigated. If the Judiciary Committee refuses to entertain a delay, we have asked Sen. Corker to vote “no” or abstain on the nomination when it comes before the full Senate.
We call on all people of goodwill across the political spectrum to step forward and acknowledge that this is a time when less is more … a moment in history when “do no harm” outweighs all competing advantages.
Dr. Laura Helfman and Dr. Cliff Cockerham are members of the editorial board of the Tennessee Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility.