Planned Parenthood is pleading with the state’s senior U.S. senator to try to hijack the nomination of a Trump federal judge, but are unlikely to succeed.
Attorney Joshua Dunlap of Portland was nominated by President Trump in July with support from Collins, R-Maine, who said she helped vet Dunlap while serving on an advisory committee.
Planned Parenthood and other advocacy groups are begging Collins to withdraw her support over his past statements on abortion access and gay marriage.
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed Dunlap for a seat in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.
The statements referred to by the advocacy groups include testimony Dunlap submitted to state lawmakers in 2015, supporting failed legislation that would have required parents to consent to a minor’s abortion.
In particular, left wing groups are agitated by a letter to the editor Dunlap wrote that was published in 2012, decrying the theft of several yard signs expressing opposition to a ballot initiative to legalize gay marriage.
Dunlap doesn’t state in that letter to the Scarborough Leader his views on gay marriage, but he criticized supporters of that ballot initiative, which voters approved that fall.
Collins’ office said in a statement Friday that the advocacy groups’ concerns were misleading.
The senator’s staff pointed to a recommendation by a committee for the American Bar Association that independently reviews and issues recommendations on judicial nominees.
Equality Maine, Maine Women’s Lobby and Our Power Maine are also urging Collins to vote against Dunlap, saying he is against reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, opposes “marriage equality” and supports “fetal personhood.”
