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Pro-life rally-goers urge Collins to vote for Kavanaugh

The fight to sway Senator Susan Collins to confirm or reject President Trump's most recent Supreme Court nominee has bubbled up again in Maine.

PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER Maine) --

The fight to sway Senator Susan Collins to confirm or reject President Trump's most recent Supreme Court nominee has bubbled up again in Maine.

Two dozen pro-life protesters rallied outside Collins’ downtown Portland office, urging her to cast a vote to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Collins is a republican but she doesn't always vote republican,” said Abigail Young, a member of Students for Life of America, the group that organized the rally. “We'd like to encourage her to vote pro-life in this circumstance.”

Most of the rally-goers are certain Kavanaugh would be a pro-life judge based on his record.

They also believe he’s a constitutionalist and reads the document as it is.

“He has a very strong record of backing the Constitution,” said Ned Gordon Coltharp of Richmond. “That's why I believe Kavanaugh is a better choice than anybody else.”

The rally is not likely to make Collins reveal her stance on Kavanaugh in the near-term.

The senator has already said she won't decide whether or not he should serve on the nation’s highest court until his confirmation hearings are over.

Some at the rally said putting a pro-life judge to the bench would be great but the issue they came to Portland for is bigger than Collins’ vote.

“A lot of people are down here just standing for Brett Kavanaugh,” said Katie Plourde, from Lewiston. “I'm down here standing against abortion because I really do value the lives of those children.”

That anti-abortion message was hard to hear and even see at times.

Two dozen counter-protesters showed up, to the event, and circled the pro-life crowd, chanting loudly.

“We can absolutely turn out and picket around them,” said Amy Gaidis, who organized the counter-protest.

“It’s an old tactic many organizers and labor organizers have used so I don't have a problem doing this if they’re going to come to my town to try and strip my ability to control my own body.”

A handful of Portland Police officers were on hand for the rally but there were no major scuffles between rally-goers.

Instead, the scene reflected the tension in the coming senate debate.

Some in the crowd claim if Collins does vote for Kavanaugh, many of her more liberal supporters would be upset.

“She's going to get some serious pushback from her voters and that takes some courage,” said Ned Gordon Coltharp.

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