More than a dozen Oregonians attended a Justice 4 Life rally at the Oregon State Capitol Saturday in support of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
The rally in Salem was part of a series of rallies around the country hosted by Students for Life of America, a youth organization dedicated to abolishing abortion in their lifetime.
The organization, which considers themselves a "post-Roe organization," also provides education on abortion and promotes student leadership at a local and national level. Rallies around the nation were either organized by a regional coordinator or student leaders.
Nichole Bentz, the Pacific Northwest regional coordinator for Students for Life of America and Salem rally organizer, said the purpose of Saturday's event was to show Oregon Senators Ron Wyden (D) and Jeff Merkley (D) that there is support for Kavanaugh in the state.
"We're organizing this rallies to call Judge Kavanaugh to be confirmed because he is a solid court nominee," Bentz, 24 of Corvallis, said. "He has a strong record on religious liberty, free speech and protecting the pre-born."
Kavanaugh is President Trump's second Supreme Court nominee, following Justice Neil Gorsuch who was confirmed in 2017. Kavanaugh's confirmation could change the direction of the court to a more conservative side for decades.
Bentz spoke at the rally, along with Jessica Stanton, a public affairs official from Oregon Right to Life, and Marcos Sanchez, a student leader for Students for Life of America.
"After Justice Neil Gorsuch was placed on the Supreme Court, we could only dream of another opportunity to have such major influence for the pro-life movement," Stanton said. "We must show our support and raise our voices for our U.S. Senators to confirm the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh."
Abby Luschei can be reached at aluschei@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6747. Follow her on Twitter @abbyluschei or facebook.com/luscheiabby.