I, as well as a large group of Maine voters, cannot allow Sen. Susan Collins to take a weak view on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The 3,000 coat hangers she received in the past few months, as well as several protests around the state, should be indicative of how her constituents feel.

I only hope to be as artful as my fellow Mainers in describing to you how horrified I am with Kavanaugh’s nomination. My great grandmother was a Maine-born woman who had a hard life. She put up with an abusive man through a 40-year marriage in order to uphold her duties to her children and to her God.

Months before she passed, she told me everything she regretted. Most importantly, she wished she had been able to have birth control options and safe termination of pregnancy for herself and other women her age. It gave my grandmother and mother opportunities she never could have had. That day, she made me promise to do whatever it took to stay a free woman in this society, and I still deserved a whole hell of a lot better.

You know what? Nana was right. I do deserve to be taken seriously, to be able bring a child into the world who is loved, or to prevent it altogether. So does everyone else with a uterus. Trust my Nana. We all deserve more.

Ashley McCollor

Hallowell