Many states have turned to both ballot measures and legislation to enact abortion policy in the event of a dramatic Supreme Court decision.

When Kavanaugh last September was asked to give a Constitution Day speech, he chose to celebrate his “first judicial hero,” the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, noting Rehnquist’s dissent in Roe v. Wade and his rejection of the idea of a “wall of separation between church and state.”

“Well, look, I’m a conservative as you know,” he said. “I have my views, but I’ve been told it’s truly best not to talk about it. That’s a little bit of an interesting stance but that’s the right thing to do, now.”

In the 1944 noir film “Gaslight,” a villain hides his crimes by convincing his innocent wife she’s insane, feeding her barely perceptible lies and altering small aspects of her environment until she doubts her own instincts and observations.

At recent Senate hearings to fill the Supreme Court’s open seat, Judge Neil Gorsuch came across as a thoroughly bland and nonthreatening nominee. The idea was to give as little ammunition as possible to opponents when his nomination comes up this week for a vote, one that Senate Democrats may try to upend with a filibuster.