Following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, there has been a lot of conversation surrounding who will take her place on the Supreme Court. President Trump’s nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, has been under a lot of scrutiny surrounding her confirmation hearing.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett currently serves on the U.S Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Prior to this position, she clerked for judges such as Judge Laurence H. Silberman and Justice Antonin Scalia. Judge Barrett has typically held conservative stances on topics such as immigration, gun control, LGBTQ+ rights, and reproductive rights.
Her rulings on the Court of Appeals have even further shown these stances. Judge Barrett has argued that states have the right to ban abortion if they do not like the reasoning. This argument was built despite the fact that her state, Indiana, had not been reviewing the issue. Additionally, the precedent set in Roe v. Wade made it clear that the government does not have the right to interrogate women about their decisions surrounding ending a pregnancy.
In 2013, Judge Barrett wrote an article for the Texas Law Review listing out cases that she believed to be so well-written that no justice could overrule. In this article, the case Roe v. Wade was not mentioned. She has been very open in discussion surrounding the fact that she shares the views of her mentor, Justice Scalia. Because of such, her confirmation to the Supreme Court could shift the court to rule in more conservative manners.
Democratic senators questioned her concerning her position on controversial issues such as abortion and the Affordable Care Act during the hearing.
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) directly asked Judge Barrett about her stance on the case, and Judge Barrett responded without directly answering the question. She refused to give a stance on the case or even discuss reproductive rights at all with the senator. Senator Kamala Harris (D-California) brought the topic up again, in addition to a list of instances showing Judge Barrett’s position. She still refused to be forthcoming surrounding her position on reproductive justice and the Affordable Care Act.
President Trump has promised to appoint justices that would overturn Roe v. Wade, and it seems that Judge Barrett would do just that.