On September 18, we as a nation suffered a major loss as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a champion of women’s rights, passed away at age 87. Ginsburg’s untimely death did not just leave a hole in our hearts and the political sphere, but it also brought a wave of panic throughout the country: who would fill her seat?
The legal right to nominate someone to a Supreme Court Justice’s vacant seat technically goes to the president. However, as we approach the 2020 election with less than a month to go, some people argue that the person who wins the election should be the one to make that decision. On the other hand, others will say that the current president has the right to fill the seat prior to Election Day. This is the conundrum that America is facing and, as a result, the political divide in our country is becoming more and more prominent with each passing day. As the Democratic Party and liberal Americans continue to object to the GOP filling RBG’s seat before the election, the Trump administration has continued to blaze forward with the nomination process. On September 26, President Trump announced his final pick: Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett, a 48-year-old judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, would be the fifth female Supreme Court justice in history if confirmed.
Before announcing his nominee, Trump insisted that he would definitely choose a woman for the vacancy; and clearly, he followed through on that promise. But is simply nominating a woman enough?
My thoughts? Absolutely not. Placing a woman on the Supreme Court with tokenistic intentions is not good enough.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an icon for feminists across the nation for a reason. She fought tirelessly and courageously for reproductive rights, equal pay, pregnancy benefits and countless other wins for gender equality. But, she did not just work to help women; she was essential in advancements for the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants and people with disabilities. And now, let’s take a look at RBG’s possible replacement: Amy Coney Barrett is undoubtedly an intelligent, experienced and qualified woman. Yet, she poses a threat to the future of some of the very rights her predecessor battled so hard for.
During her time on the Seventh Circuit of Appeals, Barrett ruled against abortion rights twice, favoring more restrictions on access. She has also called abortion “always immoral.” Reproductive rights have been continuously juggled with for the past few years, notably at the state level. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 17 states enacted some type of restriction on abortion in 2019. Though there has been retaliation against some of these constraints, it is clear that a woman’s choice to control her own body in America is consistently disrespected.
Barrett’s nomination poses a huge threat to women across this nation as the fate of Roe v. Wade is now up in the air. If Barrett were to be confirmed, the SCOTUS would have a conservative 6-3 majority. And with her history of anti-choice sentiments, we simply cannot predict whether or not the Court will attempt to knock Roe v. Wade down. This is a dangerous line we are treading on. If abortion is taken away as a right at the federal level, this does not mean that the procedures will stop. It only means that they will stop being performed safely and/or professionally. The Planned Parenthood Action Fund estimates that over 25 million women could lose access to safe and legal abortion if justices overturn the historic 1973 decision. The lives of women are at risk.
Women of color would be faced with an even greater disadvantage than their white counterparts. This is due to higher rates of income inequality and overall structural racism. They are more likely to be on Medicaid, which is another issue that Barrett has expressed views against. In 2012, she signed a statement disagreeing with covering contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs under the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare), due to her belief that extending these benefits was an “assault on religious benefits.” As the Trump Administration works to roll back the ACA, Barrett could be the nail in the coffin for millions of Americans who rely on this program to survive.
Amy Coney Barrett is a woman—but she is not one who stands for inclusive women’s rights. As we dive further and further into the world of tumultuous politics, Barrett’s appointment to the Supreme Court could be one of the biggest blows for American women in years.