Amy Coney Barrett’s Nomination: For Dummies
After news broke on the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or RBG as she’s more commonly known, millions of people poured out their hearts on social media in mourning. The Trump Administration, however, poured out any feeling they had into finding her replacement. The top contender for the position, you ask? Amy Coney Barrett.
For those who don’t keep up-to-date with the happenings of the Supreme Court of the United States, or SCOTUS for short, I’ll summarize as best I can: Barrett is a lawyer and academic from New Orleans, Louisiana, who now holds a position as an associate justice for SCOTUS. As the fifth woman to ever serve under this title, Many would think it to be a huge win for feminists everywhere. As exciting as it is to see a woman in this position, it’s not as progressie as one would think.
Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit that provides reproductive health care worldwide, has been closing locations all over the United States due to lack of funding. In August of 2019, the organization voluntarily withdrew from Title X funding due to an order stating that medical institutions that receive Title X funding can no longer refer patients for abortions. Before Barrett was even appointed, there was talk about overturning Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that made abortion legal at all.
Basically, Barrett being appointed to this position is a gag move by the Trump administration to fill Ginsburg’s shoes and is blanket activism which, at the end of the day, caters to Trump’s personal pro-life beliefs.
Even Trump’s pro-life stance can be refuted, as there are many videos from years ago of him in interviews saying that he’s pro-choice. It leaves one to believe that he might be voicing different views now to receive funding or some kind of deals from investors or other corporations. Perhaps he became so radical as to win the favor of more Republicans as we draw closer to his reelection. No matter the reason, his views are dangerous for the millions of women and people with uteruses who need things like prenatal care, regular gynecology visits, and abortions — no matter what their reasons are.
The nomination and future inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as President and Vice President elects leaves room for hope. Both have very strong records of fighting for reproductive rights and equal access to health care for all. This small silver lining might be the safety net we need from the impending fallout from Trump’s term, and might be the force keeping Barrett and the rest of the conservative-leaning SCOTUS in check.
