After numerous speculations and multiple confirmed sources, on Saturday, President Trump announced Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nomination to fill the seat left vacant after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Trump’s pick for Barrett as Ginsburg’s replacement is seen as a win for Republicans, although, for any other political party, this seems all too similar to the premise of a familiar show — The Handmaid’s Tale.
Barrett is known for her affiliation with the religious group, People of Praise, a group that preaches a woman’s subordination to a man that recently stopped using the phrase “handmaid” due to the show’s reference. People of Praise opposes LGBTQ+ rights, abortion and pre-marital sex, and at a Notre Dame event in 2013, Barrett herself stated that life begins at conception. She has avidly been involved in groups that are anti-abortion, therefore, proceeding towards the goal that President Trump has to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Ginsburg was a trailblazer for women’s rights, specifically reproductive rights, including her involvement in co-founding the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project. Her participation in cases, like United States v. Virginia and Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, are evidence that Ginsburg was active in the fight for women’s equality.
Ginsburg is commonly known for her decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marraige in the United States on June 26, 2015.
During a lecture at Jacksonville University, Barrett defended the dissenters in Obergefell v. Hodges and questioned relation of Title IX to the access for transgender bathrooms. With her very open religious views and affiliation with the People of Praise, Barrett’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights is not surprising.
According to Ginsburg’s granddaughter Clara Spera in an interview with BBC Newshour, her dying wish was to not have her seat replaced by Trump after her death. Vigils at the Supreme Court steps have been filled with protestors chanting “honor her wish” in response to Trump’s hasty decision to fill Ginsburg’s seat.
Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, stated “If she is nominated and confirmed, Coney Barrett would work to dismantle all that Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought for during her extraordinary career.”
David is correct – President Trump was quick to fill Ginsburg’s seat to continue his long term plan to defund Planned Parenthood and unravel current LGBTQ+ rights.
Barrett is going to be the key in the now-majority of conservative Supreme Court justices. The future of liberal leaning cases having a positive outcome is not looking so optimistic, since the court is primarily conservative, especially if President Trump wins his second term.