What Amy Coney Barrett On The Supreme Court Would Mean for Abortion Rights
The reported plan to nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court has at once alarmed liberals and exhilarated social conservatives, both of whom believe that she would be likely to support restrictions on abortion rights and could even vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, the decision legalizing the procedure nationwide.
President Donald Trump is expected on Saturday to nominate Barrett, a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, after the death last week of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. If confirmed, she would replace one of the court’s most consistent liberal voices, dramatically shifting the court’s center of gravity further to the right. She could also have a long tenure: At 48, Barrett would be the youngest justice on the bench.
Abortion rights advocates are terrified about what that means. Barrett is known for her conservative religious views, and, in recent years, her name has risen to the top of anti-abortion groups’ wishlists of prospective Supreme Court justices. A devout Catholic, Barrett has seven children, including two who are adopted, and has spoken openly about her personal belief that life begins at conception.
It’s impossible to know for certain how any justice’s tenure will go. There are several examples of judges viewed as reliably anti-abortion making unexpected rulings, including this year, when John Roberts sided with his liberal colleagues to strike down a Louisiana abortion law. But many clues point to Barrett’s hostility to Roe v. Wade. And if she makes it to the Supreme Court, where abortion issues come up time and time again, she’ll have considerable power to shape the future of reproductive rights for the entire nation.
A bruising confirmation battle is expected with abortion rights at its center. Her nomination comes on the heels of a historic surge in bold abortion bans passed in state legislatures across the...Continue reading on HuffPost
