Who is potential Justice Amy Coney Barrett

Amy Coney Barrett is the new name being thrown around due to president Trump’s nomination of her to the Supreme Court. While many know the name now, we have little knowledge of who she actually is. What is her background? What are her values? What is safe to assume that she will bring to the Supreme Court.

Barrett is currently sitting in the position of U.S. circuit court judge — a judge that overlooks cases that want a second viewpoint. She also held positions as an attorney, jurist, and academic. Besides her career, many people have noted about her family life that Barret has two children whom she adopted from Haiti. She also holds the family value of having a very Catholic household, which shapes her views as a politician.

Barrett holds the views that are noted to be against LGBT+ rights, has a likeliness to uphold anti-immigration policies, a proud supporter of the second amendment, and most notably by media is her views against abortion. This is knowledge acquired from the cases she has considered as a Judge, her writings, and from what she has publicly spoken about in the media.

Her religion has taken an obvious toll on her views when she speaks about LGBT+ rights as evident when she signed a letter titled “Letter to Synod Fathers from Catholic Women” in which it is stated “We give witness that the Church’s teachings… on the meaning of human sexuality, the significance of sexual difference and the complementarity of men and women…and on marriage and family founded on the indissoluble commitment of a man and a woman provide a sure guide to the Christian life, promote women’s flourishing, and serve to protect the poor and most vulnerable among us”. She also has once notably said that the issuing of transgender rights was a “strain of [Title IX]”. This is enough evidence to suggest that when LGBT+ rights are up in jeopardy at the hands of the Supreme Court. Her views regarding Catholicism will sway her against the rights of LGBT+ individuals, which will also be evident in the upcoming cases when the Supreme Court overlooks the case, which will if granted, allows for child welfare agencies to deny same-sex couples.

What she could also have a lot of influence on if appointed is the country’s ability to have an affordable care act. With healthcare up for debate and hearings about the affordable care act set for November, if she is to get into the court, it would not be out of the realm of reality that she will influence the outcome. Evidence of prior opposition to the Act suggests that she is in favor of overturning the Obama era Affordable Healthcare Act.

If she is to get elected, there is an alarmingly high chance that she will be able to turn over Roe V. Wade, putting the right to abortion at risk. Abortion rights have been one of the most spoken about topics concerning her. She has noted that she does not see it likely for the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling of Roe V. Wade, but that has not stopped her from chipping away at what rights are granted to abortion receivers. One example entails a case in which she was on the side of making it a requirement to notify parents of minors getting abortions. Along with other anti-abortion hearings, she is part of the “Right To Life” organization which is known for misleading and pressuring women into keeping their pregnancies. Most notably is what she has said in regards to abortions and her actions. It is reported that she has taken out ads against abortion rulings, her husband signed an AD by an extreme anti-choice group, and she supports the claim that life starts at fertilization. This tags along to when she says the abortions are barbaric and used as a form of birth control.

As the Supreme Court reviews the nation’s laws, and if Barrett is appointed to office, we can predict how she will act. Her ideas and influences are, in almost every way, oppositions to Left-wing politics. Her admission into the Supreme Court would create a balance of a heavy lean towards the Right in the court that decides many of our nation’s largest laws. This threatens the livelihood of many minorities’ lives. From women to LGBT+, to immigrants and racial minorities, the rights of these individuals are at risk.

With her nomination being so close to the election, we must question if it is correct to appoint her. There has been controversy due to the hypocrisy displayed by Republicans when they refused to allow Obama in 2016 to appoint a Supreme Court justice eight months before the election, and now they are pushing for Barrett to get into office three weeks before an election. The question to ask ourselves is: are we ready to elect a Supreme Court justice who will go against the lives of American minorities and cause an aggressive right-wing skew in the Supreme Court.