On Saturday September 26, 2020, seventy-two hours following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, President Trump named Amy Coney Barrett as his nominee to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court. Judge Barrett currently sits on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, appointed to the bench by President Trump and confirmed by a Republican Senate in 2017. (Judge Barrett secured her federal judgeship with 55 votes in her favor: 3 votes coming from Democrats and 52 from Republicans). Her anti-abortion views and opposition to the Affordable Care Act makes Judge Barret a favorite among conservatives. Her appointment would move the Court decidedly to the right.
Barrett’s record leaves reproductive rights vulnerable to reversal. Her anti-abortion views threaten the constitutional rights provided in Roe v. Wade (1973), a landmark Supreme Court decision which protected a pregnant person’s right to decide whether or not they want an abortion.
The Affordable Care Act extends health insurance to millions of uninsured Americans by expanding Medicaid eligibility and creating a health insurance marketplace. Also known as Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act provides people with pre-existing conditions health insurance coverage where they would otherwise be denied. Overturning this plan will affect about 29 million people, including over 7 million COVID-19 survivors.. We at SisterLove are concerned for these 29 million Americans who may lose their health insurance, particularly those living with HIV/AIDS. Overturning this plan would deliberately inflict pain on others in the throes of three raging health pandemics of Racism, HIV/AIDS, and SARS.
Since this is an election year, Judge Barrett’s nomination may not result in confirmation to the Supreme Court. Before confirmation, Judge Barrett must undergo a vetting process performed by the Senate Judicial Committee in cooperation with the American Bar Association and the FBI. Then, the Senate must then vote to officially confirm Judge Barrett. (She needs at least 50 votes to secure the confirmation). This process, on average, takes 70 days. The election is 26 days away.
Many senators have expressed their intention to confirm Barrett, time permitting, before the election. That is why we at SisterLove encourage you to use your voice and speak to your Senators David Purdue and Kelly Loeffler. Please click here to contact them. Let them know that you are against any nominee being confirmed until after the election takes place on November 3, 2020.