Real Life Implications of Amy Coney Barrett's Appointment to the Supreme Court

It is no secret that things are stressful right now. We have a very emotionally charged presidential election tomorrow, on top of the pandemic that seems to only be getting worse, and now we have to deal with the fact that Trump decided to push through a Supreme Court nomination instead of helping push through more pandemic relief. Mad yet? You should be. There is only so much that can be done at this point since Amy Coney Barrett is now a Supreme Court Justice, but it is important to know and understand what the ramifications of her appointment mean to everyone who is not a straight, white, cis-gendered male. I am going to do my best to get through this as calmly as possible, but as move on I think you will be able to understand the rage of so many people if you don’t already.

For starters, many people are outraged over the fact that she was appointed nine days before the election when in 2016, republicans blocked Obama from making a pick nine months before the election. While there is nothing illegal happening here, several Republican senators said that they would not allow another Supreme Cout appointment to happen close to an election like they didn’t with Obama, but then they all turned back on that and changed their minds to let their own agenda play out. So, while this is just overall bad diplomacy, it also allowed Barrett to take a position that is held for life where she can ruin people's lives and take away rights for decades. She is only 48 years old and therefore likely has a very long career ahead of her.

The main issues at stake are the overturning of Roe v Wade, the legalization of gay marriage, and several different issues about Black lives and police brutality. Trump has said more than once that he wanted to place justices in power that would over Roe v Wade which would be a violation of human rights and bodily autonomy. Many states have already done everything they possibly can to limit women's access to abortion services and has been known to demonize late-term abortions, which are only used in cases of maternal injury or certain death of the fetus. Trump put her in the position she is in now in hopes of fulfilling his anti-abortion agenda even if he doesn’t win the presidential election. To add insult to injury, she is of the mindset that birth control is a pre-abortion which is a belief held by the catholic church, which she is apart of. This is problematic for many reasons, but the main point here is this is denying basic human rights and healthcare to people based on someone else’s religious beliefs.

The next issue on many people’s minds with her appointment is what she will do to the LGBTQ community. Of course, she is not the only one in charge of making decisions, but her appointment puts the Supreme Court at a 6-3 conservative ruling. Three days after the election, the Supreme Court is set to hear a case specifically about LGBTQ rights and people are rightfully nervous. Barrett belongs to an organization that is against LGBTQ people’s right to get married, and supports conversation therapy, as does VP Mike Pence. While the actual organization she is involved with has not been named and does not have the ability to actually rule in the case with her, it does not sit well with many people that she is going to be in charge of a ruling that she is clearly against. If the right for LGBTQ people to get married is overturned, it will likely lead to a public health crisis. Many studies have shown that it will be harder for LGBTQ people to gain access to health care since they will not be allowed to be on their partner’s insurance, and there is data to suggest that suicide among LGBTQ youth will skyrocket if they lose the right to marry. It will be harder than it already is for LGBTQ couples to adopt or have children by a donor, and once you remove one thing, it trickles down into many other avenues that they could lose the right to. This kind of goes without saying, but people should be allowed to marry any other person they want as long as everyone is of age, it has no bearing on other people. And a Supreme Court Justice should not have the right to take away someone’s human rights.

Last but not least, the question of police brutality has also come up in regards to Barrett’s appointment. It is pretty unclear which way she could go when it comes to matters of Black lives and the obvious racism problem plaguing this country. She has two Black children that many people are hoping will help her have compassion since she is so close to the issue, but she has also ruled in favor of the police in 86% of the cases she was faced with when she was a judge. She was decently outspoken over her anger of the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, but it has been questioned whether or not it was performative activism. It’s not fair to say she is not making an effort when we truly don’t know, but it is concerning to have someone on the Supreme Court who can’t seem to decide on racism and police brutality. Unfortunately, time will tell how she is going to handle things.

Things are rough right now, and even though the presidential election is an issue we all need to worry about, Barrett’s appointment will last a very long time as will all of the decisions she helps pass. So, vote like you are not privileged. Vote for those who need your help. Donate and work within your own communities to help keep at-risk people safe and to make sure they have access to what is their right. Stay safe everyone.\

Madey

Cover Photo by Avery Lynch