President Donald J. Trump announced the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court of the United States.
President Trump’s nomination of Judge Barrett is yet another sign of his commitment to uphold the Constitution and defending the Right to Life of all humans—born and preborn. The nomination of Barrett follows the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who had long been a pro-abortion vote on the court. Replacing Ginsburg with a justice who will strictly interpret the Constitution as written, not one who opines in the penumbra, could yield new hope for the protection of preborn children.
Trump’s two previous appointments, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, have already sided with the Pro-Life movement in June Medical Services v. Russo. Barrett’s presence could secure additional Pro-Life court victories, including in Whole Women’s Health v. Paxton, a case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit over the Texas Dismemberment Abortion Ban. This policy safeguards preborn babies from the barbaric abortion procedure in which the child is ripped limb-from-limb while his or her heart is still beating.
Judge Barrett, 48, was already appointed by President Trump in 2017 to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, based in Indiana. A devout Catholic and mother of seven children, Judge Barrett graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame Law School before clerking for the late Justice Antonin Scalia. After a few years in private practice, she became an esteemed law professor, including 15 years at Notre Dame. During her tenure as a professor, she published numerous academic papers, demonstrating her conservatism and commitment to a textualist interpretation of the Constitution.
During previous confirmation hearings, Democratic Senators viciously attacked Judge Barrett for her deep faith and commitment to the Gospel. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) exclaimed that “The dogma lives loudly within you.” Such attacks have continued and escalated from Democrats and members of the media in the past week.
While on the Seventh Circuit, Judge Barrett sided with the Pro-Life movement when the opportunity arose. In Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky Inc, she joined a dissent, arguing the full circuit should hear an Indiana parental notification law for minors seeking abortions after a three-judge panel prohibited enforcement. In Commissioner of the Indiana State Department of Health v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky Inc., she joined a dissent arguing laws prohibiting discriminatory abortions are not forbidden by SCOTUS precedent. That same dissent argued the court should revisit a panel ruling that struck down an Indiana law that required humane disposition of fetal remains. Judge Barrett has established a clear Pro-Life track record with just three years on the Seventh Circuit.
With 38 days until the election, time is of the essence. The Senate must move quickly and confirm Judge Barrett’s nomination. We pray God will give the Senate wisdom and courage as they move forward with the vetting process.