The Future of the Supreme Court and Amy Coney Barrett: The Key Issues

Favored member of the conservative majority Amy Coney Barrett has recently been nominated by Donald Trump as the newest addition to the Supreme Court. This announcement arrived just days after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the political trailblazer and equal rights hero, whose seat on the bench Barrett has been designated to fill.

Barrett’s nomination contributes to the stain Trump is leaving on the American legacy and poses a threat to the future of democracy and equal opportunity. This can be demonstrated in large part by her position on three key public policy issues: abortion rights, immigration and healthcare.

Abortion rights
Despite claims that her religious affiliations have no impact on the outcome or nature of her rulings as a judge, Barrett has been decidedly vocal in her stance on abortion, referring to it as immoral
Barrett has also stated her belief that precedent rulings in the Supreme Court are not inviolable. This, coupled with her long-established contempt for abortion rights, alludes to her future involvement in the overturning of Roe v. Wade
The potential impact of Barrett’s stance on abortion would pose an equally detrimental threat to women’s rights on a fundamental level

Immigration
Barrett affirmed her support for one of Trump’s proposed immigration policies, the revival of the “public charge” rule, which strives to deny legal citizenship to incoming immigrants if it can be assumed that they might require governmental funding or support in the future
This instance is only one of numerous cases where Barrett has displayed a conservative and strict attitude towards immigration rights

Healthcare
One of Trump’s most pursued goals has been to undermine and eliminate the Affordable Care Act. The impact of Barrett’s nomination energies this painful prospect further into a reality
Barrett’s hostility towards the ACA could rob millions of Americans of their healthcare rights. In the midst of a global pandemic which, to the perplexing surprise of many, is in fact still a deeply serious issue, supporting healthcare initiatives is vital.

Barrett’s nomination intensifies the balance of power in the Supreme Court in favor of the conservatives. Their rulings will shape a future wave of American law. While this is an alarming thought in itself, an equally disturbing prospect is the knowledge that Trump’s imprint on the future of American judicial law has now further solidified.

Nan Aron, president of Alliance for Justice, a liberal justice advocacy group, says it best: “The president’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett demonstrates once again that millions of Americans’ health care, reproductive freedom, civil rights, voting rights, and so many other protections that are the bedrock of our democracy could be stripped away if we allow Trump to reshape our courts for generations to come”.