Devout, anti-abortion, 48-year-old Catholic: Trump’s conservative letter to the Supreme Court

During the 27 years that she served as a judge on the United States Supreme Court – until her death on September 18 at the age of 87 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg ruled in favor of legal gender equality, abortion and the rights of women. homosexuals, among many other subjects. Her liberal profile made her an icon of pop culture and that is why hundreds of thousands of Americans have mourned her this week during funeral ceremonies in Washington DC. In front of the headquarters of the highest court of justice in the United States, girls have even paraded dressed in the same clothes that Ginsburg used to wear or with the Supergirl costume, something typical of a country where the decisions of the Supreme Court impact the daily lives of millions of people and where this judge was seen as a “hero” of social justice.

But the successor to Ruth Bader Ginsburg will not continue precisely in this progressive line, since Amy Coney Barrett – the judge that President Donald Trump has just nominated to fill the vacancy left by RBG – represents the values ​​of the most conservative sector in the country: it is averse to abortion, defends the right to own arms, has ruled in favor of the death penalty and is a devout Catholic. If for Democrats Ginsburg was the supreme liberal icon of the Supreme, for Republicans Barrett is the perfect combination of conservative attributes.

“Today I am honored to nominate one of our nation’s most talented and brilliant legal minds to the Supreme Court. She is a woman of unparalleled achievement, imposing intellect, excellent credentials, and unwavering loyalty to the Constitution, “said Trump. Barrett, for her part, said she was honored and noted that “I love the Constitution of my country.”

With this nomination, Trump hopes to regain ground in the conservative base, at a time when his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, surpasses him in the polls ahead of the November 3 elections. The President’s plan is for the Senate, with a Republican majority, to approve Barrett’s nomination before the elections, something that has outraged Democrats, who have recalled that when Barack Obama wanted to nominate Judge Merrick Garland in 2016 the argument was that The prudent thing was not to do it in an electoral year and that the decision should rest with the elected president. For this reason, Biden called on the Senate not to confirm the judge before the elections.

Barrett will not only tip the Supreme Court in favor of the Conservatives (6 to 3), but the Liberals fear that the new court – whose charges are for life – will pulverize historic rulings, such as Roe v. Wade, who in 1973 decriminalized abortion. In addition, after the elections the Supreme Court is expected to review cases related to health and migration.

Born in New Orleans in 1972, Amy Coney Barrett resides in South Bend, Indiana, with her husband Jesse Barrett, a former federal prosecutor, and their seven children, two of whom the couple adopted from Haiti. Barrett is known in her neighborhood for her volunteer activities at her children’s school, one of whom has Down syndrome.

A former student of Notre Dame Law School, she has taught at Notre Dame since 2002. The Barretts are known for participating in the school’s activities and in football games. It was in a 2006 speech to Notre Dame graduates, as found in The New York Times, that Barrett spoke of the law as a higher calling: “If you can keep in mind that your fundamental purpose in life is not to be a lawyer, but to know, love and serve God, you will really be a different kind of lawyer.

According to the New York newspaper, Barrett has been part of a group called the People of Praise, whose members “take an oath of allegiance for life, and are assigned and accountable to a personal advisor.” Furthermore, the group “teaches that husbands are the bosses of their wives and must assume the authority of their family.”

It is his religious fervor that has drawn criticism from his detractors, for his independence and impartiality. In fact, in the processes to confirm her in 2017 as a judge of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in Chicago, this issue came to light and Barrett had to defend herself by pointing out that she must act leaving her personal beliefs aside.

“If you ask me if I am serious about my faith and am a faithful Catholic, I am,” she told senators at the time. “Although I would like to emphasize that my personal church affiliation or my religious belief will not influence the performance of my duties as a judge,” he added. That time, Barrett – who was an assistant to the late judge Antonin Scalia – received support from both parties and was confirmed 55-43.

But now the Democrats are disgusted, although they can do nothing to reject Trump’s nomination. Amy Coney Barrett met with the Republican President earlier in the week. The two already knew each other, since it was Trump who nominated her for her current position and also considered her when the Supreme Justice, the moderate Anthony Kennedy, retired in 2018.

At 48 years old, Barrett – an orthodox interpreter of the Constitution – will be the youngest judge on the Supreme Court and the fifth woman to hold a position in the most important court of justice in the United States. In turn, Trump will hold the record of having nominated three Supreme Court justices in a single term, something not seen since the administration of Richard Nixon, who nominated four justices in one term.

With Barrett and the other two supreme justices nominated by Trump, the Republican President will extend his legacy and vision for years of years, something that of course irritates Democrats. As has happened in other final lines of the US elections, the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her successor have become the so-called “October surprise”, an unexpected event that explodes in the run-up to the elections and that can bring down or promote a candidacy. That remains to be seen.