Amy Coney Barrett is a Threat to Disability Justice
We are outraged by the nomination of U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court.
As an organization committed to disability justice and reproductive justice, we believe everyone has the right to quality healthcare, the right to safe and affordable abortion access and the right to have a family, and that everyone is a whole person able to make their own decisions about their bodies and lives. Judge Barrett’s opposition to the Affordable Care Act, abortion rights, and LGBTQ rights is an affront to these values and the rights and dignity of all people. At a time when immigrants are being subjected to forced sterilizations, trans people are being subjected to violence and attacks on their legal freedoms, and Black and disabled people’s lives are being treated as disposable by both police and our country’s response to COVID-19, we need a Supreme Court that will stand against these injustices.
While there is no inherent contradiction between being a Catholic or other person of faith and serving on the Supreme Court, we expect any Justice to impartially uphold the secular values of freedom, justice, and equality that this country is founded on. U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s membership in the organization People of Praise, whose members pledge a secret lifelong loyalty oath to the group, and where married women (including Judge Barrett) are supposed to follow their husband’s directives in all aspects of their life, calls into question her ability to hold the rule of law above all else in her decisions.
Furthermore, Judge Barrett is a member of the Federalist Society, who for decades has been working to attack reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and civil rights. Her participation in this organization and record as a Judge further demonstrates that she will work to undermine legal protections designed to ensure all Americans will receive justice under the law. The people of the United States deserve a Supreme Court Justice who will defend and advance their rights under the law, not strip them away.
As members of the disability community, we have been subjected to longstanding barriers accessing reproductive services and been subjected to eugenics-based practices denying us autonomy over our bodies and reproductive decisions. Reproductive justice is disability justice. We strongly oppose Judge Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court.