The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Anna Zuccaro, anna@unbendablmedia.com

Amy Coney Barrett is Being Illegitimately Jammed Through Senate to Pack The Court, Strip Away Rights and Freedoms

WASHINGTON

According to reports, Donald Trump is nominating Amy Coney Barrett to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat on the Supreme Court. Ginsburg, who was 87, died last Friday.

In reaction to Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, Shaunna Thomas, Executive Director of UltraViolet, a national women's advocacy organization, released the following statement:

"Let's be 100% clear about what is happening here. Impeached and failed president Donald Trump and Senate Republicans are trying to ram Amy Coney Barrett through an unprecedented and illegitimate process, so that Republicans can pack the Supreme Court as election year insurance against a potential loss, and cement policies that will strip away rights and freedoms for women. By placing Amy Coney Barrett on the court, Republicans are trying to reverse decades worth of progress, especially for women of color and transgender women."

"The court that Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell are constructing, if they steal this seat, could take away health care from 20 million Americans, overturn Roe v. Wade, decimate what is left of the Voting Rights Act, put the rights of transgender women and the broader LGBTQIA+ community at risk, and reverse decades of progress on civil rights."

"It is an insult to the memory of Ruth Bader Ginsburg for Donald Trump, or anyone else, to believe that Amy Coney Barrett should fill her seat on the Supreme Court."

"Justice Ginsburg's dying wish was that the Senate hold until after a new president is sworn in to appoint her replacement. This request should carry weight for Senate leaders on both sides of the aisle."

"We are determined to uphold Justice Ginsburg's life's work by rolling up our sleeves for the next 39 days to help ensure that a new administration is sworn into the White House come January. We will continue to vigorously push back against any attempts by Republicans to confirm a nominee before January 20th, 2021."

UltraViolet is a powerful and rapidly growing community of people mobilized to fight sexism and create a more inclusive world that accurately represents all women, from politics and government to media and pop culture.