Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, on Tuesday, 13 October, presented her approach to the law as conservative and fair while Democrats cast her as a threat to Americans’ health care coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, reported AP.
According to Reuters, Democrats expressed their opposition, despite little hope of derailing Barrett’s nomination, as the Senate Judiciary Committee commenced its four-day confirmation hearing for Barrett.
According to Republican senators, Barrett, and appellate court judge and a favourite of religious conservatives, was a worthy successor of the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, reported Reuters.
Barrett, according to Reuters, wore a black protective face mask, which she removed to deliver her opening statement. Further, Barrett, reportedly said:
“I believe Americans of all backgrounds deserve an independent Supreme Court that interprets our Constitution and laws as they are written.”
With Barrett’s confirmation, there would be a 6-3 conservative majority in the US Supreme Court. According to Reuters, this development, among other things, could roll back abortion rights, expand religious and gun-rights, and uphold Republican-backed voting restrictions.
However, Reuters reported that the fate of the ex-US President Barack Obama’s signature medical coverage policy, the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), often dubbed Obamacare, was the focus of the Democrats.
Barrett had previously criticised a ruling that upheld Obamacare.
Speaking via a video link, Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee, Kamala Harris said:
“I do believe this hearing is a clear attempt to jam through a Supreme Court nominee who will take away healthcare from millions of people during a deadly pandemic that has already killed more than 214,000 Americans.”
(With inputs from AP and Reuters.)