Chuck Schumer Sounds the Alarm: A ‘Far-Right’ SCOTUS Majority Will ‘Turn Back the Clock on Women’s Rights’

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 22: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks at a news conference
Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) released a cautionary statement following Preisdent Trump’s formal nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Saturday, warning that a “far-right majority” on the court could “turn back the clock on women’s rights and a woman’s right to choose, workers’ rights, voting rights, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, environmental protections, and more.”

“A vote for Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a vote to eliminate health care for millions in the middle of a pandemic,” Schumer said on Saturday, shortly after President Trump issued the formal nomination:

“The American people should make no mistake—a vote by any Senator for Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a vote to strike down the Affordable Care Act and eliminate protections for millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions,” he continued, proclaiming that Trump has “once again put Americans’ healthcare in the crosshairs.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage, unabated by this Administration, healthcare was already the number one issue on the ballot in November. President Trump has promised to nominate Supreme Court Justices who will “terminate” our health care law and decimate the health care system for American Indians and Alaska Natives. In Judge Barrett, President Trump has found the deciding vote.

Judge Barrett strongly criticized the ruling to uphold the Affordable Care Act, claiming that if Justices read the law the way she does, they would “have had to invalidate” the entire health care law. Her record also makes clear that if she is confirmed, the reproductive freedoms that millions of women hold dear would be in grave danger.

According to Schumer, a “far-right” majority on the court could also “turn back the clock” on a long list of rights, including “women’s rights and a woman’s right to choose, workers’ rights, voting rights, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, environmental protections, and more.”

“The future for DACA recipients also hangs in the balance with this nominee,” he added, accusing Trump and GOP senators of failing to address the “tremendous pain the American people are feeling amidst this pandemic,” despite Senate Democrats recently blocking the Senate Republican coronavirus aid bill.

“Justice Ginsburg’s dying wish was that she not be replaced until a new president is installed. Republicans are poised to not only ignore her wishes, but to replace her with someone who could tear down everything that she built,” he added, calling it a “reprehensible power grab” and “cynical attack on the legitimacy of the Court.”

Schumer promised to “strongly oppose” Barrett’s nomination.

On Saturday, Barrett said — in the event that the Senate confirms her — she will “discharge the judicial oath, which requires me to administer justice without respect to persons, do equal right to the poor and rich, and faithfully and impartially discharge my duties under the United States Constitution”:

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