RBG
Naina Makkad
WASHINGTON, D.C.—At 7:40 on Friday, September 18th, I got a call from my friend. Sitting outside a Japanese restaurant waiting for my food, she texted me “rbg died.”
Ginsburg was born a mere 13 years after women secured the right to vote, and because of her today, 87 years later, I am not allowed to be denied access to my basic rights just because I am a woman. I can sign my own mortgage and lease, I can establish a bank account without a husband or father, and I am the master of my own body. During her career, she started the movement to overturn over 150 laws that discriminated on the basis of one’s sex. At the age of 37, Ginsburg partnered with the ACLU to help the Supreme Court establish that the gender-based statute in tax law was unconstitutional based on the equal protection clauses in the 14th amendment. Just over a year later, she became the first female tenured law professor at Columbia University. Ginsburg did this all while raising two kids with her husband Martin. Then came her infamous ruling on Roe v. Wade, which led her to the Court of Appeals through President Jimmy Carter and onto her 27 astounding years on the Supreme Court, advocating for women’s and LGBTQ+ rights.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg led an amazing life, but unfortunately, our country is fearful to celebrate her life because of what may come next. September 18th is only 46 days from the 2020 presidential election and 124 days from inauguration, and the Republican majority Senate and the Trump administration are fully aware of the circumstances and the potential opportunity they have here. It took Brett Kavanaugh 89 days to be appointed, and with a nominee who doesn’t require an extensive FBI investigation, it may take even less.
On September 26th, 2020, Amy Coney Barrett was nominated by President Trump to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court of the United States. Barrett attended Rhodes College in Memphis and then Notre Dame Law School, and now serves as a federal judge on the Court of Appeals for the seventh circuit court. Despite some of her papers in the early years of her career, Barrett’s opinions on topics seem to revolve around her Christian faith which are contradictory to many of the views that Ruth Bader Ginsburg held. While it is not for certain which way Amy Coney Barrett may vote on these important issues, her nomination by President Donald Trump suggests that her potential voting record on these issues will align with the conservative views of the administration.
As election day gets closer, the argument for a new Supreme Court appointee becomes stronger on both Democratic and Republican sides. However, this isn’t the first time that the Republican majority Senate has been faced with this task. In 2016, the death of conservative judge Antonin Scalia in February of 2016 led to controversy in the Senate. Due to it being an election year, the Republican majority Senate blocked President Obama’s attempts to nominate Mr. Merrick Garland to be heard and appointed to the Supreme Court. During one of these hearings to block Merrick Garland’s nomination, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-NC) said, “In the last year [of a president’s term]...that [we] are not going to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court.” Now, Senator Graham has laid out a plan to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat just 6 weeks before election day in hopes of her being on the SCOTUS during the November 10th hearing that could potentially overturn healthcare (Obamacare) for 20 million people. On the flip side, Amy Klobuchar is arguing that the fact that 800,000 people have already cast their election ballots should be the primary reason why a new Supreme Court nominee should not be pushed through before the results of the election come through.
The polarization of this election makes the Supreme Court nomination all the more delicate. Planned Parenthood, healthcare, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and climate change action could all be potentially swayed depending on which way the country’s citizens vote. As we mourn the loss of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, honor her life and her legacy by voting your values and your conscience. If you are over 18, or turn 18 by November 3rd and need help with registration or aren’t sure if you are registered already, please visit vote.org and look for the state you live in. Vote early, vote absentee, or vote on November 3rd, but just remember that your vote matters.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ruth-Bader-Ginsburg
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-case-center-basis-sex-180971110/