Report by Paula Antolini
(Washington) – September 26, 2020 – Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Alexis McGill Johnson released the following statement on the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court.
“Our nation is in the midst of a pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 people in the U.S., an economic disaster, and a national reckoning with systemic racism. And now with the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, our country has lost a champion who protected our rights and liberties, and was a fierce fighter for gender equality, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, abortion rights and health care for all. It would be absolutely wrong for the Senate to rush through a Supreme Court confirmation process while continuing to ignore the harms wrought by the pandemic and our nation’s collective pain.
“To be very clear, the fact that President Trump has nominated anyone to fill Justice Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat in this moment of national crisis is a direct threat to our health and rights and a disgrace to our democracy. Donald Trump has made it clear that he would only appoint justices who would overturn Roe v Wade, and his administration is currently asking the Supreme Court to dismantle the Affordable Care Act – we can’t afford to see this nomination succeed. Nominating Amy Coney Barrett is a particular insult to the legacy of Justice Ginsburg. Barrett’s history of hostility toward reproductive health and rights, expanded health care access, and more demonstrate that she will put Justice Ginsburg’s long record of ensuring that everyone receives equal justice under the law at risk.
“This is more than Justice Ginsburg’s seat – it’s the people’s seat. Planned Parenthood Action Fund will rise up and fight to stop Amy Coney Barrett, and any nomination, before the 2021 Inauguration.”
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Planned Parenthood Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Action Fund engages in educational, advocacy and electoral activity, including grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, and voter education.
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