Amy Coney Barrett signed letter calling for end to ‘barbaric legacy of Roe v. Wade'
Judge Amy Coney Barrett put her name on a newspaper ad in 2006 that slammed Roe v. Wade as a “barbaric" ruling that must be overturned, marking the most direct expression of her opposition to the landmark Supreme Court decision on abortion rights.
Barrett, who was picked by President Trump last week to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, signed the ad together with her husband while working as a law professor at Notre Dame University.
“The Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion for any reason,” reads the two-page ad, which ran in the South Bend Tribune and was issued by an extreme anti-abortion group in Indiana called St. Joseph County Right to Life. “It’s time to put an end to the barbaric legacy of Roe v. Wade and restore laws that protect the lives of unborn children.”
The ad, which ran 14 years ago and was first discovered by The Guardian on Thursday, could become a lightning rod for Senate Democrats as they seek to put pressure on some of their moderate Republican colleagues to oppose Barrett’s nomination.
Barrett’s confirmation hearings are set to start Oct. 12 in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Republicans are hoping to hold a final floor vote on her nomination before the Nov. 3 election.
The newly-surfaced ad suggests Barrett would as a Supreme Court justice push for the rescission of Roe, which legalized abortion on a federal level.
In her current job as a U.S. Court of Appeals judge, Barrett has ruled twice in favor of hearing cases on restricting abortion access in Indiana. She’s also a Catholic conservative, and Democrats have raised deep concerns about the future of Roe should she be confirmed to the Supreme Court.
However, like most judicial appointees, Barrett has largely been careful not to comment on hypothetical rulings she may have to make in the future, especially on abortion rights, giving the newspaper ad particular significance.
In addition to criticizing Roe, the ad also states that the signees “demand and defend the right to life from fertilization to natural death," suggesting that Barrett holds the hardline view that abortions are never permissible, no matter what reason or stage in the pregnancy.
Democrats, who are already furious with Republicans for rushing to replace Ginsburg despite the looming election, will likely pounce on the ad as they grill Barrett during the confirmation hearings.
“The surfacing of the 2006 ad is so important because until now GOP has defended Barrett’s stance against abortion by (disingenuously) saying she wouldn’t try to impose her view as a judge. But this shows that beyond her personal views, as a matter of law, she wants Roe overturned,” tweeted Brian Fallon, the executive director of Demand Justice, a Democratic super PAC that’s pouring millions of dollars into efforts opposing Barrett’s nomination.
A handful of centrist Republican senators have previously suggested that they would consider a willingness to scrap Roe disqualifying for a Supreme Court pick, including Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who faces a difficult reelection race this year.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany demurred when asked Thursday afternoon if Trump nominated Barrett because of her distaste for Roe.
“The president has been clear that he would never ask a judge to pre-judge a case,” McEnany told reporters. “Judge Amy Coney Barrett has on multiple occasions said it is never appropriate for a judge to impose that judge’s personal convictions, whether they derive from faith or anywhere else, on the law.”
