In the lifetime of previous Supreme Court Justice and women’s activist Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she helped change the freedoms for women. On September 18, Ginsburg passed away due to pancreatic cancer. Due to her passing, a seat in the Supreme Court opened, meaning President Trump can try and replace Ginsburg’s spot. On September 26 President Trump announced that Amy Coney Barrett was his pick for the Supreme Court open seat. 

Barrett’s political stance and personal feelings in regards to women’s rights will completely dissolve the freedoms women have right now; the most critical right being the liberty to a woman’s abortion, which was determined in Roe v. Wade. Without Ginsburg in the Supreme Court upholding the outcome of Roe V. Wade, which was that women have a right to their own autonomy in deciding to terminate their pregnancy, Barrett could play a role in reversing this ruling. 

Barrett’s personal stance on abortion has not been clearly stated, but there is evidence suggesting that she will vote against abortion. 

At her Senate confirmation hearings regarding her seat on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017, Barrett was asked about her views on Roe v. Wade in which she responded, “All nominees are united in their belief that what they think about a precedent should not bear on how they decide cases.” 

Although, shortly before the 2016 election, Barrett was asked during her appearance at Jacksonville University in Florida about the hypothetical ways the future Supreme Court might allow states to pass restrictions on abortion. 

She stated that “I don’t think the core cases – Roe’s core holding that, you know, women have a right to an abortion – I don’t think that would change. But I think the question of whether people can get very late-term abortions, how many restrictions can be put on clinics – I think that would change.”

Now, years later as there is a possibility of Barrett becoming a Supreme Court Justice, her opinions on abortion are concrete since Trump had vowed during a presidential debate in 2016 that he will only appoint justices who would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. Barrett is also receiving praise from anti-abortion-rights groups and severe opposition from reproductive rights advocates like Fatima Goss Graves who is president of the National Women’s Law Center. 

If Barrett were to serve as a Supreme Court justice, it is likely that she will work to overturn the outcome over Roe v. Wade, which unrightfully takes away the right a woman has to her own autonomy. 

With the right of  a woman to have autonomy over her body possibly being terminated, women have begun to fear for their own reproductive rights. Female students at Arvada West have spoken out about their own emotions  regarding the possibility of Barrett replacing the vacant seat of Ginesburg. 

Senior Anna Kinzel elaborated on her thoughts of Barrett: “I have never really considered my right to a safe abortion to be in danger, but in the last couple of weeks, that all has shifted. I am frightened that we will return to an era where women’s healthcare is seen as taboo and the proper treatments will no longer be available. We have come so far as a nation with women’s rights, and I believe that this nomination [of Barrett] is not just a step back, but a slap in the face.”

It is rightfully clear that the nomination of Barrett for Supreme Court justice is an insult to women and to Ginsburg herself, who worked throughout her lifetime to try for equality for all humans, but especially women. 

Senior Gunnar Chisholm who is an outward Trump supporter, commenting on abortion laws and whether he supports Barrett’s views, “I honestly don’t think it’s my place to give an opinion towards whether abortions should be legal or not just because it has nothing to do with my body; I do believe that there should be a very valid reason for one such as in the case of rape, incest or anything pertaining to that matter.”

Controversy over who should have a say on what women do with their bodies leaves many people conflicted all the while setting the stage for others’ path to action. 

Ginsburg said herself in 1995 during her four days of questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee, on the topic of abortion that “it is essential to a woman’s equality with man that she be the decision maker, that her choice be controlling. If you impose restraints that impede her choice, you are disadvantaging her because of her sex.”

Now, in the case that Barrett  is allowed to enter into the Supreme Court and the Roe V. Wade precedent is overturned, the issue on abortion will be left to the states. This is sure to create intense fights in legislatures, which will result in women’s rights to an abortion to be determined almost entirely on where a person lives.