On Thursday, the Republicans in the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to move Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court forward to a full Senate vote, likely on Monday, October 26th. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee protested the vote.
In response, Transgender Law Center (TLC), the largest national trans-led organization advocating self-determination for all people, issued the following statement from executive director Kris Hayashi:
“While trans and gender nonconforming people have learned that our liberation will not be granted by the Supreme Court, we understand that the decisions made will have an impact on the scope of our fight. Our access to healthcare, right to protection from discrimination, and assurance that our vote will be counted hang in the balance.
“During her confirmation hearings, Trump’s pick to the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, refused to give her views on a number of important topics that the Supreme Court will take up this year that impact trans and gender nonconforming people. She refused to say whether she would recuse herself from Texas v. California, a case that will determine the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For trans and gender nonconforming people still grappling with the uncertainty caused by a proposed rollback of protection from discrimination in access to health care, her answer is deeply troubling.
“Additionally, while she didn’t give her view on Roe v. Wade, we know that she personally signed an anti-abortion letter that accompanied an ad calling to overturn Roe v. Wade. Trans and gender nonconforming people, especially Black and brown trans people of color and trans people living in the South, need increased access to abortion services, not the unnecessary barriers that could result from Barrett’s vote on Food and Drug Administration v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
“This week, in a 5-3 decision the Supreme Court voted in favor of Alabama’s ban on curbside voting. In the midst of COVID-19, the Supreme Court is issuing decisions that place people in unnecessary danger, making them choose between their right to vote and their health. During her confirmation hearings, Barrett refused to say whether federal law allows the president to unilaterally delay an election and whether she would recuse herself from election-related cases. For this reason, among many others, Transgender Law Center demands that the Senate reject Barrett and we urge our community to call their Senators to oppose her confirmation.”