Barrett avoids staking out position on Roe as abortion highlights Supreme Court hearings
(Worthy News) – From the first Democratic question posed to Amy Coney Barrett at her Supreme Court confirmation hearing, abortion played a central role in opposition to the judge’s likely ascendance to the court.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, as soon as her questioning time began on Tuesday, asked Barrett if she agreed with her mentor Justice Antonin Scalia that Roe v. Wade, the landmark case legalizing abortion nationwide, was “wrongly decided.” Barrett responded that she could not answer the question because of her position on a federal court but promised to “follow the law” as far as abortion litigation was concerned. Throughout the rest of the two days of questioning, other Democratic senators attempted to pin her down on the question with similar, fruitless results.
Barrett affirmed to Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Tuesday that the court had upheld Roe in the 1994 decision Planned Parenthood v. Casey but did not say whether or not she agreed with that decision. A few hours later, she denied in response to questioning from Sen. Amy Klobuchar that Roe is a “super-precedent,” meaning a case whose outcome is widely agreed upon. Barrett instead said that it likely “doesn’t fall into that category.” She reiterated these answers on Wednesday as senators continued to press her on the topic. [ Source (Read More…) ]