Death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Spurs National Discussion
By Antara Singh-Ghai '22 and Natilie Mikhaeel '22
Just 46 days before the presidential election, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at the age of 87 on Sep. 18, 2020, due to complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Known to many Americans as “Notorious RBG,” she was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and confirmed to the Supreme Court by a 96-3 Senate majority. She became the second woman on the Supreme Court, following Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Ginsburg was first diagnosed with and defeated colon cancer in 1999, but was later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2009.
While some Americans were shocked she passed away so soon, others were not particularly surprised by the news.
“I couldn’t believe it because I thought she was going to last a little longer,” junior Alexander Valbuena said. “It was saddening.”
On the other hand, junior Allie Farber said she knew Ginsburg was in poor health, and her death didn’t necessarily come as a shock. However, she did not think it would occur so close to the election. Both students noted her impact on women’s rights and equality throughout her career.
As a notably liberal justice, Ginsburg’s death currently leaves the Supreme Court with a 5-3 conservative majority. It also left a spot open for President Donald Trump to nominate a replacement. This action was immediately met with both criticism and support from many. After Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in February 2016, Republican senators blocked President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, from being confirmed, stating that a justice should not be nominated during an election year until the new president was in office.
Donald Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, a 48-year-old conservative circuit judge, came 40 days before the election.
“He has every right to do so until the day he leaves office,” Valbuena said. He then referenced a video of Ginsburg saying that a president is elected to four years rather than three and can make decisions until the day he leaves office.
“I don’t agree with the vote to confirm because of the proximity of the election and because of the comments a number of senators made four years ago when Merrick Garland was nominated by Obama,” Farber said. “However, I understand why Trump made the decision.”
The confirmation of Barrett would put the Supreme Court at a 6-3 conservative majority of justices on the bench, which has struck fear in many people that decisions such as Roe v. Wade, which protects a pregnant woman's liberty to have an abortion without excessive government restriction, could be overturned as a result. This worries Farber, as she agrees with the decision made in Roe v. Wade.
“Her possible interest in overturning that decision does worry me for the future of women’s protection,” she said.
Valbuena, however, disagreed.
“It’s unfair to assume that things like Roe v. Wade will be overturned,” he said. “We shouldn’t judge her just because she was nominated by a conservative president.”
In terms of how fairly Barrett would interpret the Constitution, both noted the fact that Barrett is an originalist. Originalism is the concept of interpreting the Constitution while aiming to closely follow the intentions of the original writers. It tends to be a philosophy more present in conservative justices. Because of this, Valbuena believes she will have more right-leaning values. While Farber disagrees with Barrett’s originalist interpretation, she does agree that Barrett’s commitment to originalism is a fair one. Both Valbuena and Farber agree that if Barrett were to be confirmed, she would represent and interpret the Constitution in a fair manner.
With the presidential election in less than four weeks, Republicans are on track to quickly confirm Barrett this month. Proceedings to hold a vote are set to begin on October 15. Barrett’s confirmation would make her the fifth woman to serve on the Supreme Court. If all goes according to Senate Republicans' plan, Barrett will likely be confirmed before the presidential election on November 3.