The Obamacare law, the right to abortion and the use of weapons were the first issues that Judge Amy Coney Barrett had to face this Tuesday in the interrogation in the Senate, on the second day of the confirmation hearings to occupy a position in the Court Supreme
The Chair of the Judiciary Committee, South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham, opened the session with a direct message on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.
This issue has been central in the discussion of Barrett's nomination, since according to Democrats it could spell the end of the health care law, affecting 20 million Americans who may lose their medical care.
These were the main questions and answers of the Senate cross-examination of Barrett.
Abortion
Amy klobuchar, a Democratic senator from Minnesota, asked Barrett if he considered that Roe's trial against Wade, which recognized the right to abortion in Texas in 1973, qualified as a "super precedent," the legal term used to refer to those cases. already closed and cannot be reviewed by the Supreme Court again.
Barrett, who earlier had referred to this case without giving his position, responded to Klobuchar that she
does not consider it a "super precedent" case
, which she defined as those cases "so well resolved that no one disputes or doubts its resolution ".
"I am answering so many questions about this case, that I think it indicates that it is not a case that can fall into the category of super precedent," added Barrett.
"People who have studied the case say
that does not mean that the case should be annulled
, but descriptively it
means that it is not a case that everyone has accepted," he
added.
Earlier, Senator Feinstein asked Barrett if he shared the view on the same trial held by his mentor Antonin Scalia, who was a critic of the establishment of law that he believed were not protected by the Constitution.
[Justice Barrett vows to the Senate to be independent and not follow her personal preferences in the Supreme Court]
Barrett said she could not express an opinion because it could give a "signal to the litigants" on how she could judge a similar case.
Feinstein said he was upset to receive that response and pressured Barrett.
"Senator, I completely understand why you are asking me that question. But again, I cannot precommit or say what my position is, because I do not have a position. I do not follow any agenda. My agenda is to stick to what the law says and decide each separate case, "Barrett replied.
Obamacare
Dianne Feinstein, Democratic Senator from California, asked Barrett about the Supreme Court session on November 10, when the case Texas vs. California is reviewed, on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.
Barrett responded that the Texas-led lawsuit "does not pose a challenge to coverage of pre-existing conditions or the maximum limit of lifetime relief."
Then Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley asked, "Is your goal to repeal the Affordable Care Act, as the Democrats say? Did you commit to the president or someone else to vote against that bill if Is it confirmed in the Supreme Court? "
"
Absolutely not. No one ever asked me for that
. And if they had, it would have been a very short conversation," Barrett replied.
LGBTQ Rights
Feinstein asked Barrett if he agreed with Justice Antonin Scalia's opinion that the Constitution does not give LGBTQ people the fundamental right to marry.
"
I am not going to express an opinion on whether or not I agree
with Justice Scalia. If I am confirmed, you will have Judge Barrett, not Justice Scalia," the Supreme Court nominee responded.
Racism
Rcihard Durbin, a Democratic senator from Illinois, asked Barrett if he saw the video of George Floyd, who was suffocated by a police officer in Minneapolis.
Barrett answered yes, and said her death had affected her in a "very, very personal" way, noting that she is the mother of two black children.
He said that he had cried with them and that he had explained what happened and why the racial violence had happened.
However, Barrett
did not want to give his position on the issue, nor did he want to give a diagnosis on the problem of racism
in the United States.
"(That is) beyond what I am capable of as a judge," he said.
Guns
Graham asked Barrett if she owned a gun and how that would affect her position in a case involving the 2nd Amendment.
Barret acknowledged that he has a weapon, but that does not prevent him from reviewing a related case fairly.
Catholic Religion
On his religious position, Graham asked him if he could put them aside in a related case.
Barrett responded, "Yes, I can. I have done it as a Seventh Circuit judge. If I continue there, I will continue to do so. If they confirm me in Supreme Court, I will do it there anyway."
Her Philosophy and Closeness to Justice Scalia
Senator Graham asked Barrett to explain her definition as an originalist judge and about her closeness to Justice Antonin Scalia.
"I interpret the Constitution as the law, I interpret the text and its meaning as it was originally drafted, and that does not change over time and it is not my responsibility to update that interpretation or impose my point of view," Barrett replied.
"Judge Scalia was my mentor and as I said before, his philosophy is mine as well. But I want to be careful in saying that, if I am confirmed, you will not have Judge Scalia, you will have Judge Barrett," she added with a sentence that you have repeated more than once during the session.
How Senate Confirmation Hearings Work
Barrett, whose appointment was proposed by President Donald Trump just weeks before the election, will be questioned in 30-minute segments by the 22 members of the Senate judicial committee, including Democrats who oppose her candidacy.
They have been pointing out for weeks that the winner of the presidential election is the one who should choose the replacement for the late Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Even two Republican senators agreed with it.
[This is Amy Coney Barrett, nominated by Trump for the Supreme Court: she is in favor of the public charge rule and against abortion]
This Monday, at the beginning of the confirmation hearings to occupy the position in the highest court in the country, Barrett promised to be
independent and interpret the constitution and laws to the letter,
regardless of his "own preferences."
In the two days Barrett, 48, has been accompanied by her husband and six of their seven children behind her in the courtroom.
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[Democrats will focus on Obamacare the battle against Amy Coney Barrett, Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court]
It is the
first time
that these hearings have been held
so close to election day on November 3.
[Why the death of Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg has created so much tension. We answer your questions]
Barrett's appointment is considered a momentous issue because the Supreme Court makes decisions on issues of great importance to American society and, being a life term, a new conservative judge could tip the balance of the court on that ideological side for at least less two decades, maybe more.
Currently, the court has five conservative and three progressive judges.
Amy Coney Barrett, accompanied by her children, during the hearing to review her nomination in the Senate.
The date for the final vote on Judge Barret's confirmation has not yet been set.
Senate Majority Leader Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell has said he will schedule a floor vote as soon as the Judiciary Committee's work is done.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, expects to wrap up the panel vote by Oct. 22.
That would leave 11 days of margin, including four on weekends, before the elections.
With information from AP, NBC News, The Washington Post, The New York Times.