WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) today issued the following statement on the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court:

“First of all, there should be no nomination and absolutely no confirmation until after the Presidential inauguration. This is a rushed process and any candidate will no doubt be inadequately vetted and unqualified for a lifetime appointment to the highest court. Barrett’s long history of anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-immigrant statements and decisions make her fundamentally unfit to serve on the Supreme Court. As someone who has repeatedly ruled to restrict access to contraception and reproductive care, Judge Barrett, if confirmed, would be set on carrying out the far-right’s quest to overturn Roe v. Wade, settled law that has been the law of the land for nearly half a century. Let me be clear: abortion care is health care, and health care is a human right. Judge Barrett is a dangerous, far-right ideologue who does not belong on our nation’s highest court.

“It is disgraceful that rather than passing a critical comprehensive COVID relief package to help the millions of families struggling under the weight of this public health and economic crisis, this callous Republican party would rather attempt to spend their time rushing through this ultraconservative, unqualified nominee just weeks before an election—a move opposed by two thirds of Americans. I implore my Senate colleagues to act in good faith and abstain from voting on any Supreme Court nominee until the next President is inaugurated.”

This week, Congresswoman Pressley and her colleagues on the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus wrote to Senate leaders urging them to abstain from voting on any Supreme Court nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg until after the next President is sworn into office.

Congresswoman Pressley is Chair of the Abortion Rights and Access Task Force, a prominent taskforce within the House Pro-Choice Caucus, and has fought to protect comprehensive reproductive health care for all, including abortion care.In May 2019, she introduced a resolution to reaffirm Congress’s support for the landmark Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, and an individual’s constitutional right to exercise their reproductive autonomy. In September 2019, following reporting on new allegations of sexual misconduct committed by Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, she led a resolution calling for an impeachment inquiry into Kavanaugh. The Congresswoman has also led efforts in Congress to repeal the Hyde Amendment, language that prohibits federal Medicaid funds from being used to cover abortion care.

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