Victoria Harkless
Assistant Editor-in-Chief
On September 18th, 2020 United States Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,RBG, passed away. Most known for her sucessful fight against gender discrimination, workers rights and the seperation of church and state, RBG was very influential in everything she did and her informed input will be missed.
According to history.com, she was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 after years of work in civil liberties and women's rights projects. She served there until 1993 when President Bill Clinton selected her to fill in the seat vacated by Byron White. She was chosen to combat the super conservative members of the court.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was well received as the Senate confirmed her 96-3. When she was confirmed, she became the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice. In 1996 Ginsburg wrote the landmark decision that was upheld by the supreme court, which proclaimed that Virginia military institutions could not refuse women.
Overall, Ruth Badger Ginsburg did a lot of good in several fields over her many years of service. Though her spot in the court is now trying to be filled. In light of the upcoming election, President Donald Trump has chosen a new justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Barrett is an alumna and has taught at Notre Dame Law school since 2002. She specialized in federal courts, constitutional law and statutory interpretation. She has not shown support for the Affordable Care Act and has openly criticized other justices for supporting it in the years before her nomination.
One of the more notable things that Barrett is known for is the religious group People of Praise. There are rumors of this group inspiring Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale. While there is no proof to this directly, there are many similarities between the two. The government in The Handmaid's Tale is a religion lead, then the females of the society are called “handmaids” and the women in People of Praise are also called that. Another shocking similarity is that both have very misogynistic views including male authority over families and other reproductive rights.
While Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Amy Coney Barrett had different views and values it is encouraging for women of all ages to see these strong women in powerful positions.
Although trying to remain unbiased, it is nearly impossible to find completely unbiased information and the Eagle’s Eye Newspaper encourages looking into Amy Coney Barrett on your own.
Image Credit: Gayatri Molhotra on Unsplash
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