Planned Parenthood Advocates Statement on the Nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett

INDIANAPOLIS — Today, Judge Amy Coney Barrett was selected as President Trump’s third Supreme Court nominee. Despite nearly 50 years of legal precedent establishing the constitutional right to abortion, and in the face of a pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans, this administration and Republican leadership in the Senate are rushing the nomination process in order to eliminate the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and overturn Roe v. Wade.

Statement from LaKimba DeSadier, Indiana State Director at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Indiana and Kentucky:

“Filling this vacancy before a new president is inaugurated would be a disgrace to democracy and a blatant disregard for the 62% of Americans who want Sen. McConnell to wait until January. Hoosiers know first hand what happens when anti-abortion politicians work overtime to restrict our constitutional rights. We’ve lived under a Pence regime and fought in a court of appeals that includes Barrett. Currently, 70 percent of women in Indiana live in a county without an abortion provider. Indiana has passed more abortion restrictions than any other state in the nation aside from Louisiana, with Hoosier lawmakers passing 63 abortion restrictions into law between 1973 and 2019. The state where Barrett lives has rendered Roe meaningless already for thousands of people.

“Access to abortion is hanging on by a thread in states like Indiana. Since becoming a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Barrett has voted to revisit cases involving abortion restrictions in which other judges had previously held the abortion laws at issue were unconstitutional. Her opposition to our ability to access health care, including reproductive health care is a disgrace to Justice Ginsburg’s incredible legacy.

“The U.S Senate has an opportunity to reject this nomination and listen to their constituents. Our health care access, reproductive rights, civil rights, workers’ rights and our democracy are on the line. We call on our Senators to keep Justice Ginsburg’s seat open until a new president is inaugurated.”

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Planned Parenthood Advocates of Indiana and Kentucky (PPAIK) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to ensuring access to affordable reproductive health care, including abortion, by educating residents and policy-makers about issues affecting Hoosiers and Kentuckians. PPAIK lobbies and educates to advance Planned Parenthood’s mission and engages in limited electoral activities.