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Appointing a Woman to the Supreme Court Doesn’t Advance Human Rights
Days after Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing, we must remember that a female replacement does not always mean progress
The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has left an already uncertain political landscape even more unstable. The liberal wing of the court is now gone, and Ginsburg’s reliable record on reproductive health is being mourned as pro-choice activists fear rights will be rolled back by a conservative court. President Trump, perhaps preemptively shielding himself from criticism, has said he will appoint a woman to fill Ginsburg’s seat. “I think it should be a woman because I actually like women much more than men,” he said. But Trump’s eagerness to prove he loves women in high places raises important questions about the politics of representation and how identity does not necessarily make progressive politics.
Trump’s two top potential nominees are rumored to be a conservative White woman, Amy Coney Barrett, and Cuban American Barbara Lagoa from Florida. Barrett has already been revealed to be a devout Roman Catholic who has said that marriage is between a man and a woman, consistently demonstrated opposition to reproductive rights, and said Title IX protections don’t extend to trans people. Judge Barbara…
