FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Evita Almassi, ealmassi@nwhn.org

The following statement can be attributed to Cynthia A. Pearson, Executive Director of the National Women’s Health Network.

Washington, D.C. — Over the last week, we’ve had little chance to mourn the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a long-time champion of women's health, or to celebrate her life. Instead, we've been fighting to protect her legacy — and our rights — from a raw power grab.

Even before Donald Trump's announcement today, Senate Republicans were already committed to rushing through confirmation of his nominee before the election, sight-unseen, in brazen disregard of both their own stated principles and Justice Ginsburg’s dying wish that her successor be appointed by the next president. Trump and his allies in the Senate didn't even have the respect to wait until Justice Ginsburg’s burial to announce a nominee who would eagerly tear down her life's work.

Trump promised the far-right that he would nominate someone to fill Justice Ginsburg's seat who would strike down the Affordable Care Act and Roe v Wade; endanger the lives and dignity of immigrants, LGBTQ people, religious minorities, and other marginalized groups; kowtow to the gun lobby; permit corporate polluters to poison our air, water, and climate; and prioritize the rich and powerful over the safety of workers and consumers. In choosing Amy Coney Barrett today, Trump has found a judge who meets all of his shameful qualifications.

If confirmed, the women of America will have to live with Barrett's attacks on our health, our lives, and our freedoms for a generation or more. If she and her colleagues succeed in striking down the ACA in the midst of a global pandemic, gutting abortion rights, blocking police reform, or eliminating environmental and consumer protections, many of us won't make it.

But Donald Trump's concerns are more immediate. He and his allies in the Senate are steamrolling ahead because they believe that a corrupted Court will help Trump steal the election.

By a large majority, Americans (including half of Republicans) want the next president to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. That was the position adopted by the Senate in 2016 for then-President Obama's nominee and it should be the Senate's position now, four years later. Anything less risks delegitimizing the Court and establishing the governing principle that only raw power matters. No democracy can survive when the will of the people are subverted.

 

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Cindy Pearson was the NWHN’s Executive Director from 1996 to 2021. One of the nation's leading advocates for women's health, Cindy often testified before Congress,  NIH and the FDA and was frequently featured in the news as a consumer expert on women’s health issues. When she retired, Cindy received a Congressional Resolution in honor of her outstanding contributions to the health of women and girls.

Read more from Cindy Pearson.