What the Supreme Court Vacancy Means for Young People

Today's guest hosts are Brent J. Cohen and Charlotte Hancock, Executive Director and Communications Director for Generation Progress.

During today's episode, they discuss how the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, beyond being a devastating loss of a beloved individual and respected Justice, also puts the country in an extremely perilous situation.

As many Americans remember, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February of 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to even begin the confirmation process of President Obama’s chosen nominee for the vacant Supreme Court seat, saying that the nomination would take place too close to an election.

Now, with Donald Trump in the Oval Office—that pretense is gone. Many Senate Republicans who have stated on the record that they would refuse to confirm a nominee in 2020 have already backtracked on their earlier statements. And on Saturday, Donald Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the open seat, who holds extremely conservative views on health care, reproductive rights, and more.

One thing that’s different from what happened in 2016 is that now the election is not just approaching—it is already underway. Many people have already cast their ballots through early voting or mail-in voting. The voters deserve a say in who makes this next Supreme Court appointment.

During the show, Brent and Charlotte focus on what exactly is at stake with the Supreme Court vacancy—with a particular focus on the Affordable Care Act and reproductive rights.

To discuss these topics and more, they are joined by Renee Bracey Sherman, Executive Director of Abortion Stories, and Juan Sarmiento, Media Manager for Young Invincibles.

 

Here are the Twitter handles for today's guests and their organizations:

 

Renee Bracey Sherman - @RBraceySherman, Abortion Stories - @AbortionStories, Young Invincibles - @YoungInvincible

 

The website for "Generation Progress" is www.GenProgress.org and their Twitter Handle is @GenProgress.  Brent J. Cohen's Twitter handle is @BrentJCohen and Charlotte Hancock's handle is @CharlatAnne.