Amy Coney Barrett Signed Letter in 2006 Saying It’s “Barbaric” to Kill Babies in Abortions

National   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Oct 1, 2020   |   2:42PM   |   Washington, DC

Evidence of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s strong pro-life convictions is growing.

The Daily Beast reports Barrett, a judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, signed an open letter in 2006 that described abortion as “barbaric” and called for an end to Roe v. Wade.

Barrett is President Donald Trump’s choice to fill the seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in September. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she would solidify a strong 6-3 conservative majority on the high court.

Pro-life advocates hope and abortion activists fear that Barrett could lead to the undoing of Roe v. Wade and help restore protections for unborn babies. And, based on the letter and other past statements, those hopes are growing.

The letter that she signed was a 2006 newspaper advertisement sponsored by St. Joseph County Right to Life in South Bend, Indiana.

“The Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion for any reason,” the ad states. “Now, after more than thirty-two years under Roe more than 47 million unborn children have been aborted. … It’s time to put an end to the barbaric legacy of Roe v. Wade and restore laws that protect the lives of unborn children.”

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The ad also displayed hundreds of signatures from Indiana residents, including Barrett’s, along with the statement, “We, the following citizens of Michiana, oppose abortion on demand and defend the right to life from fertilization to natural death.”

At the time, Barrett was law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

A devout Catholic and mother of seven, Barrett is a former clerk of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Like Scalia, she has been described as an “originalist” judge. Though her judicial rulings on abortion are few, she did rule in support of two Indiana pro-life laws during her time on the Seventh Circuit.

Barrett was a member of the Notre Dame University Faculty for Life Group from 2010 to 2016, and she received an award from the Thomas More Society, a pro-life Catholic legal group, in 2018.

She also has made several statements about the value of babies in the womb. According to the Law and Crime blog, Barrett signed a public letter in 2015 that emphasized “the value of human life from conception to natural death.” She also said she believes that life begins at conception.

According to a recent analysis by the Law and Crime blog, Barrett’s statements and writings about Supreme Court abortion cases as well as stare decisis, which means sticking to past legal precedents, also suggest that she may rule to restore protections for unborn babies.

Pro-life leaders have praised Barrett as an excellent choice for the court.

The U.S. Senate scheduled her confirmation hearing for Oct. 12.