Things To Know About Trump’s Potential Supreme Court Justice Pick, Amy Coney Barrett: Devout Christian Who Has Pushed For Anti-Abortion Laws

#DonaldTrump plans on choosing #AmyConeyBarrett as the new Supreme Court justice. 

Several Republican sources with information about the potential Supreme Court pick say that Trump is looking at Barrett to fill the currently empty seat. While nothing has been officially confirmed, and Trump may be able to make a last-minute change, Trump is expected to select Barrett. CNN’s Jamie Gangel and Pamela Brown report Trump will make his announcement on Saturday. 

The decision comes after Justice #RuthBaderGinsburg past away this week, which made the seat available for a replacement. Barrett is the only potential nominee that has met with Trump in person. A former senior administration official who is familiar with the process said Barrett was always the option Trump was going to choose. 

“She was the plan all along. She’s the most distinguished and qualified by traditional measures. She has the strongest support among the legal conservatives who have dedicated their lives to the court. She will contribute most to the court’s jurisprudence in the years and decades to come,” said the former official. 

Barrett, 48, was born and raised in New Orleans, and she is the oldest of seven children. She now also has seven children of her own. Two of the kids were adopted in Haiti. Back in December 2017, she was appointed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and some allegedly felt that her devout Catholic faith would get in the way of her position because of her history. “Why is it that so many of us on this side have this very uncomfortable feeling that dogma and law are two different things, and I think whatever a religion is, it has its own dogma. The law is totally different,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein told Barrett. “And I think in your case, professor, when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you. And that’s of concern.” 

Feinstein went on to say that Barrett was a “controversial” nominee “because you have a long history of believing that your religious beliefs should prevail” over the law. Feinstein was seemingly referring to Barrett’s stance on Roe Vs. Wade, the law that bans the government from involving itself into a woman’s bodily choice, particularly in reference to their reproductive organs. “You’re controversial because many of us that have lived our lives as women really recognize the value of finally being able to control our reproductive systems,” she said. “And Roe entered into that, obviously.” While Barrett says that she would have “no opportunity” to overturn Roe. Vs. Wade, her background as a former worker of ex-Associate Justice of the Supreme Court #AntoninScalia, raises concerns for pro-abortion advocates. Scalia was known for his anti-abortion views. “There would be no opportunity for me to be a no vote on Roe,” Barrett responded. “And I would faithfully apply all Supreme Court precedent. It’s never appropriate for a judge to impose that judge’s personal convictions, whether they arise from faith or anywhere else, on the law,” she added.

Since being appointed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017, Barrett has reviewed two abortion cases, both of which dealt with restrictions on the procedure, CBS News’ Kate Smith reports. In Bo vs. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky Inc., Barrett joined dissenters who argued in favor of an Indiana law that would require doctors to notify the parents of a minor who is looking to get an abortion. She also joined dissenters in another abortion case from Indiana, Commissioner of the Indiana State Department of Health v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky Inc. in which Barrett was in favor of a rehearing of two state laws. One of the laws regulated the fetal remains from abortion procedures, the other law would have banned abortions if the situation was released to sex, race, or disability, including life-threatening conditions. 

Barrett teaches at Notre Dame, but she is an alumnus of the school, graduating first of her class in Notre Dame 1997. She returned to her alma mater in 2002 as a professor. If chosen as the new Supreme Court Justice, she would be the youngest justice on the bench and the fifth woman.