ROANOKE, Va. – After a late night, controversial vote of 52-48 in the Senate, Amy Coney Barrett has officially been sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice.
The confirmation of Barrett is not only a topic of debate at the Capitol but across the Commonwealth as well. It was the closest vote in decades and experts believe this will be the most conservative court since World War II.
Monday night, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine voted against Barrett’s confirmation and said Republicans broke their promise by proceeding with it.
“This one in some ways is the most outrageous.” Kaine said. “Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies September 18 and despite the Republicans having promised me, their colleagues, colleagues of the country that they would wait and let the people decide who was the President before in the Senate before filling the vacancy. They tore that promise up.”
Two of the main topics Americans are keeping a close eye on is the fate of women’s health reproductive rights and the Affordable Care Act.
The leader of the Women’s March on Roanoke, Ivonne Wallace Fuentes, said she never imagined Roe v. Wade would be debated ever again and potentially overturned.
“So access to a safe and legal abortion is obviously on top of that list," she said. "But I don’t think we can stop there. I’m afraid for years we will see fundamental attacks on many parts of women’s health and that is deeply concerning to me.”
However, Republican Representative Morgan Griffith told 10 news he doesn’t see her confirmation as a problem, but rather, a step in the right direction.
“I don’t think those folks who want to claim the sky is falling and the reproductive rights are correct, but I would say that she is going to move the country in a more pro-life direction and I think most people are in fact pro-life in the United States," Griffith said.
Republican Representative Ben Cline told us in a statement:
“I was thrilled to see Justice Amy Coney Barrett confirmed as the newest member of the Supreme Court,” Congressman Ben Cline (VA-06) said. “Watching her be sworn in last night by Justice Thomas on the South Lawn of the White House was a powerful image. It showed my young daughters, who were watching beside me, that regardless of your race, religion, or sex, anything is possible in this country. I am ecstatic that a principled, female conservative now sits on the High Court, and I wish Justice Barrett the best of luck on this new endeavor.”