On Sept. 25, Trump announced his new candidate for the Supreme Court would be Judge Amy Coney Barret, just seven days after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. New York Times reporters Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman stated in their article the kind of effect a judge like Barret would have on our justice system:“In picking Judge Barrett, a conservative and a hero to the anti-abortion movement, Mr. Trump could hardly have found a more polar opposite to Justice Ginsburg, a pioneering champion of women’s rights and leader of the liberal wing of the court. The appointment would shift the center of gravity on the bench considerably to the right, giving conservatives six of the nine seats.” 

At the age of 87, on Sept. 18, Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away, leaving behind an inspiring legacy. Ginsburg was the second woman ever to hold a seat on the Supreme Court, she was a fierce activist who battled cancer and dedicated her life to fighting for human rights and equality. Ginsburg fought for gender equality with cases like the United States v. Virginia and Ledbetter v. Goodyear, ensuring women had equal rights under the law as men. She fought for abortion rights and upheld Roe v. Wade each time legislation trying to dismantle it came to the court. She fought for LGBTQ+ rights and became the only Supreme Court justice to officiate a same-sex marriage. Ginsburg’s accomplishments span the length of her career, as she fought to protect Americans who were not represented by their government and opened many doors for women in government and beyond.

Her passing means a lot for our country’s future, not only have we lost an inspiring activist and champion of justice, but she has left a vacancy on the supreme court, and with Trump still being in office, he is racing to fill her spot. In 2016, nine months before the presidential election, President Obama was blocked by the senate and senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, citing that the American people elect a president first. Then a new justice would be appointed. The republican party is now pushing a very different narrative on what is fair and just as they race to fill Ginsburg’s seat in under 40 days when we elect a new president. 

Clara Spera, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s granddaughter, said that while spending time with her grandmother in her final days asked her what her dying wish was and what else she wanted to tell Americans. Ruth responded with, “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”

“I read it back to her,and she was very happy with that,” Spera said. “When I asked ‘is that it, is there anything else you’d like to say?’ she said ‘the rest of my work is a matter of public record.’ So that’s all she wanted to add.” Trump has responded to her wish by having doubts and claiming it was written by democrats to spread to the public.

Having a substantial conservative majority on our Supreme Court would change our country’s course in drastic and harmful ways. Abortion reform is already in discussion, and the threat to human rights seems only to be growing. Ginsburg spent her life fighting for equality and change, being the first of many in our government to do so. She hoped her legacy would consist of continuing that work and progressing farther than she could. Now the pressure is on for Judge Barret to see if she will dismantle this or contribute to the progress RBG made.