This is an opinion piece. Annie Shafran is a junior at Mendham who writes for school news. All of the views expressed in the following editorial are her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Patriot. 

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently passed away on September 18, 2020. She graduated from Columbia Law School and quickly after, assumed the role of courtroom advocate for the fair treatment of women. She was referred to as “the Thurgood Marshall of gender equality law,” (Politico). In 1980, President Carter appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and thirteen years later, she was appointed to the U.S. Supreme court under President Clinton. Ginsburg fought hard for the rights of others, notably striking down the law that prevented couples of the same sex to receive equal federal benefits than heterosexual couples. Two years after, she sided with the majority in the Supreme Court’s ruling for legalizing same-sex marriage, (Politico). However, after building a name for herself and bettering the country, after twenty-seven years on the Supreme Court, Trump and his followers are attempting to destroy RBG’s legacy and tarnish her reputation to make themselves and their beliefs better and more prominent in today’s society. 

Partially, President Trump is so determined to deter the American view of Ginsburg, because the two have had feuds dating back to the beginning of Trump’s term. To set the tone on the relationship between the two, not, that at Ginsburg’s funeral, President Trump was booed by the crowd, also chanting “Vote him out”. Ginsburg’s family addressed the protesters, saying that it was what she would have wanted and that she would be proud of the outcome, (ABC News). 

Back in 2016, Donald Trump referred to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s involvement and vocalization in the presidential campaign as being a “disgrace to the court” after she criticized Trump for being the Republican party’s, (New York Times). Ginsburg then ushered back that, “Mr. Trump [is] “a faker” who has “an ego” and has been treated too gently by the press. [Ginsburg] said Mr. Trump “says whatever comes into his head at the moment” and has no consistency in his thinking,” (New York Times). Constantly, the two were seen not afraid to share their distaste for one another. Trump, typically making more heinous and brutal comments, would be eager to get rid of as much evidence of Ginsburg from the American Justice system. Time and time again, Trump has shown that he is very concerned with his ego, so he would want to make RBG appear as the “villain” of his presidency and not how she was truly perceived as a powerful, determined Justice. There was rarely ever a time that Justice Ginsburg and President Trump agreed on an 

Issue. Ginsburg constantly advocated for women’s rights and equality. This later translated to gender equality for all as times changed and grew more progressive. However, in Trump’s term, he has severely harmed what Ginsburg has worked towards in ways like, taking funding away from women’s health centers, like Planned Parenthood. Trump attempted to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which was a program enacted during the Obama administration to aid in the protection of undocumented immigrants who where brought the United States as children. However, the court ruled against it 5-4, Ginsburg in the majority, (Politico.com). As evident in the ruling stated above, the courts were almost directly split on issues, only one person making or breaking the decision. Now, with Ginsburg out of the courts, a Trump attempting to replace her with one of his like-minded people, the rulings to undo what both President Obama and Ginsburg have worked to may easily be undone, harming the American people and their rights. 

Speaking to her granddaughter in her final days, Ginsburg’s revealed that, “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed,”(NPR). However, less than a week from her passing, Trump reported that he would be nominating a new Justice during his presidency. During the Obama Administration, Justice Antonin Scalia had passed away eight months before election day, and he was heavily scrutinized and criticized for appointing a new justice so close to the end of his term. On the contrary, Trump did the same things, only two months until reelection, and did not receive nearly the same response. Trump explained how he “has a “moral duty” to replace her,” (New York Times).

The new nominee, Amy Barrett, is as far from Ruth Bader Ginsburgs as one could get. She is extremely against abortion regulation and is a pro-lifer. In 2018, Barrett joined a dissent made up of fellow conservatives about an abortion dispute in Indiana. It was about a provision that made it unlawful for physicians to perform an abortion because of the race, sex, or disability of the fetus was a “eugenics statute,” (CNN). She is also a believer that “less gun control is better.” Last year, she dissented alone when a panel majority rejected a Second Amendment challenge from a man who was “found guilty of felony mail fraud and prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal and Wisconsin law,” (CNN). Another thing that Barret is looking to do is host “a vote to strike down the Affordable Care Act,” (CNN). This would undo almost everything that Ginsburg had worked so hard for during her career. There were also rumors that Barrett may attempt to revoke some of the laws that Ginsburg had worked to enact regarding the treatment of same-sex couples.

Should Barrett be appointed before Election Day, one of her first cases would be on the most recent challenge with Obamacare. The court is scheduled to hear that case on November 10, and if on the case, Barrett can do some serious damage to the health care system. This would include making prescriptions more expensive, not providing free birth control, and fewer screenings would be covered. As well as many Americans would lose or worsen their insurance policy.

Moreover, Trump’s immense dislikings for late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will eventually lead to him and his followers attempting to undo all the good that she has done for the country, just to make themselves appear more powerful.