Dear John, An article by the AP today carries the headline: "Supreme Court nominee’s ‘empathy’ is flashpoint for Senate."
Wait, what?
The reporter, Lisa Mascaro, observed that empathy is apparently not a quality that Republican senators want to see in a Supreme Court justice: “Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said he was looking for a justice ‘who will make decisions based on the law, not based on personal experiences or preferences, not on empathy,’” in reference to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination.
Let that sink in.
By contrast, I would argue that too many of the sitting justices have shown no empathy in reaching their opinions that threaten to destroy people’s lives and futures. The fact that the life experiences of women and people of color have been missing from the Court for so long is what has brought us to this moment in our history when the Court is debating whether the Constitution guarantees that women should have full bodily autonomy.
Senator Cory Booker got it right when speaking to Judge Jackson: “I want to tell you, when I look at you, this is why I get emotional… It’s hard for me not to look at you and not see my mom. I see my ancestors and yours.”
He added: “You have earned this spot. You are worthy. You are a great American.”
A vote from the Judiciary Committee on Judge Jackson’s nomination could come as soon as this Monday, when the committee will meet in executive session — but panel rules mean a vote could be delayed. We’ll keep you updated — and keep your eyes peeled next week for our recap of the hearings in the latest "On the Issues with Michele Goodwin" episode.
This week, we also saw Idaho pass a copycat abortion ban modeled after Texas’s notorious S.B. 8 — which bans all abortions after six weeks, without exceptions for rape or incest, and relies on bounty hunters to enforce the law. Despite courts continually shutting down challenges to the law, advocates in Texas refuse to give up the fight against S.B. 8, filing new complaints in federal and Illinois districts last week.
And finally, I leave you with the extraordinary insights of Madeleine Albright, the first woman secretary of state, who died this week. Albright was a pioneer of feminist foreign policies, bringing women into the foreign policy agenda in unprecedented and groundbreaking ways. “Some say, all this is cultural and there's nothing anybody can do about it,” she said, speaking of the abuses experienced by women around the globe in a 2010 address commemorating International Women’s Day. “I say it's criminal and we each have an obligation to stop it.”
Let that sink in. |
Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor |
