Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court hearing day 2: 6 key highlights

Casey, a 1992 decision that reaffirmed someone’s right to an abortion, though her past opinions signal an openness to limiting these rights.“I’ve made no commitment to anyone about how I would decide any case,” Barrett emphasized, noting that President Donald Trump and his staffers had not discussed how she’d rule on specific cases — a concern many Democrats have highlighted given his previously stated promises to appoint anti-abortion nominees and judges who’d overturn the ACA.Barrett also noted repeatedly that she adhered to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s judicial philosophy of originalism, but emphasized that she’d bring her own perspective to the role. I think we want judges to approach cases thoughtfully and with an open mind.”When asked whether she’d recuse herself on cases reviewing the outcome of the upcoming election or the preservation of the Affordable Care Act, Barrett said she wouldn’t be able to commit to such a move at this point.“That’s not a question I can answer in the abstract,” Barrett said when pressed about whether she’d participate in the upcoming November case about the ACA. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has previously argued that Barrett should recuse herself from the case because of her criticisms of past decisions preserving the law — and because of Trump’s comments about picking judges who’d undo it. “I commit to you to fully and faithfully apply the law of recusal,” Barrett said. That opinion argued that “preventing a state statute from taking effect is a judicial act of extraordinary gravity in our federal structure” — suggesting that Barrett would have prevented her court from blocking the anti-abortion law at the heart of that case if given the chance.“I don’t have an agenda.