by Amy Coney Barrett
Since my recent nomination to the Supreme Court, I’ve been receiving a lot of criticism, and I think it’s time for me to clarify where I stand on certain issues. Yes, I am a devout Catholic, and have championed those values throughout my law career. But to call me a “religious extremist” is ridiculous and unfair – all I want to do is force my religious views onto the nation, using its highest court, with the support of an impeached president exploiting his power to evade criminal prosecution. What’s so “extreme” about that?
I think we can all admit, words like “religious extremism” and “theocratic dystopia” get thrown around so much that they’ve lost all meaning. But like many people in this country, all I want is to live my life based on the teachings of Jesus – like letting felons have guns but not the right to vote, and making health care less accessible to women and the poor. Just because none of these things were stated in the Constitution or the Bible doesn’t make me an extremist – I just think that my minority worldview should be thrust upon all of you because I have power and you don’t. Calm down!
People are making a big deal about my association with the religious covenant, People of Praise, just because we used to call women “handmaids” and men “leaders,” but you’ve got to be crazy if you think something as silly as that could lead to a full-blown religious dystopia. Where would anybody have gotten such a crazy idea like that?
But if you’re wondering when I draw the line between my job and my religion, I abstain from the bench on any matters regarding the death penalty – I wouldn’t want my religion getting in the way of a state-sanctioned execution. That would just be ridiculous.
Has our president, who just appointed me to this position, committed crimes? Sure, but who among us hasn’t sinned? I, for one, was very terse with my husband recently and it’s been weighing on me for weeks. These sins are for the Lord to judge, not a “judge” to judge. So I’ll stick to strictly legal matters, like doing everything in my power to make sure women are forced to carry a pregnancy to term – just like Jesus and the Founding Fathers intended.
In the end, I have a spiritual calling to enforce a strict interpretation of the Constitution, with a loose interpretation of Jesus. And that kind of legal jazz is totally fair, as long as the Constitution allows. And as long as I’m the one interpreting it, you can bet it will! Hope that clears things up. Amen.
