28 Oct 2020

Amy Coney Barrett's appointment turns SCOTUS conservative

From First Up, 5:06 am on 28 October 2020

Staying State-side now, where Judge Amy Coney Barrett has been confirmed to the Supreme Court by the US Senate. Coming as it does just one week from the election, her hugely controversial appointment gives the Republican Party a six to three majority of conservative members on the nation's highest court. Supreme Court justices are appointed for life, so Justice Barrett could wield major influence on US policy for decades to come. There is widespead concern about what this will mean for the the Affordable Care Act - or Obamacare - which the Republicans are trying to dismantle; and whether the Roe v Wade decision, which gives pregnant women the right to choose to have an abortion, is now at risk. Nathan Rarere spoke with our Washington correspondent Simon Marks.