U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s willingness to overturn abortion rights was not a “litmus test” for him.
Braun and U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) met with Barrett this week as the Hoosier jurist moves through the Supreme Court nomination process.
Young is criticizing Democrats’ approach to Barrett's nomination before any hearings have been held.
The senior Hoosier senator said he got to know Barrett, a University of Notre Dame professor, during her nomination to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“She’s a person of great integrity, very sharp intellect, incredibly strong work ethic, even good humor,” Young said.
Critics of Barrett’s nomination charge that she will help to overturn Roe v. Wade, the long-standing abortion rights precedent. Braun said overturning Roe is “complicated” but that he wants to see the Supreme Court rule differently on many abortion cases that move through the federal courts.
"And most of them are very pro-abortion, not pro-life and I think the pendulum needs to swing the other way,” Braun said.
Braun said he hopes Barrett would help that shift on the Court.
Opponents also charge that Barrett will vote to strike down the Affordable Care Act. Young takes offense at that.
“This is a mother of seven children, one of whom has special needs," Young said. "Of course Amy Coney Barrett cares about health care.”
Prior to her time on the federal bench, Barrett was critical of the Supreme Court decision upholding the ACA and appeared to support Justice Antonin Scalia’s arguments for striking the law down.
Braun said the ACA was always “doomed to fail” but criticizes Republicans for not presenting an adequate replacement.
Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.
