One of the more ridiculous leftist narratives of the Trump years were overwrought comparisons to The Handmaid’s Tale, a novel-turned-Hulu series depicting a dystopian future America under a theocratic government and society in which women were subservient to men.
That narrative hasn’t gone away along with Trump, but instead has been applied more broadly to Republicans and now specifically to Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, The Daily Caller reported.
The most recent linking of Justice Barrett to The Handmaid’s Tale came Saturday from MSNBC host Tiffany Cross, and though Cross didn’t actually mention Barrett by name, there was no mistaking the clear implication when Cross claimed, “We have an actual handmaid on the court.”
Justice Barrett smeared
The remarks from Cross were made in regard to the Supreme Court’s recent 5-4 ruling against blocking the enactment of a new law in Texas that essentially prohibits most abortions after a baby’s heartbeat is detected, which tends to occur around six weeks of pregnancy.
The court made it abundantly clear that it had not weighed in on the actual merits of the case or the constitutionality of the Texas law, rather merely a procedural motion to block it, but that hasn’t stopped abortion supporters from lashing out hyperbolically against the Supreme Court, Texas, conservatives, and the pro-life movement.
“This entire thing, about protecting the fetus when they care so little for life in this country, is beyond comprehension,” Cross said, according to Mediaite. “If it feels like they really must hate women in Texas and all across the country, how is it possible the Supreme Court allowed this to stand?”
“I know that they haven’t ruled on it, but they can rule later. But we have an actual handmaid on the court,” she added. “So I have to tell you, I’m not so excited about depending on them to protect me and my right to choose.”
Not the first time
Fox News reported that Cross’ clear insinuation of Justice Barrett being a subservient “handmaid” in a male-dominated and ultra-religious society actually isn’t the first time such a linkage has been made.
In fact, in October 2020, during Barrett’s confirmation process, The Washington Post had reported on a small religious group that Barrett had belonged to known as the People of Praise, in which she had held a position that was actually referred to as “handmaid,” albeit not of the sort depicted in the dystopian fictional story.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at that time had slammed the Post for purposefully engaging in a “religious smear” against Barrett by falsely linking the “handmaid” title with the story — which is exactly what Cross did with her own snide remark Saturday.
Law’s future undecided
The new Texas law, if eventually deemed constitutional and is allowed to stand once all litigation is complete, represents arguably the most significant threat to the Roe v. Wade ruling that created the “right” of obtaining abortions, hence the heightened rhetoric and vitriol from abortion supporters in response to it.
Whether the law is ultimately allowed to stand or not remains an open question, and regardless of the final outcome, there is no real reason for the rhetorical attacks against a sitting Supreme Court justice over something she actually hasn’t even ruled on yet.
The post MSNBC host smears Justice Barrett as ‘an actual handmaid’ over SCOTUS ruling on Texas abortion law first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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