Amy Coney Barrett confirmed by Senate to Supreme Court

Washington, Oct 27: The Senate has voted 52-48 to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court, giving the court a 6-3 conservative majority. This could determine the future of the Affordable Care Act and abortion rights.

All Democrats in the chamber voted against her. Republican Susan Collins of Maine, who agreed with the Democrats also voted against Barrett.

Earlier this month President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett signed on to a second "right to life advertisement against the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision, according to supplemental material filed late Friday with the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Barrett said her name was included while she was on the faculty at Notre Dame Law School and member of the University Faculty for Life group that sponsored the ad in the student newspaper. She included a copy of the ad, which is not dated, but notes the 40th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in 1973.

We renew our call for the unborn to be protected in law, said the ad signed by dozens of faculty and staff at the university.

The committee released the 11-page supplemental filing ahead of the start of Barrett's confirmation hearings on Monday, nearly three weeks before the presidential election.

Trump nominated Barrett, a conservative judge on the 7th Circuit US Court of Appeals, to fill the seat made vacant by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg last month.

Additional paperwork is not unusual, the committee said. However, the filing will be heavily scrutinized for Barrett's views.

It's the second known ad she signed on to opposing abortion, both marking milestones in the landmark 1973 rule by the high court now at stake.

Earlier, it was disclosed that Barrett in 2006 signed on to an ad opposing abortion on demand that was part of a two-page spread in a local newspaper that was also in conjunction with the anniversary of the court ruling. It's time to put an end to the barbaric legacy of Roe v. Wade and restore laws that protect the lives of unborn children, said the second unsigned page.

Barrett's confirmation is almost certain, as Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and two GOP senators have objected to the swift vote in an election year.

No Supreme Court nominee has been confirmed so close to a presidential election in US history. Democrats want a delay until after the election so the winner of the presidency can choose the nominee, but Republicans who hold the Senate majority are pressing ahead with hearings next week before a vote expected by month end, days before the November 3 election.