Democrats opened Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation hearing with a striking scene.
As the Senate Judiciary Committee members delivered their opening statements on Monday, Democrats remained fixed on one issue: health care. And as a reminder of what they deemed "at stake" if Barrett joined the bench, they printed out large photos and told the stories of people with pre-existing conditions who may not be alive today if the Affordable Care Act was struck down.
Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) kicked off the Democrats' statements with the story of a constituent who was losing her eyesight to cataracts but had a hard time getting insurance due to her pre-existing conditions. But she was able to get insurance and cataracts surgery under the ACA, describing the moment she got insurance as "manna from heaven," Feinstein quoted.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) tried to shoot down Democrats' display by declaring "as a mother of seven, Judge Barrett clearly understands the importance of health care." All four of the judges who voted to strike down the Affordable Care Act in 2012 had children too. Kathryn Krawczyk
-
The return to the stone age in house buildingUnder the Radar With brick building becoming ‘increasingly unsustainable’, could a reversion to stone be the future?
-
Rob Jetten: the centrist millennial set to be the Netherlands’ next prime ministerIn the Spotlight Jetten will also be the country’s first gay leader
-
Codeword: November 4, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
