Biden Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson refuses to define the term “woman”
By isabelle // 2022-03-29
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On the second day of confirmation hearings in front of the U.S Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden Supreme Court pick Ketanji Brown Jackson refused to define the term “woman.” The unsettling response came when Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee questioned Jackson about transgender issues. As part of a conversation about a majority opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in which she said that the physical differences between men and women are enduring and that the two sexes are not fungible, Blackburn asked, “Can you provide a definition for the word woman?” Jackson replied: “Can I provide a definition? No. I can't.” When Blackburn pressed her on this, Jackson added: “Not in this context. I'm not a biologist." Blackburn explained why the conversation was relevant by referring to the controversy surrounding transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. The senator asked: “Just last week, an entire generation of young girls watched as our taxpayer-funded institutions permitted a biological man to compete and beat a biological woman in the NCAA swimming championships. What message do you think this sends to girls who aspire to compete and win in sports at the highest level?” Jackson replied: “Senator, I’m not sure what message that sends. If you’re asking me about the legal issues related to it — those are topics that are being hotly discussed, as you say, and could come to the court.” For Blackburn, however, the message was clear. She told the judge that it tells girls their voices do not matter and that they are “second-class citizens.” She added: “And parents want to have a Supreme Court justice who is committed to preserving parental autonomy and protecting our nation’s children.” In her opening remarks, the senator pointed out that Jackson serves on the board for a school that teaches young children that they can choose their gender and talks about “white privilege.”

How can she protect women if she doesn't even know what a woman is?

Of course, this should be a very easy question for a person who is being touted as "the first black woman to be nominated for a seat on the Supreme Court" to answer. Everyone who has described her that way – across the media and even Biden himself, who is not known for his mental acuity – had no problem figuring out what a woman is, and they’re not biologists, either. How is a judge who cannot define a simple term like "woman" going to be able to interpret more complex legal issues? This is about more than a nominee being asked a controversial question by someone on the other side of the political spectrum; Supreme Court cases could be decided based on how she and the other justices define the term. Former Olympian pentathlete and Air Force veteran Eli Bremer, who is currently running for a Senate seat in Colorado, warned that Jackson’s comments “could send the women’s right movement back decades.” He told Fox News Digital: “If Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is confirmed, I have no confidence in her ability to protect women. After all, how can you protect something that you cannot define?” He added: “In a world where Lia Thomas, a biological male, is robbing biological female athletes of their titles and scholarships, how should any woman feel that their rights will be protected under Joe Biden’s Supreme Court?” Sources for this article include: WesternJournal.com NYPost.com
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