Isn't She a Mother?

Ketanji Brown Jackson, Amy Coney Barrett, and the protection of the white mother

First, the good news: Ketanji Brown Jackson is going to be confirmed to the Supreme Court, despite days of offensive and stunningly racist questioning from Republican senators. They did their worst and in the long sweep of history, it’s not going to matter.

But watching the conservative attacks on Judge Jackson and, Cory Booker aside, the general failure of Senate Democrats to come to her defense, I was struck by how differently Judge Jackson was treated compared to Amy Coney Barrett. Judge Barrett was granted significant deference, even by those who opposed her confirmation — particularly when it came to her role as a mother.

Judge Barrett’s status as a mother was used to justify her confirmation and shield her from criticism. Judge Jackson, by contrast, wasn’t afforded that presumption of maternal virtue and feminine vulnerability; her children afforded her no status at all as she was made to answer for other peoples’ actions and ideas, simply because they share the same skin tone.

Barrett, along with her Republican supporters, emphasized her position as “a tireless mother of seven” and placed it at the center of her confirmation process. “As the president noted, when he announced my nomination, I would be the first mother of school-aged children to serve on the court,” Barrett told the Senate Judiciary Committee on the first day of her confirmation hearings. Her “beautiful family” and “wonderful children” came up dozens of times during the rushed process to confirm her to replace feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Barrett’s motherhood was evidence of her “impeccable” character (Chuck Grassley), of her success “establishing leadership roles” (Mike Lee), of her “compassionate” bona fides (Joni Ernst), and of her being “an amazing role model for little girls” (Why? Because “[her] children have been wonderfully well behaved,” gushed Ted Cruz).

Barrett’s status as a mother was used as both a sword and a shield: It established her as a good Christian woman who has good morals despite working outside of the home; it was also invoked to protect her from criticisms of her record as a judge. “The left is also suggesting Judge Barrett’s confirmation would be the demise of the Affordable Care Act and the production for pre-existing conditions,” Chuck Grassley intoned. “That’s outrageous. As a mother of seven, Judge Barrett clearly understands the importance of healthcare.”

Even some Democrats swooned. “You don’t have a magic formula for how you do it and handle all the children and your job and your work and your thought process, which is obviously excellent, do you?” asked Dianne Feinstein.

Judge Jackson is a devoted mother, too. But even if you watched her confirmation hearings, you might not have known it.