Amy Coney Barrett Is Proof That Children Aren’t A Barrier To Achieving Your Dreams

This speech sparked a dialogue among women that sought to answer the question “Are children actually a barrier to achieving one’s dreams?” Plenty of women have proven that the answer is a resounding no. Recently, one woman in particular has become the paragon of proof that babies and dreams are most certainly compatible. 

Amy Coney Barrett, Mother of Seven and Supreme Court Justice

Amy Coney Barrett attended the prestigious Rhodes College and, subsequently, Notre Dame Law School (from which she graduated first in her class). She then worked as a judicial law clerk, taught at several universities (including her alma mater), and served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. In October, she became the 103rd associate justice of the United States Supreme Court. 

What’s more impressive is that she has accomplished all of this and mothers seven beautiful children. Her oldest is a sophomore in college. Two of her children, Vivian and John Peter, were adopted from Haiti. When she and her husband Jesse welcomed John Peter into their family, they already had four children and a fifth on the way. She was also teaching law at the time. In a talk at Notre Dame last year, ACB stated that raising children and bringing John Peter into their lives were acts of far greater value than any of her career accomplishments. 

Roughly 67% of U.S. pregnancies with a diagnosis of Down syndrome end in abortion. 

Justice Barrett’s youngest, Benjamin, has Down syndrome. In that same talk at Notre Dame, she spoke about how, while a curveball, her son’s diagnosis is not a burden. Roughly 67% of U.S. pregnancies with a diagnosis of Down syndrome end in abortion. Amy and her husband courageously chose — and continue to choose — life. 

What Happened To Celebrating and Empowering All Women?

It’s unfortunate that so many on the Left view ACB’s motherhood in a negative light. Many liberals angrily asserted that the presence of her children at her confirmation hearings were simply a means of distracting from her stances on key issues like abortion and the Affordable Health Care Act. Others, like author Ibram X. Kendi, criticized her for adopting children of color, claiming that she only did so to conceal racist tendencies. Author Lauren Hough tweeted several nasty remarks about the number of children ACB has and how it will inevitably impact her rulings in Court. Even her attire has been demonized as “maternal” and “inappropriately casual.” 

Does a woman who has achieved the heights in her profession while raising a family not constitute a strong woman?

What happened to women lifting up women? Is feminism not about empowering and celebrating strong women? Does a woman who has achieved the heights in her profession while raising a family not constitute a strong woman? 

ACB Disproves the Lie That Children Stifle Dreams

As a first-time mother myself, I look to Amy Coney Barrett as an incredible testimony to the truth that motherhood isn’t a burden for women nor a roadblock to their ability to impact the world outside of the home. I look to her as a model of a truly strong woman — one who unashamedly embraces her uniquely feminine role while also pursuing a demanding career vocation. I look to ACB as the epitome of what feminism should truly be about. 

Justice Barrett’s motherhood should be seen by all as heroic. Bringing new life into the world is an act of heroism in itself. Barrett has done it five times, chosen to save the lives of two other children, and continued to put her children first, despite the demands of a very challenging and public career. To call her Wonder Woman would not be overplaying it. 

I look to ACB as the epitome of what feminism should truly be about. 

Kamala Harris, who has been deemed by the Left as a symbol of hope for young women, can’t boast of even half of the achievements of ACB. Why are the same people who place her on a pedestal not raising up Justice Barrett — a woman who, as a mother, constantly sacrifices for others; who has dedicated her life to the preservation of  justice in our nation; who has earned every one of her successes and done so with all grace and dignity? 

Closing Thoughts

Justice Barrett puts to bed the erroneous belief that Michelle Williams and so many other feminists espouse — that women must choose between dreams and motherhood. She has silenced the debate and proven that one can have both. She has also testified to another even more important truth: that the greatest dream is motherhood itself.