Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh had a message Thursday for conservative law students: Keep up the fight.
Speaking at an annual Federalist Society gala in Washington, Barrett zeroed in on conservative women, urging them not to heed criticism for career or personal choices at odds with their liberal classmates.
“In truth, being a conservative woman in law school, particularly, takes a lot of courage and independence, and in many ways, shows more feminism than just falling into some predetermined vision of what a woman should be,” Barrett said during a joint, onstage interview with Kavanaugh. “I admire your courage for facing that.”
Barrett said she regards her decision to have seven children as one of many “counter-cultural things” she’s done. She said social media may be contributing to women feeling “suffocated” by the expectations at law schools, but they should still try to reject that pressure.
“All women should feel free to truly choose whatever it is they want, whether it is to be conservative or to be liberal or to have large families, to not get married, whatever it may be. … There is no stereotype of what a professional woman should look like,” Barrett said. “You don’t have to fit into any box.”
Barrett and other speakers also referenced the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a Utah campus in September and what they said was a chilling effect on conservative students.
“The kind of poisonous hostility that led to Charlie Kirk’s murder … still exists on campuses and elsewhere,” Barrett said, urging the students to show “strength with grace” exhibited by Kirk’s wife, Erika. “Fighting poison with poison doesn’t work. It leads to more poison.”
Kavanaugh made similar points. “Be not afraid to pursue what you know is right, even when you’re going to get criticized for it,” he said, adding, “Don’t lose the civility.”
Kavanaugh also referred to challenges to his nomination in 2018, when he faced sexual assault allegations he vigorously denied. He thanked many of the Federalist Society members in the room again for standing by him during what he called “dark days.”
“Look out for your friends. Lift up your friends, and love your friends,” Kavanaugh said.
Both justices spoke about some of the unwelcome aspects of their high-profile jobs, including what they regard as unfair criticism. “You got to tune out criticism in our jobs, absolutely. But … you always need to be willing to learn and listen to responsible critiques,” he said.
Barrett mentioned “death threats” and referenced abortion-related protests that regularly took place at her home. “You can’t take an oath to the Constitution if you’re not willing to sacrifice,” she said, describing her sacrifices as more minor than those faced by the country’s founders and military personnel.
Barrett and Kavanaugh were interviewed by a district court judge based in Washington, Trevor McFadden. All three are Trump appointees.
McFadden noted Justice Samuel Alito’s presence in the audience at the event, but he did not join the public discussion.
