Photo taken on July 14, 2020 shows the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
US Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett insisted Tuesday that she had no fixed views on hot-button legal issues as Democrats painted her as President Donald Trump's vehicle to end abortion rights and kill Obamacare.
In the second day of hearings on her hurried nomination, Barrett, who if approved will tilt the high court decisively to the right, told lawmakers she would put personal and religious beliefs aside when deciding landmark cases.
But the 48-year-old judge and devout Catholic could not escape accusations from Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee that she was chosen to achieve Trump's dream to nullify the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of predecessor Barack Obama, which extended cheap health care to millions of uninsured Americans.
Likewise, Democrats said she was also picked to lead the court to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which guarantees abortion rights.
"President Trump promised to name a Supreme Court Justice... who would tear down the Affordable Care Act," Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for vice president, said to Barrett in a statement.
The ACA's benefits, she said, "hinge on this seat and the outcome of this hearing."
But after more than nine hours of questioning, Barrett held her ground.
"I made no promises to anyone. I don't have any agenda," she insisted.
"Judges can't just wake up one day and say 'I have an agenda. I like guns, I hate guns, I like abortion, I hate abortion,' and walk in like a royal queen and impose their will on the world."
"It's not the law of Amy, it's the law of the American people."
After liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death in September left the nine-member court with a vacancy, Trump has rushed to fill it at the height of his presidential election battle against Democrat Joe Biden.
A respected Notre Dame law professor but with only three years as an appeals court judge, Barrett is supported by conservatives for her personal opposition to abortion.
Her confirmation by the Republican-controlled committee after two more days of hearings, and by the full Senate before the end of October, remained near-certain.
"I just want to thank President Trump for creating a seat at the table for somebody who is unashamedly pro-life, somebody who embraces their faith, but also understands the differences between their personal views and judging," said Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham.
AFP