Women in ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ habits protest ahead of Barrett confirmation hearings

Demonstrators attired in “Handmaid’s Tale” garbs on Monday gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court to voice their opposition to the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

The striking red robes reference the clothing women are forced to wear in the fictional novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood in which an extremist Christian sect overthrows the U.S. government and strips women of nearly all their rights.

The outfit was similarly worn by demonstrators who protested during the confirmation hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Those who oppose the nomination of Barrett fear that she will support the reversal of the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that made abortion legal nationwide. Barrett has been critical of the ruling in the past. Many have also expressed concern that Barrett will work to take down the Affordable Care Act, legislation she argued against as a law professor at Notre Dame University.

Protestors chanted “Let the people decide!” to bring attention to the extreme brevity at which the nomination process has been conducted, occurring less than a month before the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Barrett’s confirmation hearing began on Monday morning, attracting both supporters and critics.

Photo: Activists opposed to Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation are dressed as characters from “The Handmaid’s Tale,” near the Supreme Court and the Capitol, Washington, October 11, 2020 (J. Scott Applewhite / AP / SIP) pic.twitter.com/R4zYWqxF4n

— kvindeord/womanword (@kvindeord1) October 12, 2020

Democratic leaders have decried the nomination as hypocritical and rushed, pointing back to 2016 when the Senate refused to hold a hearing for former President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, 10 months before an election.

An ABC News-Washington Post poll showed that the majority of those surveyed believed that the vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg should be filled by whoever wins the presidential election.