United States Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett's presence at the University of Minnesota's Twin cities campus was met with protest by student groups on Monday.
Barrett, who has a long record of opposition to abortion rights, was announced as a guest of the 2023 Robert A. Stein Lecture series.
But Students for a Democratic Society alongside the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee were in strong opposition of the visit.
"We're not only fighting for our bodily autonomy, but we're also fighting for gender oppression," said one student who talked to WCCO. "We're fighting for immigrant rights, we're fighting for worker rights. So ultimately, that encompasses every part of our community. And so today, we really hope, in every protest, we hope that people can see that our issues are intertwined."
In a statement the student groups said:
"By inviting Justice Barrett, the U of M is causing tangible harm to its campus community."
Barrett's was briefly interrupted by a small group of protestors during a talk which was meant to focus on ethics, national unity and literary and legal influences. "Not the court, not the state, the people will decide their fate," was chanted by the group who were quickly removed from Northrop Auditorium.
The protests focused mainly on Barrett and the high court's overturning of Roe v. Wade last year, which stripped federal protection for the the right to an abortion, creating a situation in many states where abortions are now illegal.
Overturning Roe v. Wade is a position Barrett supported on her way to becoming a Justice, one of the main reasons she was nominated by former President Trump and approve by the then GOP-led Senate.