Why Amy Coney Barrett Keeps Saying Her Family Has A Favorite Child

The Supreme Court nominee’s son with Down syndrome is the beloved child in her family and while research says that’s not uncommon, she’s sending a message about her views on abortion

Hearing for judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s nominee to fill Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s seat on the Supreme Court, began Monday, and among the many things she said in her remarks is that her youngest of seven children Benjamin, who has Down syndrome, is the favorite child.

“Benjamin has Down syndrome and he is the unanimous favorite of the family,” she told the Senate Judiciary Committee, basically repeating what she said at the Rose Garden ceremony in late September — “the most revealing fact about Benjamin, our youngest, is that his brothers and sisters unreservedly identity him as their favorite sibling.” Which repeated what she said in 2017 when she was approved for her seat on the federal appeals court.; while acknowledging that having a child with Down syndrome “presents unique challenges for all of us,” she added, “But I think all you need to know about Benjamin’s place in the family is summed up by the fact that the other children unreservedly identify him as their favorite sibling.”

There are many things that deeply, deeply concern me about Barrett, but I was struck by her message — of the seven children she and her husband, Jesse have, including two they adopted from Haiti, their special needs child is the most beloved.

Why would he be the favorite child? Is it because of who he is as boy or is it because of what defines him —he’s the one with Down syndrome? Why would a parent or family even have a favorite child? And why does she keep mentioning it?

While having a child with special needs may create problems for some parents, others “flourish when meeting the challenges of their children with special needs. Caring for these children affirms their sense of competence, and, as a reward, these children grow up as favorite children,” writes Ellen Weber Libby, author of The Favored Child. “Children with special needs can give the lives of their parents focus and meaning.”