Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with abortion providers Thursday in a virtual meeting after the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion signaled Roe v. Wade could be overturned.
Harris called the possible overturning a “war on women’s rights” and said that Roe v. Wade is a “right to privacy”.
She also claimed that overturning it “opens the door” to further restrictions on contraception and who one can marry.
“Earlier this month we learned that the Supreme Court is poised to strike down Roe. If they do, it will be the first time in over 50 years at least that the court has recognized a Constitutional right only to take it away,” she said.
“The strength of our country has always been that we fight to move forward,” Harris added. “At its core this is about our future as a nation, about whether we live in a country where the government can interfere in personal decisions”.
Harris mentioned the new Oklahoma bill that would restrict abortions at fertilization, calling it “outrageous” and “the latest in a series of extreme laws around the country” that “are designed to punish and control women”.
In a speech on May 4, participating in the EMILY’s List conference, Harris said “If the court overturns Roe v. Wade, it will be a direct assault on freedom, on the fundamental right to self-determination”.
“To those Republican leaders are trying to weaponize the use of the law against women. What we say: ‘How dare they? How dare they tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her own body?'” she added.
“How dare they? How dare they try to stop her from determining her own future? How dare they try to deny women their rights and their freedoms?” Harris continued.
