Vice President Kamala Harris will honour the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade on Sunday by flying to Florida and arguing for a federal statute to preserve reproductive rights in light of some states’ efforts to restrict access to abortion or outright outlaw it.
The Supreme Court’s famous Roe v. Wade decision, which established a constitutional right to abortion, was handed down on January 22, 1973. When the court’s conservative majority overturned the verdict in June and ruled that the Constitution does not contain a right to abortion, the abortion rights movement suffered its most shocking blow in five decades.
That choice returned one of the most contentious national discussions to the states. Since then, at least 13 countries have total bans on abortion, while others have restrictions.
Harris will lobby Congress to approve legislation that would make the right to an abortion a part of the Constitution. She is also anticipated to highlight the measures the administration has taken to protect reproductive rights in light of the verdict from last summer and criticise Republican efforts to further restrict access to abortion.
In Tallahassee, Florida’s capitol, Harris will make her speech. The location is not by chance: Abortion after 15 weeks is prohibited by a law that the state legislature passed.
A legal challenge to the law is being examined by the state Supreme Court. While abortion campaigners are pushing for additional limitations, Republican Kathleen Passidomo, president of the Florida Senate, indicated she would support a ban on abortions beyond 12 weeks.
After last summer’s ruling, President Joe Biden moved to defend abortion rights. On Friday, he issued a proclamation honouring Roe v. Wade. According to Biden, the result in Roe was “a balanced decision with broad national support” and that the court “got Roe right 50 years ago.”
In a Congress where Republicans control the House and not all Democrats support unrestricted access to abortion, a federal bill has absolutely no chance of passing.
In honour of the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Vice President Kamala Harris will speak on the need of defending reproductive rights in Florida.
The administration’s fight against increased abortion restrictions has been spearheaded by Harris. The nation’s first female vice president, who was once the attorney general of California, is a proponent of abortion rights and has ties to leftist women’s organisations.
According to her office, she has recently welcomed leaders from 38 states for conferences on threats to reproductive freedom and gathered over 200 state legislators from 18 states to talk about the battle at the state level.