Kamala Harris: Roe v. Wade Repeal Will Endanger Other Rights
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said that abortion rights are only the beginning after Supreme Court decided to repeal the Roe v. Wade landmark decision that legalized abortion.
According to Los Angeles Times, Harris said the Roe v. Wade revocation is likely to endanger other rights such as same-sex marriage and birth control.
Harris noted that Justice Clarence Thomas cast doubt on those rights in a concurring opinion. She said that Thomas was merely saying "the quiet part out loud."
In a CNN interview, the vice president said that she definitely believes that it is not over.
Vice President Kamala Harris on Roe v. Wade Repeal
In her interview, Vice President Kamala Harris told CNN's Dana Bash that she never believed former president Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick would preserve the landmark abortion ruling.
Harris said she did not believe Trump's Supreme Court pick, which is why she voted against them.
She added that it was clear to her when she was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that they were "very likely to do what they just did."
Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins earlier said publicly that she feels misled by Brett Kavanaugh, who, she said, reassured her that he would not overturn Roe v. Wade.
Harris was flying on Air Force Two from Washington to Illinois on Friday to unveil the administration's latest strategy to improve maternal health in the U.S. when the decision came down.
Harris said that the current administration "will do everything" in its power to provide access to medication abortion.
However, Harris said the administration is not currently discussing using federal lands for abortion services in and around states that will ban the procedure.
Harris said she thinks it has been clear where U.S. President Joe Biden stands on the issue of reproductive health.
Biden said last year at a CNN town hall that he would be open to altering the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation "and maybe more."
Roe v. Wade Repeal
U.S. Supreme Court officially reversed Roe v. Wade on Friday, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion no longer exists.
Justice Samuel Alito said that the 1973 Roe ruling must be "overruled" as they were "egregiously wrong," adding that the arguments are "exceptionally weak," according to an NPR report.
Abortion rights will be rolled back in nearly half of the states immediately, with more restrictions likely to follow. Abortion will not be available in large parts of the country for all practical purposes.
Meanwhile, Thomas said that the legal rationale for removing Roe could be applied to overturn other major cases, such as legalizing gay marriage, barring the criminalization of consensual homosexual conduct, and protecting the rights of married people to have access to birth control.
Thomas noted that "in future cases, we should consider all" of the said precedents as they are "demonstrably erroneous."
States such as South Dakota, Kentucky, and Louisiana have laws in place that lawmakers designed explicitly to take effect immediately upon the repeal of the Roe ruling.
READ MORE: Pres. Joe Biden Labels Supreme Court Leaked Opinion on Abortion Case as "Radical Decision"
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Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Kamala Harris speaks out against overturning of Roe v Wade: 'This is not over' - from Guardian News