In a stark contrast to President Joe Biden’s earlier remarks on abortion, Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a powerful defence of abortion rights during her debate with former President Donald Trump in Philadelphia. Harris firmly addressed the impact of the US Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn the national right to abortion, placing direct blame on Trump for appointing the conservative justices responsible for the ruling.
During the debate, Harris highlighted the devastating medical consequences women have faced since the ruling, including being denied emergency care for miscarriages due to fears among healthcare providers of legal repercussions. “Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because healthcare providers are afraid they might go to jail, and she’s bleeding out in a car in the parking lot?” Harris said passionately.
Harris, who has taken a leading role in the Biden administration’s efforts to safeguard some abortion access, is uniquely positioned to speak on the issue, especially compared to Biden, who has long struggled with the topic due to his Catholic faith. Harris’s focus on abortion rights has included advocating for maternal health and even visiting an abortion clinic earlier this year, making her the highest-ranking U.S. official to do so.
Dr Daniel Grossman, an OB-GYN from the University of California, praised Harris for emphasising the real challenges people face in states with strict abortion bans. He noted that many individuals have been forced to travel long distances for care or have been denied treatment for obstetric complications.
However, Harris did not specify what restrictions she would support, instead reiterating her commitment to reinstating the protections of Roe v. Wade, which prohibited states from banning abortions before fetal viability, typically around 20 weeks.
Trump, on the other hand, sidestepped questions about whether he would sign a national abortion ban if re-elected. Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, expressed doubt that Trump would support such a ban, noting that “the votes aren’t there in Congress,” while also acknowledging that Harris would not sign one either.
In a controversial claim, Trump falsely accused some Democrats of supporting “executing the baby” after birth, an assertion Harris did not engage with directly during the debate.