Kamala Harris Slams Texas’s Abortion Ban, Says Women’s Rights About Their Bodies Are ‘Not Negotiable’
The law, which went into effect on September 1, was met with outrage and the state was criticized for it's 'unconstitutional' approach to handling women's bodies.
US Vice President Kamala Harris has slammed Texas’ new law banning abortions after six weeks as she met with patients and providers, saying that the right for women to make decisions about their bodies is ‘not negotiable’.
Harris met with abortion patients and providers from Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky and New Mexico to discuss the new abortion law implemented by Texas on Thursday – the same day the state was sued by The Department of Justice.
The law bans abortions after six weeks – a time frame in which women may not even know they are pregnant.
‘The right of women to make decisions about their own bodies is not negotiable,’ Harris said during the discussion.
‘The right of women to make decisions about their own bodies is their decision. It’s their body.’
The law, which went into effect on September 1, was met with outrage and the state was criticized for it’s ‘unconstitutional’ approach to handling women’s bodies.
The law allows the people who sue to receive bounties of at least €8476.85 and makes no exceptions in cases of rape or incest, although there are some very narrowly defined exemptions for the mother’s health.
In a statement last week, Harris said: ‘We will not stand by and allow our nation to go back to the days of back-alley abortions,’ Harris said in a statement last week.
‘We will not abide by cash incentives for virtual vigilantes and intimidation for patients. We will use every lever of our administration to defend the right to safe and legal abortion—and to strengthen that right.’
‘It doesn’t require that at all, because obviously it provides at least six weeks for a person to be able to get an abortion,’ Abbott replied.
‘That said, however, let’s make something very clear – rape is a crime, and Texas will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas.’
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded Wednesday: ‘If Governor Abbott has a means of eliminating all rapists or all rape from the United States, then there would be bipartisan support for that.
‘But given there has never in history of the country, in the world, been any leader who’s ever been able to eliminate rape, eliminate rapists from our streets, it’s even more imperative, it’s one of the many reasons I should say, not the only reason, why women in Texas have access to health care.’
President Joe Biden issued his own blistering statement last week in response to the law. ‘This law is so extreme it does not even allow for exceptions in the case of rape or incest,’ he wrote.
He said he would direct government lawyers ‘to launch a whole-of-government effort to respond to this decision’ and “to ensure that women in Texas have access to safe and legal abortions as protected by Roe [v. Wade], and what legal tools we have to insulate women and providers from the impact of Texas’ bizarre scheme of outsourced enforcement to private parties.’
The Department of Justice filed the lawsuit on Thursday, calling the law ‘unconstitutional’ as it violated basic human rights.
The lawsuit read: ‘It is settled constitutional law that ‘a State may not prohibit any woman from making the ultimate decision to terminate her pregnancy before viability. But Texas has done just that.’
The new law, also known as SB8, was also criticized by Attorney General Merrick Garland who enforced a new federal law of his own called The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
The FACE Act prohibits the use of force and physical obstruction to interfere with a person obtaining or providing reproductive health services.
‘The department will provide support from federal law enforcement when an abortion clinic or reproductive health center is under attack,’ Garland said.
‘We will not tolerate violence against those seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services, physical obstruction or property damage in violation of the FACE Act.’
The Supreme Court refused to block the new Texas law in a 5-4 ruling, leaving the opportunity for other states to create their own abortion bans.
The ruling could also potentially overturn the 1973 law Roe vs Wade that legalized abortion, which Harris claimed needed to be codified on Thursday.
‘The President and I are unequivocal in our support of Roe v. Wade and the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade and the right of women to make decisions for themselves with whomever they choose about their own bodies,’ Harris added at the press conference.
