Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday that the Supreme Court’s overturning of abortion rights was “shocking,” and that the Biden administration is exploring a wide range of federal aid for women seeking to travel to states that still allow abortions.
“The court actually took a constitutional right that has been recognized for half a century and took it from the women of America. That’s shocking,” Ms. Harris said on CNN in her first interview since Friday’s ruling.
The vice president said the Justice Department will take new steps to ensure that women seeking abortions have access to medication or can travel across state lines to get an abortion.
“We will do everything within our power as an administration through the executive branch to ensure that women have access to the medication they need, and which has been by the way FDA-approved, and that they will have freedom of travel, and that that travel should be unrestricted,” Ms. Harris said.
She also suggested that the administration will pursue other kinds of “resources” for women seeking abortions, saying about half of such women already have children.
“That means that if they’re going to have to travel, they’ve got find daycare and pay for it,” Ms. Harris said. “If they are working, which most are, they’re going to have to have time from work and if they don’t have paid leave, they’re going to have to figure out how to afford it. It means that they may have to put up money for a train or a bus or a plane, much less a hotel. And so we want to make sure that there does not result in extreme disparities, or any disparities, based on who can receive care based on how much money they’ve got.”
Asked by interviewer Dana Bash whether the administration is pursuing access to abortion services on federal lands, Ms. Harris replied that it is “not right now what we are discussing.”
She said Congress should codify abortion rights in legislation, which means electing more Democratic senators and House lawmakers. The vice president pointed to key Senate races this year in North Carolina, Colorado and Georgia.
“We need to change the balance and have pro-choice legislators who have the power to make decisions about whether this constitutional right will be in law,” she said.
Asked about Justice Clarence Thomas’ call to revisit other high court decisions on same-sex marriage and contraception, Ms. Harris replied, “I definitely believe this is not over. I think he just said the quiet part out loud. This is profound.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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