Vice President Harris stated that its “right of women to make decisions about their own bodies,” and that the right is nonnegotiable. On Thursday, the administration created a vaccine mandate.
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke reiterated her and President Biden's support for abortion in the wake of Texas' passage of a pro-life law prohibiting pregnancy termination after about six weeks gestation.
Harris stated that its "right of women to make decisions about their own bodies," and that the right is "not negotiable."
This came as President Biden implemented a requirement for employers who have over 100 workers to compel them to get vaccinated, even if they are women who supposedly have the right to make their own medical decisions.
"The President and I are unequivocal in our support of Roe v. Wade," said Harris. "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."
"And, needless to say, the right of women to make decisions about their own bodies is not negotiable. The right of women to make decisions about their own bodies is their decision," said Harris.
"It is their body. And no legislative institution has the right to circumvent the Constitution of the United States in an attempt to interfere with much less to prevent a woman to make those decisions."
Harris noted that during the conversation with the pro-abortion activists and providers that they would not be talking just about Texas, but also Mississippi, New Mexico, and the United States as a whole.
"But as we know, it's not only Texas where this is happening. I know we're gonna talk about Mississippi are talking about New Mexico. We're going to talk about the United States," said Harris. "And what we must do collectively, all of us to protect the women of our country and protect their constitutional rights."
Harris' conversation comes following the Department of Justice filing a lawsuit against the state of Texas over SB 8, or the Texas Heartbeat Act.
The law, which went into effect on September 1, prohibits pregnancy termination after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which usually occurs around the sixth week of pregnancy.
The bill also leaves the enforcement of it up to private citizens, where citizens can report or file civil lawsuits against those that provide or aid in abortions.
The DOJ seeks to declare the bill "invalid under the Supremacy Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment, is preempted by federal law, and violates the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity." To that end, they have filed suit against Texas.
Attorney General Garland stated that "The Act is clearly unconstitutional under longstanding Supreme Court precedent. [...] The United States has the authority and responsibility to ensure that no state can deprive individuals of their constitutional rights through a legislative scheme specifically designed to prevent the vindication of those rights."
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