By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Political Writer
Tmcqueen@afro.com
With the first presidential debate of this election season just days away, Vice President Kamala Harris (D) made a stop in College Park, Md. to recognize the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade., a landmark case that made abortion a constitutional right.
“Over the past two years, in states across our nation, the extremists have proposed and passed laws that criminalize doctors and punish women. Laws that limit access to contraception and to fertility treatments like IVF. Even some of them, trying to revive laws from the 1800s,” said Harris.
According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, a non-profit organization of reproductive rights advocates and lawyers, around 14 states have made abortion illegal.
“Two years ago today, Donald Trump’s Supreme Court majority ripped away the fundamental freedom for women to access the health care they need and deserve. The consequences have been devastating. If given the chance, there is no question he will ban abortion nationwide, with or without the help of Congress,” said Biden in a statement on June 24, acknowledging the day. “I will never let that happen. My message to Americans is this: Kamala and I are fighting like hell to get your freedom back. And we won’t stop until we restore the protections of Roe v. Wade for every woman in every state.”
At the gathering, Harris doubled down on Biden’s sentiments.
“In the case of the stealing of reproductive freedom from the women of America, Donald Trump is guilty,” said Harris, gaining cheers from the crowd.
The lively crowd chanted “four more years” and “restore Roe” several times throughout the event.
Throughout her speech, Harris played up Trump’s part in and lack of remorse for the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“When he was in the White House, Donald Trump handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court because he intended for them to overturn Roe v. Wade,” said Harris. “As intended, they did.”
There are currently six Republican-nominated justices on the U.S. Supreme Court and three Democrat-nominated justices.
“Today is more than just an anniversary. It’s proof that we should never take for granted our liberties,” said Democratic nominee for U.S Senate and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks at the gathering. “It’s the confirmation that we must be vigilant and fighting for and protecting, with everything we have, our rights.
“Electing Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden means that we will have a country that remains recognizable to us,” said Alsobrooks.
Voters’ perspectives of a candidate’s views on abortion surely matter as a poll by Navigator Research, a project led by pollsters, finds that 68 percent of Americans believe it is important for Biden and Congress to protect abortion access this year.
In Our Own Voice, a national partnership to uplift Reproductive justice leaders, finds that Black voters are six times more likely to vote for a candidate who supports abortion access than one who opposes it.
The poll by Navigator Research also shows that 80 percent of women are supportive of increasing access to birth control pills, 70 percent for easier access to fertility planning such as IVF, 57 percent for an abortion pill and 56 percent for in-clinic abortions.
Trump did not make any public statements on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Previously Republicans have said the decision restored power to the states concerning abortion and protects the lives of unborn children.