(Oregon Right to Life) — Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democratic Party nominee this week after President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race. Should Harris win the election, she is on track to be the most radically pro-abortion president in U.S. history.
What’s Happening?
On Sunday, President Biden announced he would no longer seek re-election in the 2024 presidential contest. Shortly thereafter, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to run in his place.
Many Republicans and pro-life advocates have celebrated Biden’s withdrawal, feeling confident that Harris – whose odds against Trump have not looked promising – will lose resoundingly when voters head to the ballot box in November.
But others are urging caution.
With three and a half months left to go in what’s already proven to be a historically chaotic election cycle, much can change – and the possibility of a Harris presidency is worth assessing.
What is Kamala Harris’ Record on Abortion?
Kamala Harris’ record on the issue dates back to long before she became vice president.
- 2015 … As attorney general of California, Kamala Harris backs the FACT Act to force pro-life pregnancy resource centers to advertise for abortion. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the legislation three years later.
- 2016 … AG Harris orders the state justice department to raid the home of undercover pro-life journalist David Daleiden. Daleiden had carried out a multi-year investigation into whether Planned Parenthood was profiting from donating aborted babies’ hearts, lungs, and other organs to researchers.
- 2017 … Now a U.S. senator representing California, Harris co-sponsors the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2017. The legislation, which did not pass, would have gutted state-level limits and regulations on abortion facilities and providers, including mandatory ultrasounds and waiting periods.
- 2018 … Harris throws her support behind H.R. 3222, i.e. the “Do No Harm Act.” The legislation would kneecap the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, forcing faith-based organizations to finance contraception and threatening the conscience protections of medical providers who refuse to participate in abortions.
- 2019 … While campaigning for the presidency prior to dropping out before the primary election, Harris suggests that pro-life states be made subject to federal scrutiny before passing laws to protect the unborn.
- 2019–2020 … Kamala Harris earns a 100% rating on Planned Parenthood’s congressional scorecard.
- 2022 … As Vice President of the United States, Harris decries the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court.
- 2023 … During an interview with CBS, Harris fails to declare support for any gestational limit on abortion. Instead, she repeatedly proclaims her full approval for codifying the provisions of Roe v. Wade – the provisions that mandated legal abortion nationwide, leading to states like Oregon allowing abortion on-demand throughout all stages of pregnancy.
- 2023–2024 … Harris announces the launch of a “reproductive rights” tour to promote abortion nationwide. “She has toured the country pushing unlimited abortion and criticizing protective state laws that support women and their preborn children,” National Right to Life president Carol Tobias says.
- March 2024 … Harris becomes the first vice president in U.S. history to visit an abortion facility when she stops by a Planned Parenthood in Minnesota.
- July 2024 … Harris becomes the presumptive Democratic nominee for the presidency following Joe Biden’s withdrawal of candidacy. Harris is expected to put abortion front and center in her fight for the White House against Donald Trump. She has already received significant backing from pro-abortion organizations across the country.
Will Harris Focus on Abortion to Defeat Trump?
“Harris is so committed to abortion that she can’t see anything else – including the developmental stages of children before birth or the real needs of women,” Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America president Marjorie Dannenfelser said.
Harris has long been “the face of the White House’s fight over abortion rights” per The Guardian, and is now expected to use her vehement support for limitless abortion as a key weapon to energize voters to defeat Trump, who appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe in 2022.
But it remains to be seen if making abortion a central issue in the 2024 presidential contest – if she chooses to do so – will serve Harris in November.
If she decides to run on abortion, Harris’ line of attack will likely be to remind voters of Trump’s involvement in the overturning of Roe, and argue that a second-term Trump administration would be one that seeks a national abortion ban.
But there are some clear problems with that strategy.
Trump May Be Hard to Attack on Abortion
- Trump’s position on abortion following the reversal of Roe v. Wade has been distinctly moderate, even to the point of earning him displeasure from members of his pro-life base. He has repeatedly referred to abortion as an issue for the states to resolve, backing away from endorsing a federal limit.
- Trump – and even his new VP pick J.D. Vance, a generally strong pro-life advocate – have both espoused support for the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to reject a case, on procedural grounds, that would have limited access to the abortion drug mifepristone. Mifepristone is the first of two drugs in the chemical abortion regimen. Chemical abortions currently account for more than half of all abortions nationwide.
- The Republican Party’s new platform, modeled on Trump’s priorities, contains a markedly scaled-down statement on abortion that excludes prior commitments to a fetal personhood amendment and refrains from explicitly affirming that the unborn have a “fundamental right to life.”
Given Trump’s moderation on abortion, it will be difficult for Harris to successfully paint him as a radical on the issue.
What Happens Now?
It’s unclear how well Harris will perform as she takes the reins from Joe Biden in the race for the White House.
What is increasingly clear to many pro-life advocates, however, is the fact that Harris would be a radically pro-abortion president. A Harris administration could reverse hard-won pro-life victories and endanger unborn lives nationwide.
Meanwhile, although the Republican Party’s new platform has proved a disappointment for many pro-life advocates, others note that its 14th Amendment language still leaves room for meaningful pro-life legislation at the federal level. And it’s not just pro-life advocates. Left-wing sources, including the liberal magazine Slate, have also observed that the new platform allows significant freedom for Republicans to pursue pro-life priorities.
Even with the new, limited platform, pro-life advocates can expect a far more sympathetic government under a Republican administration than one helmed by Democrats.
Especially a Democrat as radical as Kamala Harris.
Further Reading:
- National Right to Life Statement: In a Kamala Harris Presidency Women and Unborn Babies Will Be The Losers
- Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Statement: Biden Drops Out, Endorses Abortion Czar Kamala Harris
- Slate: The Only Part of Trump’s RNC Abortion Platform That Matters
- Planned Parenthood Congressional Scorecard
- Kamala Harris Tried to Shut Down Pregnancy Centers, Raided a Pro-Life Leader’s Home
- Opinion: Democrats’ ‘Do No Harm Act’ makes attacking religious liberty an election issue
- New York Times: Where Kamala Harris Stands on the Issues: Abortion, Immigration and More
- National Right to Life Flyer: Trump-Harris Comparison
