The DNC released the following statement in response to reporting that the Supreme Court plans to overturn Roe v. Wade:
“If this report is true and the Supreme Court votes to overturn Roe v. Wade, it would deal a devastating blow to reproductive rights and Americans’ fundamental freedom to make their own decisions about their health care and families. For decades, the Supreme Court has upheld precedent and protected access to safe, legal abortions, as well as the privacy of a decision made between women and their doctor. Now, due to extremist Republicans and conservative justices on the Supreme Court, women could lose access to the health care they need and that the overwhelming majority of Americans support.
“Make no mistake: reproductive rights will be on the ballot and this midterm election is more important now than ever before. Voters will make their voices heard, we will fight back with everything we have, and Republicans will have to answer for their party’s relentless attacks on Americans’ rights.”
We do not know whether this draft is genuine, or whether it reflects the final decision of the Court.
With that critical caveat, I want to be clear on three points about the cases before the Supreme Court.
First, my administration argued strongly before the Court in defense of Roe v. Wade. We said that Roe is based on “a long line of precedent recognizing ‘the Fourteenth Amendment’s concept of personal liberty’… against government interference with intensely personal decisions.” I believe that a woman’s right to choose is fundamental, Roe has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned.
Second, shortly after the enactment of Texas law SB 8 and other laws restricting women’s reproductive rights, I directed my Gender Policy Council and White House Counsel’s Office to prepare options for an Administration response to the continued attack on abortion and reproductive rights, under a variety of possible outcomes in the cases pending before the Supreme Court. We will be ready when any ruling is issued.
Third, if the Court does overturn Roe, it will fall on our nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to protect a woman’s right to choose. And it will fall on voters to elect pro-choice officials this November. At the federal level, we will need more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifies Roe, which I will work to pass and sign into law.
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Statement by Vice President Kamala Harris
The United States Supreme Court has now confirmed that the draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade is genuine. Roe ensures a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. It also, at its root, protects the fundamental right to privacy. What is clear is that opponents of Roe want to punish women and take away their rights to make decisions about their own bodies. Republican legislators in states across the country are weaponizing the use of the law against women. The rights of all Americans are at risk. If the right to privacy is weakened, every person could face a future in which the government can potentially interfere in the personal decisions you make about your life. This is the time to fight for women and for our country with everything we have.
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