The Biden-Harris administration continues to put its pro-abortion extremism on display for all to see, evidenced by Vice President Kamala Harris meeting virtually with abortion providers on Thursday.
In a tweet from Harris' official account, her opening remarks claimed there is a "war on women's rights," as the U.S. Supreme Court looks to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to a leaked draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson.
This is a critical moment for reproductive rights. Today I am meeting with abortion providers and leading advocates who are on the frontlines of the war on women's rights. Tune in. https://t.co/htVSC6PT5P
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) May 19, 2022
Tyler O'Neil reported on the news for Fox News earlier on Thursday morning:
Harris will hear stories from abortion providers working in states with the tightest restrictions on abortion. She will thank them for fighting to protect reproductive health care, despite personal risk, and vow that the administration will defend women's access to abortion, the official told Fox News.
Confirmed participants include Dr. Rebecca Taub, an OB/GYN practicing in California, Oklahoma, and Kansas; Dr. Bhavik Kumar, an OB/GYN with Planned Parenthood practicing in Texas; Dr. Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of St. Louis, Missouri; and Helen Weems, a registered nurse and founding director of All Families Healthcare in Montana.
The vice president's remarks came off as extreme and one-sided from the start. Early on she claimed that "the strength of our country has always been that we fight to move forward, that we believe in the expansion of rights, not the restriction of rights."
Besides how overturning Roe v. Wade would send the right for states to decide their abortion laws, granting more unborn children in this country the right to life, relaxed abortion laws is hardly a "strength of our country." Under the strict confines of Roe, the United States is just one of seven nations that allows for elective abortions past 20-weeks.
Harris also jumped further on the fear-mongering bandwagon by claiming that this decision could impact other so-called rights based on privacy.
"So this, if and when it happens, will be an extreme step backwards," Harris claimed, going on to say "and it represents a threat, not just to women, but to all Americans. The right to privacy that forms the basis of Roe is the same right to privacy that protects the right to use contraception, and the right to marry the person you love, including a person of the same sex. Overturning Roe opens the door to restricting those rights. It would be a direct assault on the fundamental right to self-determination, to live and love without interference from the government."
It's worth emphasizing that in the leaked draft opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito in February, makes clear the decision only applies to the issue of abortion and no other issues.
As she mentioned in the tweet, the vice president claimed that the abortion providers and advocates she was meeting with "are on the frontlines of the war on women's rights." Harris also directly referenced and called out Oklahoma's passage of House Bill 4327, which prohibits medical providers from performing most abortions from the moment of conception, as Sarah covered.
Harris also claimed that the slew of pro-life laws being passed, which have passed at record numbers over the past few years, "are designed to punish and control women."
It's worth emphasizing that these bills do not criminalize the women having the abortions, but rather the providers. The pro-life movement continues to affirm that it is not the pro-life position to punish women, who are often second victims. Further, states that do pass such pro-life laws that Harris, the Biden administration, and Democrats as a whole are decrying, also at the same time make sure to provide other resources for women, as Texas and Oklahoma have.
Before she segued into speaking with the providers who were tuning in virtually, Harris promoted another pro-abortion talking point that has often been used to convince women they need to have abortions to be successful. "The power a woman has to make decisions about her own body I believe is directly connected to make decisions about her future," she said.
Pro-life advocates and and the Republican National Committee (RNC) quickly took notice.
"Every time Democrats talk about abortion they reveal just how radical and out of touch they are with everyday Americans. Americans are a compassionate people, and doubling down on unlimited abortion and legalizing infanticide isn’t the winning midterm issue Biden, Harris, and Democrats think it is," RNC Director of Faith Communications Andrew Brennan pointed out.
Susan B. Anthony List also released a press release, charging that "Biden-Harris Admin Gives Abortionists a Platform to Promote Extreme Agenda."
"Long gone is the Democratic Party’s ‘safe, legal, and rare’ position on abortion," SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser is quoted as saying. “Led by Biden and Harris, the party now demands abortion on demand, up until the moment of birth, paid for by the taxpayer – and today is giving a national platform to abortionists to proclaim this message. Today’s White House event with the abortionists comes on the heels of the abortion lobby announcing they’ll spend $150 million on this year’s midterms."
Dannenfelser's statement also shared "good news" though, in that "the Democrats’ pro-abortion agenda is radically out of step with the American people, especially in key 2022 battleground states." She also pointed out that "SBA List’s Women Speak Out PAC has already visited over 1.5 million voters at their doorsteps across the key battlegrounds and will be pounding the pavement between now and Election Day to expose this abortion extremism."
Abortion is also not looking to be a major issue in the midterms as Democrats are hoping it to be. Further, the abortion issue may actually hurt them, as voters are not on board with the Democratic Party's position of abortion up until birth without limits.
The providers that Harris met virtually with on Thursday were not the only ones given such a platform by the Democrats.
As I highlighted on Wednesday, Dr. Yashica Robinson was a witness called by Democrats for their hearing on "Revoking Your Rights: The Ongoing Crisis in Abortion Care Access." Dr. Robinson performs abortions, though she was initially not entirely forthcoming on sharing when she performed abortions up until, which is 20 weeks, and refused to disclose in her back-and-forth with Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) what happens to fetal remains following the abortion.