Tipsheet

Kamala Harris Stumbles on Question About Placing Restrictions on Abortions

Madeline Leesman
Madeline Leesman  |  September 11, 2023 6:15 PM

In an interview on Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris refused to say if there should be any limitations on abortion.

During an interview with “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan, Harris was asked a slew of questions about abortion rights. 

“So, what is it that you believe? I mean, what week of pregnancy should abortion access be cut off?” Brennan asked the vice president. 

“We need to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade, we’re not trying to do something new,” Harris said before Brennan interjected. 

“That was nebulous because that was about viability, which could be anywhere between 20 to 24 weeks –”

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“No, no, no.” Harris interrupted. 

“Let me be very clear. Let me be very clear. From day one, the president has been clear, I have been clear. We need to put back the protections that are in Roe v. Wade into law. Since the Supreme Court took it, Congress has the power and ability to pass legislation to put those protections back in law and Joe Biden will sign that bill. So, that is what we want,” Harris claimed. 

“But, does it need to be specific in terms of defining where that guarantee goes up to and where it does not? Which week of pregnancy?“ Brennan pressed.

“We need to put back in place the protections of Roe v. Wade. We’re [Biden administration] not trying to do anything that did not exist before June of last year,” Harris responded. 

Brennan explained that she was asking for specifics because “Republicans say the lack of a precise date in cutting it [abortion procedures] off – you know this – they say it allows Democrats to perform abortions up until, you know, birth,” Brennan emphasized. 

Both Harris and Brennan both agreed that it was “inaccurate” and “ridiculous” that Republicans believe that Democrats support abortion up until birth. 

“But the point is–” Harris said. 

“You need to be more precise,” Brennan interrupted. 

“I am being precise. We need to put into law the protections of Roe v. Wade,” Harris concluded.

Late last month, Townhall reported how former White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed that “No on supports abortion up until birth.” However, many Democrats have gone on-the-record to express their support for abortions up until the moment the child is about to be born.

In one example, former Democrat Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia said that he supports abortions up until the point that a woman is dilated and prepared to give birth.

“When we talk about third-trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of the mother…and it’s done in cases where there may be severe deformities…in this particular example, if a mother’s in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired. And then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mothers,” Northam said.

And, in 2021, Democrats reintroduced the “Women’s Health Protection Act” (WHPA) in the Senate. The bill would have expanded abortion on demand throughout all stages of pregnancy. 

In a White House press briefing, Psaki said that President Joe Biden “urges Congress” to pass WHPA. And, many Democratic Senators voted in favor of it.