Kalamazoo Harris Speech Receives Criticism
At an event on Thursday, Vice-President Kamala Harris reiterated her view that the end of Roe v Wade is a tragedy for women’s rights and insists that the majority of Americans believe the government should not have a say in how women use their own bodies.
The Vice-President, who has previously been criticized for her light approach to the subject, often giggling when discussing serious topics, began the event with a tweet in the morning. In it she decried the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision and claimed that it was a tragedy for women’s rights. She described how she had to turn to Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff for emotional support.
The tweet implied the existence of a right to abortion enumerated in the Constitution, despite this being utterly false; the 1973 Roe v Wade decision creating such a right out of thin air, and the Dobbs decision overturned it.
Later in the day, Harris appeared at a North Carolina event where she spoke further on the issue. She claimed that the issue of abortion was about “freedom”, the freedom to make decisions about one’s body without government interference.
Her position was, however, refuted by Catholic priest Fr. Matthew Schneider, who pointed out the overwhelming majority of Americans favor abortion regulations not permitted under Roe v Wade, such as late-term restrictions. He also emphasized the fact that even pro-abortion supporters readily admit that Roe was a mostly-flawed decision.
The Vice-President then moved on to say that the majority of Americans distrust the government’s involvement in decisions regarding a woman’s body. She failed to acknowledge, however, the hypocrisy of her statement, given her administration’s attempts to force federal workers to take experimental COVID-19 shots they didn’t want.
Despite the fact that abortion is a serious topic that warrants an intellectually honest discussion, the Vice-President’s approach was widely mocked by Republicans and Democrats alike. Her overall demeanor during the event seemed to prevent potentially fruitful discourse on an issue that deserves far more attention than it is given.
There is one point which all parties, even those with vastly different opinions, can agree on: the need for a more serious approach. Vice-President Harris should take some time to assess the facts and address the real issue in a meaningful way.