Kamala Harris Pledges to ‘Restore’ Abortion Nationwide if Elected
- Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
- Published Aug 23, 2024
Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination Thursday and painted the election as a "fight for America's future," saying Republican nominee Donald Trump would take America "back into the past" while she would lead the nation forward. Harris, who is seeking to become the nation's first female president, also pledged to help legalize abortion nationwide once again if elected. The Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade sent the issue back to the states.
"As part of his agenda, he and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion, and enact a nationwide abortion ban with or without Congress," Harris alleged. "And, get this, he plans to create a National Anti-Abortion Coordinator and force states to report on women's miscarriages and abortions. Simply put: They are out of their minds."
Trump has said he would not sign a nationwide abortion ban and believes the issue should be left to individual states. An ABC News fact check of Harris' speech said most of her abortion allegations were pulled from Project 2025, a non-campaign document Trump has repeatedly disavowed.
"When Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law," Harris said.
Other "fundamental freedoms are at stake," she said.
"The freedom to live safe from gun violence -- in our schools, communities, and places of worship -- the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride," Harris said, alluding to LGBT issues. "The freedom to breathe clean air, drink clean water and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis. And the freedom that unlocks all the others: the freedom to vote."
Harris promised to be a president who "unites us around our highest aspirations" and who "always fights for the American people."
The vice president said she backs Israel.
"I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that the terrorist organization Hamas caused on Oct. 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival," she said.
"At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that -- Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity."
Americans, she said, are the "heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world."
"I will never waver in defense of America's security and ideals," she said. "Because, in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand -- and where the United States of America belongs. Fellow Americans, I love our country with all my heart. Everywhere I go, in everyone I meet, I see a nation ready to move forward, ready for the next step in the incredible journey that is America."
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Andrew Harnik/Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
