Kamala Harris’ vow to help eliminate the Senate filibuster in order to codify Roe v. Wade signals her readiness to do “whatever it takes” to legalize abortion nationwide, according to a prominent pro-life leader. The Democratic presidential nominee said this week she supports ending Senate rules that require a three-fifths majority -- 60 votes -- in order to consider legislation in the 100-seat chamber. The filibuster dates back to the early 1800s and, proponents say, encourages bipartisan cooperation by forcing compromise and preventing hasty legislative decisions.
Republican nominee Donald Trump referenced the filibuster during his September debate with Harris when he insisted “she’ll never get the votes” in Congress to codify Roe. Trump’s assertion likely is true if 60 votes are needed in the Senate. But without the filibuster, Harris would require only a simple majority of 51 votes.
“I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe,” Harris told Wisconsin Public Radio. “And get us to the point where 51 votes would be what we need to actually put back into law, the protections for reproductive freedom.”
Her position means the future of abortion legislation could come down to Democrats landing a trifecta of winning the White House, taking back the House, and holding on to the Senate.
Albert Mohler, a prominent pro-life leader and the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said Harris’ position represents a significant moment in the campaign.
“This means that she’s willing to do, basically, whatever is necessary to get what she wants in terms of this legislation,” Mohler said on his podcast, The Briefing.
The Senate, Mohler said, was intended by the framers of the U.S. Constitution to be different from the House. A senator’s six-year term, compared to a representative’s two-year term, provides greater insulation from public opinion, allowing senators more freedom to focus on long-term policy decisions, he said.
“The Senate was meant as a balance to the House, and at least in some early language, it was discussed as a cooling saucer for the House as in you pour out the coffee or the tea, and then you let it cool a little in the saucer. [The Senate is] where cooler heads are supposed to prevail. It’s where there is supposed to be a slower legislative movement.”
Harris’ proposal would radically change D.C., Mohler said.
“The logic that is used in this argument that Kamala Harris offered … could be offered to anything that is a legislative priority. ‘This is such an important issue. We can’t afford to have it slowed down by the filibuster.’ If you say that about abortion, then you’ll say it next time about something else, and that’s exactly what many want to do,” Mohler said.
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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.