Kamala Harris sidestepped questions of what abortion restrictions she would tolerate as president, repeating claims made by Donald Trump — which he denies he said—which is that he sought an end to all abortions.
“Roe v. Wade, which is the law of the land and should be put back into effect by Congress,” Harris said on CBS Sunday Morning when asked about states protecting a woman’s right to choose. “It is that basic.”
After O’Donnell pressed once more, Harris redirected the conversation by noting that we wouldn’t be “arguing” over restrictions if it weren’t for three new Supreme Court justices appointed in decisions like Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (where the majority opinions struck down a Roe abortion precedent).
O’Donnell also pressed Harris on her assertion that Trump would bring about a federal abortion ban, despite his assurances to the contrary. Harris responded by pointing O’Donnell towards Project 2025, policy prescriptions published in a Heritage Foundation document that the ex-president had rejected.
“He says everything. Come on. Seriously, are we allowed to accept his word? the vice president said. He said women were punishing. Look, he has flipped and flopped on this issue a million times but I am watching what the president is doing and not looking at so much of what he says.
But when O’Donnell repeated that Project 2025 had similarly been ignored by Trump, the vice president punted once again.
“I am a former prosecutor. His DNA is all over it. All over it,” she said.
Harris was asked last week about religious exemptions — a possible concession she would probably need to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act through Congress if she were president come Nov. 5 by securing Republican votes
“On a fundamental freedom, on something we believe is specifically about your body — I don’t think the talks should have been constructive,” Harris told NBC.
“And by a variety of scenarios, we could go on and on with the hypotheticals. First things first, let’s agree on a simple truth: the women of America have lost their right to determine what happens with their bodies. And that is non-negotiable, we have to restore the protections of Roe v Wade. And that is it.”
