Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at an event marking the 50th anniversary of the 1973 US Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision in Tallahassee, Florida. Image: Don Juan Moore/AFP/ Getty Images
Today, on what would have been the 50th anniversary of Roe V. Wade decision, the White House is rolling out a series of statements to vocalize their support, and remorse in the devastating its overturn.
Last year, the historic ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court. A predominately conservative panel of justices, the Roe v. Wade was struck down in a vote of 6 to 3 to uphold a 2018 Mississippi law that banned abortions after 15 weeks. Justice Samuel Alito doubled down on the decision, which was prematurely leaked, by stating, “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”
This afternoon, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with an audience at an event in Tallahassee, Florida commemorating the historic 1973 decision. In her remarks, she outlined a plan of action that the Biden-Harris administration plans to execute to protect access to reproductive healthcare and safe abortions. She also expressed the stark danger that revoking Roe v. Wade puts many communities in.
The White House also released a statement on behalf of President Biden. “Today, instead of commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, we are acknowledging that last year, the Supreme Court took away a constitutional right from the American people,” said the statement. “Since the Supreme Court’s decision, Americans, time and time again, have made their voices heard: women should be able to make these deeply personal decisions free from political interference. Yet, Republicans in Congress and across the country continue to push for a national abortion ban, to criminalize doctors and nurses, and to make contraception harder to access. It’s dangerous, extreme and out of touch. I’ll continue to fight to protect a woman’s right to choose. Congress must restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law—it’s the only way we can fully secure a woman’s right to choose in every state.”