Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday she believes abortion rights will be secured for Americans via federal legislation put forth by the U.S. Congress. While appearing on MSNBC’s “The ReidOut” for a discussion of abortion rights in America, Harris spoke of Congress’ ability to essentially undo that U.S. Supreme Court decision.
“Ultimately, this is an issue that will be resolved by federal legislation that codifies, which means ‘puts into law,’ the protections of Roe [v. Wade],” Harris said. Watch the full video below:
The interview took place as part of a special marking the one-year anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson, a Supreme Court decision that overturned the landmark 1973 abortion rights decision of Roe v. Wade. Harris told Reid and the show’s other panelists the issue will be resolved federally, but cautioned voters to continue to focus on local and state elections as well.
“Ultimately, the United States Congress can put back in place what the United States Supreme Court took,” Harris continued. “The United States Supreme Court took a constitutional right. The United States Congress has the power to put in place a protection of that individual privacy right that all Americans should be entitled to.”
To mark the June 24 anniversary, Senate Democrats plan to push legislation centered on reproductive rights, according to NBC. The bills are extremely unlikely to pass, as they require the consent of all 100 senators, but are being pushed in an attempt to put pressure on Republican elected officials to speak on the issue.
A USA Today poll released Sunday found that support for legal abortion has risen in the past year following the overturning of Roe.
