Kamala Harris On SCOTUS Abortion Ruling: “This Is Not Over”; Fox News & Broadcast Nets Don’t Cover Remarks From First Female VP

Dominic Patten
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“Today, as of right now, as of this minute, we can only talk about what Roe v Wade protected, past tense,” Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday in remarks about  the Supreme Court’s conservative majority’s landmark decision to overturn abortion rights in the U.S. “This is a health care crisis.”

“Millions of women in America will go to bed tonight without access to the health care and reproductive care that they had this morning,” Harris added in short remarks in Plainfield, IL, where she was scheduled to meet with maternal health care providers. “Without access to the same health care or reproductive care health care that their mothers and grandmothers had for 50 years.”

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“This is the first time in the history of our nation that a constitutional right has been taken from the people of America,” the former California Senator and Attorney General said, echoing the sentiments of President Joe Biden from his remarks earlier in the day.

“The strength of our nation has always been that we move forward,” she added. “You have the power to elect leaders who will defend and protect your rights. With your vote, you can act. And you have the final word. So, this is not over.”

The remarks by America’s first female Vice President were carried live from the jump by MSNBC and BBC World. CNN stayed with an interview with March for Life president Jeanne Mancini for several minutes before cutting to Harris.

Barack Obama Calls Supreme Court Abortion Decision An Attack On “Essential Freedoms Of Millions Of Americans”

While Fox News had covered Biden’s remarks live earlier in the day, the Rupert Murdoch-owned outlet opted instead to stay with a segment featuring the executive director of Mountain Area Pregnancy Services about “vandalism of her pro-life facility,” as the lower third declared. FNC actually had a split screen with a live shot of protesters and activists outside the gated Supreme Court building in DC on the right-hand side.

The broadcast networks also covered Biden’s speech from the White House. However, ABC NBC and CBS all stayed with regular programming while Harris was speaking live.

Focusing on the privacy aspects of the 6-3 decision and the previously leaked opinion penned by Justice Samuel Alito, Harris today noted how the ruling could effect “decisions to start a family, including contraception, such as IUDs, the morning-after pill.” The VP also emphasized how the opinion could determine if people can have children through methods such as IVF.

“The right to use birth control, the right to same-sex marriage, the right to interracial marriage” are also at risk to be struck down next, Harris said, referencing Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion today.

Like Biden earlier today, Harris left the podium without taking questions.

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