Harris's Hyperbolic Abortion Rhetoric Risks Backfiring With Key Voters

With fewer than ten days before Election Day, Vice President Harris has shown remarkable discipline in conveying to voters her position on reproductive rights. It is also the only campaign issue in which she appears to speak from the heart, with complete conviction, and so fluently that she doesn't even need a Tel-e-Prompter.

Being the only woman on either ticket, as opposed to the three white males (former President Donald Trump, Sen JD Vance, and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz), gives her additional credibility to talk about the crucial issue.

TIPP research shows that the economy and health care are the top 2 issues for single women. Abortion takes the seventh place.

At the September 10 debate with Trump, when the topic being discussed was the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision that eliminated federal protections on abortion rights and turned the matter over to the states, a decision for which Trump has claimed credit numerous times because three of his Supreme Court picks were part of the 6-3 vote, Harris delivered perhaps the best line yet:

You want to talk about this is what people wanted? Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because health care providers are afraid they might go to jail and she's bleeding out in a car in the parking lot? 

Harris was talking about Texas, which, along with Georgia, Florida, and numerous GOP states, have passed stringent abortion laws as a result of Dobbs. Harris feels so confident about abortion that she took the time out of her struggling campaign calendar to spend her entire day on Friday in Houston, a liberal enclave along with Dallas and Austin, in otherwise blood-red Texas. She ended the night with a raucous rally after Beyonce urged supporters. 

Why was Harris visiting Texas now? Perhaps she wanted to draw attention to herself because Trump was only about 150 miles away in Austin, taping the Joe Rogan podcast. Trump is ahead by six points in the RCP polling average, and turning Texas blue is almost impossible. Perhaps she wanted to help Congressman Collin Alred, a Black former football player, who is challenging Senator Ted Cruz in a tight race. One of our editorial writers who lives in Texas reports that voters are bombarded with pro-Allred ads no matter what TV or radio station is playing. 

Harris's positions on abortion are the most extremist of any presidential candidate in American history. In last Tuesday's interview with Hallie Jackson of NBC News, Harris confirmed that she would oppose religious exemptions in abortion laws if elected president and emphasized that she would not make concessions to Republicans on the issue. 

I don't think we should be making concessions when we're talking about a fundamental freedom to make decisions about your own body," Harris said. "I'm not gonna engage in hypotheticals because we could go on a variety of scenarios. Let's start with a fundamental fact: a basic freedom has been taken from the women of America: the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies. That cannot be negotiable, as we need to put back in the protections of Roe v. Wade. 

So that's my point about what is nonnegotiable — it has to be that we agree that it is so fundamental that we allow women the ability with their doctor, with, if they choose, talking with their faith leader, to be able to make these decisions and not have the government tell her what to do. 

It was remarkable for Harris to take this position when, along with President Biden, she led the way in having the federal government dictate every part of our lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, some under the threat of penalties. Federal contractors who did not certify that their employees were vaccinated according to CDC dictates were forbidden from working for the government. International travelers were forbidden to board planes bound for America unless they showed proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours before departure. Harris led these rules, and yet she is taking a libertarian position that governments should not get involved in abortion decisions to protect the life of an unborn. 

No matter what a voter's ideological position is, abortion is a complex moral question -the fate of a potential future life is in the exclusive hands of the soon-to-be mother and her doctor. An abortion decision is not like a woman deciding to get cosmetic surgery (which only affects her body) - a point no journalist has challenged Harris on, so she keeps significantly stretching the truth. 

Harris also does not concede that there are numerous layers to prevent a woman from finding herself in the uncomfortable position of having to terminate another life. As early as middle school, children are taught that abstinence is the best solution not only to prevent the predicament but also to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. 

Still, for individuals who want to be sexually active, psychologists have recommended numerous ways to enjoy an intimate relationship without having to resort to intercourse, the only biological way a woman can get pregnant. For those who want to breach this layer of protection as well, they can use condoms and other devices that are widely and inexpensively available. Most insurance plans, including the Affordable Care Act, offer them for free. 

For those who are still not responsible enough to employ these protections - for spur-of-the-moment situations - the morning-after pill is legal in all states. It is a type of emergency contraception intended to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure (like a broken condom). It is most effective when taken as soon as possible after the incident, ideally within 24 hours, though some types work up to 72 hours (3 days) and others up to 5 days. Levonorgestrel-based pills, like Plan B One-Step, are available over-the-counter without a prescription, meaning women can buy them without needing a doctor's approval, regardless of age. 

If a woman gets pregnant despite these four layers of protection and her life is at risk because of a complication, most states already offer an exemption. Even Texas allows exceptions to save the life of the mother or prevent severe risks to her health (although Texas does not permit exceptions for rape or incest). 

Many states, including California, New York, and Illinois, have relatively few restrictions on when and how abortions can be performed. Several organizations in the U.S., like the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF), provide financial assistance for women who need to travel to another state for abortion care. 

The abortion situation is not as dire as Harris makes it sound. But, as a skilled politician, she is exploiting raw emotions to help her cruise to victory in the battleground states. It is an act of desperation that will likely fail.