WASHINGTON.- The vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris, did not hesitate when she learned that the Supreme Court was going to allow the right to abortion to be restricted. Her question “How dare they?”encapsulated the anger of millions of women and positioned her as a leader in a struggle that is still far from being resolved.
It was May 3, 2022, and Harris was preparing to give a speech to Emily’s List, a powerful organization dedicated to promoting pro-abortion women’s political campaigns. The day before, the Politico newspaper had leaked a ruling that showed the intention of the Supreme Court to end federal protections for that right.
“How dare they?”, exclaimed Harris changing the tone of his speech and injecting it with anger and indignation.
“How dare you tell a woman what she can or can’t do with her own body? How dare they? How dare they try to stop her from deciding her own future? How dare they deny women their rights and freedoms?” Harris exclaimed indignantly, addressing the American right without reservation.
Those three words, “How dare they?” Harris added to the text of the speech shortly before delivering it, a senior White House official told EFE.
With that expression, pronounced with passion, Harris established herself as the best spokesperson for the Government of President Joe Biden in defense of reproductive rights.
This same Saturday, she will be in charge of delivering a speech in North Carolina to mark the anniversary of the decision of the conservative majority of the Supreme Court, which eliminated federal protections for abortion and returned to the states the power to prohibit or limit that right.
As the Democratic strategist Lanae Erickson told EFE, one of the reasons why Harris has assumed that leadership role is because Biden, who is Catholic, has never felt comfortable talking about abortion.
For much of his career, the president was one of the most conservative voices within the Democratic Party on that issue, even going so far as to oppose the use of federal funds to finance abortions. However, after the Supreme Court ruling, he has defended the right of women to choose.
Harris, on the other hand, was destined to be a leading figure in this matter.
Not only does she represent women as the first to serve as Vice President, but she also feels very personally the implications abortion restrictions have for millions of Americans, explained Erickson, who previously served in the Barack Obama Administration (2009 -2017).
This week, during a panel discussion on MSNBC, Harris herself shared the story of her best friend in high school, who had been raped by her stepfather.
When Harris found out about the abuse, she urged her friend to move in with her. He immediately called her mother on the phone and arranged for her friend to come live with them.
If Harris’s friend had gotten pregnant now, she would not have had an abortion option in 15 of the 50 US states, because those states have enacted laws limiting or prohibiting abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest.
Scarred by that experience, Harris decided that her mission in life would be to protect those who, like her friend, had suffered such egregious abuse. And that was the reason why she ended up working as a prosecutor, a senior White House official told EFE.
Harris was elected district attorney in San Francisco, a position she held between 2004 and 2011, and between that last year and 2017 she served as California attorney general.
In 2016 he won a seat in the Senate and quickly became known for his incisive questions to members of the Government of Donald Trump (2017-2021), as well as two judges nominated by him for the Supreme Court, including Brett Kavanaugh, accused of abuse sexual.
Especially, Harris rose to fame for her questions to Kavanaugh. During one of the hearings to confirm him in office, the now vice president caught the judge by surprise by asking him if she could mention “any law that gives the government the power to make decisions about a man’s body.”
Kavanaugh’s response was blunt: “No, I can’t think of any right now.” Harris suppressed a half smile.
The now vice president evokes that exchange with Kavanaugh in her speeches and, without being shy, reproaches the right for their attempts to control women’s bodies, taking away a freedom that men do enjoy.
With a clarity many lack, Harris has repeatedly called out Republicans for taking away women’s rights.
Abortion rights were one of the central issues at their rallies during the 2022 midterm elections, where Democrats garnered a better-than-expected result, in part precisely because of concerns among many Americans about abortion rights.
Looking ahead to the 2024 election, her advisers anticipate, Harris’ pro-abortion message will only continue to gain traction.
