Civic Register
| 5.29.19
Harris Proposes Requiring DOJ Clearance for State Abortion Restrictions – Do You Support the Plan?
Do you support the Reproductive Rights Act?
What’s the story?
- Amid a wave of anti-abortion laws, presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) has unveiled a proposal that would require states to prove abortion laws were constitutional before enactment.
“States and localities with a history of violating Roe v. Wade [would need to] obtain approval from her Department of Justice before any abortion law or practice can take effect,” the proposal reads.
What’s in the Reproductive Rights Act proposal?
- No abortion law or practice would take effect until the DOJ “certifies it comports with Roe v. Wade.”
- Currently, abortion providers or organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have to file suit against states to stop new laws. Harris’ proposal would shift the burden to the states to prove their laws are constitutional and conform with the standards laid out by Roe, as applied in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, and the Women’s Health Protection Act.
- The proposal is similar to the Voting Rights Act, which requires a "pre-clearance" process that "blocks discrimination before it occurs."
What are people saying?
- “Here’s the thing, there are states that keep passing these laws,” Harris said at a Tuesday night town hall hosted by MSNBC in Spartanburg, South Carolina. “So, when elected, I’m going to put in place and require that states that have a history of passing legislation that is designed to prevent or limit a woman’s access to reproductive health care, those laws have to come before my Department of Justice for a review,” she added.
“I think it’s very clear that – and it has not changed – that women’s ability to have access to reproductive health is under attack in America,” Harris said.
- “I cannot understand where this bigotry and hatred of unborn babies comes from,” Holly Gatling, executive director of South Carolina Citizens for Life, said of Harris’s proposal.
“It’s not going to happen. We’re going to continue to do what we do, and expose the extremism that wants abortion for all nine months (of a pregnancy) for any reason.”
What do you think?
Do you support the Reproductive Rights Act? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.
—Josh Herman
(Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr)
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