Its been exactly two years since the Roe vs Wade verdict that codified abortion laws in US was overturned by a US supreme court, creating a massive uproar among citizens and activists who support abortion as a matter of individual freedom and choice. The issue is now back to dominate US politics ahead of the Presidential debate this week as Us vice president Kamala Harris makes it a key campaign issue.
The Us vice president says- ‘“everything is at stake” with reproductive health rights in November's election. Harris' comments come as the campaign announced it would hold more than 50 events in battleground states and beyond to mark second anniversary of the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned the federal legal right to an abortion It’s a three pronged strategy that the democrats have adopted to corner the Republicans on the issue.
First, democrats connect it to a precipitating health care crisis as many authorised clinics that were easily accessible to young women have now shut in states governed by Republicans. Kamala Harris cites her visit to a Minnesota clinic to demonstrate how the gradual closing of these clinics force women to resort to risky and unauthorised means for abortion, something that poses grave health threats.
Secondly the democrats are now warning voters that if the fundamental freedom to make decisions about one’s body is snatched away what could be next. Projecting Trump’s policies intrusive of individual privacy, democrats are keen to use the abortion issue to highlight breach of a fundamental freedom. And thirdly the democrats are red flagging the possibility of a nation wide abortion ban through a federal law if Trump becomes President.
The idea is to draw a sharp contrast with Biden’s policies which is pro-abortion. Many states in US have banned abortion after the overturning of Roe vs Wade verdict. It is only allowed if the pregnancy is life threatening for the mother. Even Rape or Incest are not made exceptions. Now the democrats warn that this could be enforced nationally by a federal law if Trump is voted in.
