What a potential Harris administration could actually do to protect access to abortion

Vice President Kamala Harris said: abortion This was a central issue in her White House bid, pledging to expand and protect women’s ability to terminate pregnancies if elected to the nation’s highest office.

The vice president’s pledge comes as the country is still reeling from the 2022 Supreme Court decision that struck down Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion in the United States for the past half century. Since that judgment, 13 states Abortion was completely prohibited.

In her closing remarks at Washington’s Ellipse Lawn on Tuesday night, Harris said, “I have no faith or deeply held beliefs to simply agree that the government should not tell her what to do with her body.” There is no need to abandon your beliefs.” In response, more than 60,000 supporters erupted in cheers.

But what can Harris actually do to support access to abortion in a post-Roe landscape? The issue is at the center of a key dynamic underway in the presidential campaign. It is a gender gap between parties that is almost unprecedented in modern politics.

Ann October NBC News Poll The poll found a 30-point gender gap between Harris and Republican Donald Trump, with male voters giving Trump a 16 percentage point lead and female voters giving her a 14 percentage point lead.

This divide between male and female voters is closely tied to the issue of abortion. According to the final New York Times election poll, Abortion and the economy were tied for top issues among female voters. Among all registered voters, male and female, only the economy ranked higher than abortion in influencing voters’ choices.

But if Harris is elected president, it will be very difficult to restore abortion rights across the country, said Alina Salganikov, senior vice president and director of the Women’s Health Policy Program at KFF. .

Still, she said a Harris administration could increase the availability of medical abortion and, importantly, fight attempts by Republicans and activists to further restrict reproductive rights. said.

Experts say it will be difficult, if not impossible, to restore abortion rights across the United States. That would require a major change in the composition of the Supreme Court or an action by Congress.

“It’s hard to imagine either in the near future,” Salganikov said.

Harris has said she would sign a bill in Congress that would restore abortion rights, but it is unlikely that such a bill would reach the current bill in the Senate. 60 vote threshold. The May 2022 bill effectively codify the right to abortion It was rejected 49-51 in the Senate. All Republicans opposed the bill.

Some Democrats, including Harris, have expressed support for eliminating the filibuster in the Senate. This would allow the bill to be passed with a simple majority, instead of the 60 votes currently required to advance it in the 100-member Senate.

“I’ve been very clear that the number of votes needed to eliminate Roe’s filibuster and actually put reproductive freedom protections back into law is 51 votes,” Harris said in a speech in September. I think it should be done.” Interview with wisconsin public radio.

the It is uncertain whether the Democratic Party will even be able to secure a simple majority. Mary Ziegler, a legal historian of the US abortion debate, said overriding the filibuster would require a Senate vote this November. However, Ziegler said things could change in the midterm elections.

Even if they get enough votes, some Democrats may worry that lowering the Senate voting threshold could backfire and hinder access to abortion, she said.

“Democrats have historically been concerned about that because even if Republicans pass new anti-abortion laws, Democrats don’t have the means to defeat them,” Ziegler said.

Harris support repeal This is an amendment to the Hyde Amendment, a Congressional rider that limits federal spending on abortion to cases of rape, incest, or life-threatening pregnancies. As a result of this restriction, women receiving Medicaid may be forced to pay out-of-pocket for abortions, which can be costly. More than $600 in some cases. Experts say the provision will most impact low-income women and women of color.

“Harris has been very vocal about her support for repealing the Hyde Amendment,” Ziegler said.

But then again, “we need Congress” to do that, Ziegler said. “If Democrats don’t control Congress, we’re going to be in trouble.”

Still, he added, “I think it’s important for the president to push for it.”

Harris may also pursue several avenues to make medical abortion more accessible to people. Medication abortions will account for 63% of abortions in the United States in 2023, up from 53% in 2020, according to the report. Guttmacher Institute.

“There are probably many reasons for the increase, including the relatively recent availability of abortion pills through telemedicine,” KFF’s Salganikov said, adding that Harris He added that he may explore further ways to make abortion pills more accessible.

The Harris administration will have no enforcement powers. comstock lawa controversial federal law enacted in 1873 that prohibited the mailing of obscene materials. Project 2025, a conservative governance plan that former President Donald Trump is trying to disavow, Authors call for Victorian-era law to be used as another type of anti-abortion lawprohibits the use of the mail to distribute abortion pills or other abortion-related materials.

“They claim that if Planned Parenthood orders meth from a medical supply company, it’s a federal crime,” Ziegler said.

Regardless of who wins the White House, anti-abortion groups could take the case to the Supreme Court and convince the justices that the Comstock Act should apply to ban mailed abortion materials, Ziegler said. said.

But enforcement of the sentence rests with the U.S. Department of Justice, and that’s another area where Harris can make a difference, she said.

“The Harris administration won’t be able to change the Supreme Court’s decision, but it could deprioritize prosecutions,” Ziegler said. “The Department of Justice always has limited resources and will prioritize some prosecutions over others.”

Harris could also oppose efforts by Republicans and anti-abortion groups to override the Food and Drug Administration’s approval. mifepristoneused terminate a pregnancysaid the expert.

The administration is also likely to fight other legal challenges to further restrict abortion, including state laws that ban emergency abortion care when a patient’s health is at risk. The Biden administration has argued that depriving people of this accommodation is a violation. emtaraor the Emergency Medical Labor Act. That federal law requires hospitals to provide health-saving treatment to people in need who come to emergency rooms.

“In some states that ban abortion, there is only a life exception, not a health exception,” Salganikov said.

This election, 10 states have ballot measures to increase access to abortion. In Arizona, Florida, Missouri, and South Dakota, the proposed amendments would overturn existing abortion laws and essentially protect abortion rights until the fetus is viable, but no longer. This is an exception.

Ziegler said if Harris wins over Trump, there’s a good chance the passed bill will survive.

“A Harris administration could potentially keep those protections in place,” she said. “If Trump were president, it would be less clear.”

playing cards praise the achievements of He has hailed his role in the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the selection of the three conservative justices who voted against it. Trump said this during the campaign. He won’t sign a national abortion ban. But some experts are skeptical of that promise, given the former president’s history. And federal policy will likely supersede any passed ballot measure, Ziegler said.

“Maintaining the access that already exists is probably one of the less glamorous but important things” that Harris can do, Ziegler said.

In fact, Salganikov said the vice president’s biggest impact on abortion access, if he wins, would be to prevent possible deterioration of rights under the incoming Trump administration.

“Your question is, ‘What can Harris do?'” she said. “The question is, what can an administration do that doesn’t believe that access to abortion should be protected? They will do much more to abolish access to abortion than they are doing today. I can.”