VP Kamala Harris Holds Roundtable Meeting on Abortion with California Faith Leaders
On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris held a roundtable with faith leaders in Los Angeles to discuss abortion and other “reproductive health” issues.
In a statement posted by the White House, the roundtable discussed “some of the most urgent challenges facing our communities, including protecting reproductive rights and addressing the epidemic of hate that is gripping our nation.”
A variety of faith leaders from Los Angeles and across California were in attendance, including Christian, Jewish, and Islamic leaders.
The event also included Democratic officials from California, including Senator Alex Padilla, Representative Jimmy Gomez, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
“We need faith,” Harris said in her opening remarks. “We need faith in each other, in our nation and in our future.”
“The faith leaders who are gathered here today are representative of many different faiths, many different communities, but share a common purpose, which is to bring healing and hope and a sense of community to all people,” she continued.
Monday’s roundtable comes as the Supreme Court is scheduled to deliver a ruling later this month on Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that legalized abortion in the U.S. In a leaked draft opinion published by Politico last month, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority expressed their intention to overturn Roe.
“I would like to talk with these faith leaders about the impending decision from the United States Supreme Court that we believe will undo the very principles and premise of the importance of the privacy right that Roe v. Wade stands for,” the Harris said.
“On the issue of Roe, it, of course – basically, the premise of Roe and the power of Roe is it is about saying that people should have the right to make decisions about their own bodies – that women should have that right and have unfettered access to reproductive healthcare,” she continued.
Harris also stressed that backing Roe v. Wade “does not mean giving up core beliefs” and asserted that it is “simply about agreeing that a woman should be able to make that decision with her faith leader, with her family, with her physician — and that the government should not be making that decision for her.”
As reported by The Christian Post, Harris’ remarks and the roundtable were criticized by pro-life leaders and opponents of the Biden administration.
“During her’ roundtable with faith leaders on reproductive health care’ today, Kamala Harris somehow managed to avoid saying either ‘God’ or ‘abortion’ even once,” tweeted Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a major pro-life advocacy organization formerly known as Susan B. Anthony List.
During her “roundtable with faith leaders on reproductive health care” today, Kamala Harris somehow managed to avoid saying either “God” or “abortion” even once. https://t.co/QZk7RQtUB4#ModernizeOurLaw
— SBA Pro-Life America #ModernizeOurLaw (@sbaprolife) June 6, 2022
Andrew Brennan, the Director of Faith Communications for the Republican National Committee, also released a statement criticizing the event.
“Families can’t afford gas or groceries because of Joe Biden, and yet all this White House wants to talk about is their radical late-term abortion agenda — they couldn’t be more out of touch if they tried,” Brennan contended.
“[Eighty] percent of Americans believe that third-trimester abortions should be prohibited in most or all cases” and that “only 16% of independent voters believe abortion should be allowed at any time and for any reason,” a press release from the RNC added.
Related:
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Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker/Staff
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer. He is also the co-hosts of the For Your Soul podcast, which seeks to equip the church with biblical truth and sound doctrine. Visit his blog Blessed Are The Forgiven.
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