In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, the national conversation on abortion has intensified. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president, has positioned herself as a staunch advocate for reinstating the status quo under Roe. “We need to put into law the protections of Roe v. Wade,” Harris stated. “And that is about going back to where we were before the Dobbs decision.”
In 2018, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reintroduced the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in the U.S. Senate. As Graham explained the bill, “the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would prohibit abortion after 20 weeks — the point at which scientific evidence shows that unborn children can feel pain.” As a senator from California, Harris voted against the bill. On X (formerly Twitter), she wrote, “Senate GOP’s proposed 20-week abortion ban is another example of politicians playing politics with health care.” She voted against it again in 2020.
As a senator, Harris consistently backed Planned Parenthood, opposing efforts to defund the organization. In 2019, she cosponsored the Women’s Health Protection Act that stated, “A state or local government also may not prohibit abortions prior to fetal viability nor prohibit abortions after fetal viability in cases where the health care provider determines that continuing the pregnancy poses a risk to the patient’s life or health.” Her record reveals a deep commitment to expanding access to abortion.
Campaign platform
Vice President Harris’s campaign website underscores this commitment, emphasizing her dedication to “Restore and Protect Reproductive Freedoms.” It declares that “Vice President Harris and Governor Walz trust women to make decisions about their own bodies, and not have the government tell them what to do.”
One of the most concerning aspects of Harris’s stance is the use of euphemistic language such as “reproductive health” and “reproductive freedoms.” These terms are often employed to soften the reality of abortion, framing it as a matter of personal choice and health care. However, this language obscures the profound moral implications of ending an innocent human life.
“Reproductive health” suggests a positive, health-oriented action, aligning it with routine medical care. Yet abortion is not akin to treating an illness or promoting wellness; it is a procedure that ends the life of a developing human being. The use of such euphemisms diminishes the gravity of abortion, making it seem acceptable or even necessary.
Harris’s full support of the Democratic National Committee’s platform on abortion further amplifies these concerns. The platform advocates for the codification of Roe v. Wade, effectively removing any federal restrictions on abortion and overriding state laws that protect unborn children. This move would not only roll back state pro-life legislation but could also lead to taxpayer funding of abortion and the removal of conscience protections, potentially requiring Catholic health care providers to offer or refer for abortions.
The Harris-Walz campaign website recounts stories meant to highlight the negative effects of abortion restrictions: “Stories of women miscarrying in parking lots, developing sepsis, losing the ability to ever have children again — all because doctors are afraid they may go to jail for caring for their patients.” While these narratives may seem emotionally compelling, they conflate tragic medical situations with elective abortion.
Where the Church stands
The Catholic Church acknowledges the complexity of certain medical circumstances and upholds the principle of double effect, under which treatments necessary to save a mother’s life may be morally permissible even if they unintentionally harm her unborn child. However, the intentional taking of the life of an unborn child is always and everywhere intrinsically evil. Abortion is not, and can never be, health care.
Abortion is not merely one issue for Vice President Harris; it is a bedrock of her campaign. At her first campaign rally in West Allis, Wisconsin, she pledged to “stop Donald Trump’s extreme abortion bans.” She declared, “I am being precise — we need to put into law the protections of Roe v. Wade. That means returning to where we were before the Dobbs decision.” Catholics, and every American of goodwill, should vehemently oppose this position.
