On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris expressed her concern about the “integrity” of the Supreme Court in light of the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Harris stated, “I think this is an activist court.”
In addition to what we have determined to be, the privacy rights to which all individuals are entitled, it means that we have had an established right for over 50 years, which is the right of women to make decisions about their own bodies. “And this court immediately exercised that fundamental prerogative. And as a result, our country is suffering.” She said, “That makes me very concerned about the entire integrity of the Court.”
Her comments were delivered a few months after the Supreme Court chose to overturn Roe v. Wade, a significant ruling from 1973 that established access to abortion as a constitutional right.
Abortion rights supporters have worried that Roe v. Wade may be overturned since May. Concerns started after Politico published a draft opinion that was leaked and in which Justice Samuel Alito referred to the judgment as being “egregiously incorrect from the outset.”
Nationwide demonstrations were prompted by the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Numerous well-known people have criticized the decision once it was made public. The judgment of the court was also denounced by Attorney General Merrick Garland, who called it “a terrible blow to reproductive freedom in the United States.”
By overturning Roe, the Supreme Court effectively rendered abortion illegal in at least 22 states and gave state legislators the authority to decide whether abortion is allowed in their jurisdictions. In some others, further limitations are anticipated.
CHUCK TODD: We have some polling that shows confidence in the Supreme Court is at its lowest level that we’ve measured in over 20 years. How much confidence do you have in the Supreme Court?
VICE PRES. KAMALA HARRIS: I think this is an activist court.
CHUCK TODD: What does that mean?
VICE PRES. KAMALA HARRIS: It means that we had an established right for almost half a century, which is the right of women to make decisions about their own body, as an extension of what we have decided to be, the privacy rights to which all people are entitled. And this court took that constitutional right away. And we are suffering as a nation, because of it. That causes me great concern about the integrity of the Court overall, especially as someone who, my life was inspired by people like Thurgood Marshall. The work on that court of Earl Warren, to bring a unanimous court to pass Brown v. Board of Education. This is the court that once – on once sat, Earl Warren and Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day O’Connor. It’s a very different court.
In the Biden administration, Harris has taken the lead in opposing the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The vice president, who is the first woman to occupy the position, has visited with activists and medical professionals recently to express support for access to abortion and reproductive health.
In Kansas, voters defeated a proposal that would have removed abortion rights from the state constitution, Democrats rode the tsunami of fury following the court ruling to victory at the polls.
Even with the confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who joined the court in July following the retirement of former Justice Stephen Breyer, the Supreme Court still maintains a 6-3 conservative majority. which is a huge difference from the liberal majority that has delivered many fundamental transformation decisions for the nation over the past 50 years.
Forty-three percent of Americans, up 16 percentage points from April, say they have little trust in the Supreme Court, according to a late-July Associated Press survey.
