Abortion continues to hold sway in the American election campaign. Kamala Harris has stated that she is against “religious exemptions” regarding the termination of pregnancies. Explicitly questioned on the topic, the Dem candidate replied: “I don’t think we should make concessions when we talk about the fundamental freedom to make decisions about one’s own body.”
Upon closer inspection, this is not a new position for Harris. In 2019, as a senator, she supported the Do No Harm Act: a bill that aimed to reduce religious exemptions regarding abortion. That rule was introduced just as the Little Sisters of the Poor were asking for an exemption to a provision of Obamacare, which required coverage for abortive drugs: legal disputes arose over the issue which ultimately, in 2020, saw the religious order win before the Supreme Court.
It goes without saying that reiterating her opposition to religious exemptions on abortion will strengthen Harris in her vote pro choice but, on the other hand, it will further alienate the Catholic vote with which the vice president is historically in difficulty. That Catholic vote which, especially this year, could prove decisive in a crucial state like Pennsylvania. All this, without neglecting that, beyond the abortion, Harris irritated Catholics by criticizing, as a senator, the Knights of Columbus association and by not showing up in person, a few days ago, at the Al Smith Dinner: the gala dinner, organized for charity by the archdiocese of New York, in which presidential candidates traditionally take part.
But abortion could also represent a problem for the vice president from another point of view. In fact, Harris continues to not clarify whether or not she supports restrictions on termination of pregnancy. Specifically consulted during the debate with Donald Trump on CNN in September, did not give a clear answer. The same thing happened during a very recent interview, given to CBS on Sunday.
For her, this is a thorny issue. If it is true that the majority of Americans said they were against the cancellation of Roe v Wade by the Supreme Court, it is equally true that, according to a YouGov poll in March, 55% of US citizens believe that termination of pregnancy should possibly occur within a limited number of weeks. Therefore, if Trump has the problem of being perceived as too rigid, Harris has the opposite problem of being considered excessively open-minded. The point is that, as reported by Politicalthe world pro choice that the vice president supports is not compact: if some currents limit themselves to asking for a return to the situation prior to the cancellation of Roe v Wadeothers want Harris to push harder on the accelerator. Among other things, the Dem candidate chose that as deputy Tim Walz who, as governor of Minnesota, signed a state law that virtually eliminated all restrictions on termination of pregnancy. As is therefore easy to understand, abortion has now become an electorally slippery issue for both candidates, albeit for opposite reasons.
