Vice President Kamala Harris criticized the conservative-controlled Supreme Court on Wednesday, expressing concerns that its future rulings could restrict a wide range of civil rights and personal freedoms for many Americans.
In an interview with The New York Times, she elaborated on her disapproval of the court’s decision to overturn federally protected abortion rights in 2022. She went beyond President Biden’s previous remarks to specifically raise alarms about Justice Clarence Thomas and the overall trajectory of the court.
“This court has demonstrated itself to be an activist court,” said Ms. Harris, a former California attorney general and San Francisco district attorney. “I am concerned about fundamental freedoms being at risk across the board.”
When asked about particular legal precedents that could be challenged by the court, Ms. Harris hesitated to provide specifics.
“I do not want to sound alarmist at this point,” she stated. “However, this court has made it evident that they are open to revisiting established rights.”
The interview, conducted after a campaign event focusing on abortion rights in Pennsylvania, touched on various topics related to the court, the 2024 election, and the status of abortion rights in America. While Ms. Harris’s comments went beyond the Biden administration’s previous criticisms of the Supreme Court, they were less harsh compared to the direct attacks made during the previous administration when then-President Donald J. Trump targeted Justice John Roberts.
In March, President Biden remarked that the justices “made a mistake” and “misinterpreted the Constitution” in their decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, but he limited his criticism to that specific ruling.
During the interview on Wednesday, Ms. Harris referenced Justice Thomas’s statements in the case that overturned Roe as an indication of the court’s potential direction. In a candid concurring opinion, Justice Thomas suggested that the court should “reconsider” decisions that established rights to same-sex relations, marriage, and contraception.
“You can see Clarence Thomas essentially voicing what many might be thinking,” she remarked. “Just examine his statements, and perhaps that gives us some insight. Just observe one of the justices to anticipate their future actions.”
During her time as a senator from California, Ms. Harris opposed the confirmations of Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch. Her forceful and direct questioning of Mr. Kavanaugh during his contentious confirmation hearings in 2018 propelled Ms. Harris into the national political spotlight.
Ms. Harris declined to speculate on whether she believed any of the justices had been untruthful during their hearings when questioned about Roe as a settled legal precedent.
Regarding the presidential race, she suggested that Mr. Trump lacks faith in women’s decision-making abilities but refrained from commenting on whether the former president respects women in any capacity.
She evaluated Mr. Trump based on his actions, noting that she had never personally met him.
“I cannot speculate on what goes on in his mind,” she stated. “However, I will say that when you consider the abortion bans imposed by Trump across the country, those bans imply a lack of trust in women’s ability to determine their own best interests.”
The vice president painted a bleak picture of the future of abortion rights if Mr. Trump were to be re-elected as president. She warned that women’s pregnancies could be monitored in states where abortion is prohibited to prevent them from accessing the procedure, and she claimed that Mr. Trump would sign a national abortion ban if such legislation reached his desk. “I believe they could take that step,” Mr. Trump remarked in an interview with Time magazine last month. “You would need to consult the individual states.”
Recently, Mr. Trump has attempted to soften his stance on abortion rights, stating that the issue should be left to the states to decide and refusing to yield to the demands of anti-abortion activists by endorsing a federal ban.
Ms. Harris expressed confidence that such efforts would not sway voters who support abortion rights to back Mr. Trump.
“I believe the American people can see through the deception and are capable of seeing beyond the facade,” she remarked.
Ms. Harris has made defending abortion rights a key focus of her vice presidency, traveling across the country to visit clinics and organize events in states where bans have been implemented. In Washington, she has engaged in a series of meetings with activists, state legislators, medical professionals, and patients to strategize on how to counter conservative attempts to enforce bans and restrict access to the procedure.
During a campaign event in Elkins Park, Pa., on Wednesday, she framed abortion rights as a matter of personal freedom and portrayed the bans as governmental intrusion into the private lives of American women—a narrative embraced by Democrats since the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights.
“One does not need to compromise their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that the government should not dictate their choices,” she declared to the audience at an event featuring Sheryl Lee Ralph, an actress on the TV show “Abbott Elementary.” “Do you doubt women’s ability to determine what is best for them?”
Later that evening, she returned to Washington to deliver a speech at the annual Emily’s List gala, an organization that supports Democrats who advocate for abortion rights.
In her interview, Ms. Harris emphasized the need for continued efforts to convince voters to re-elect the Biden-Harris ticket, even on the issue of abortion rights.
“It is a presidential election in the United States—it inherently demands a hard-fought campaign and a well-earned victory,” she stated. “No one should be handed the presidency, don’t you agree?”
