When quoting the Declaration of Independence on Sunday during a speech in support of abortion access, Vice President Kamala Harris omitted to mention the right to life.
Harris’ remarks in Tallahassee, Florida, coincided with the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which granted women nationwide access to abortion. This is the first anniversary since the decision was reversed in June 2022, allowing states to set their own abortion laws.
However, in her speech, Harris quoted the Declaration of Independence to say that Americans have the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness, ignoring the fact that the phrase also states that Americans have the right to life.
“We all know and believe that America is a promise… It is a promise of liberty and freedom “Harris stated. “Not just for some, but for everyone. We made a promise in the Declaration of Independence that each of us has the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. To be clear, these liberties were not bestowed upon us; they are ours as Americans.”
According to the Declaration of Independence, Americans have the right to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that their Creator has endowed them with certain unalienable Rights, among which are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” the Declaration of Independence states, according to the National Archives.
In her speech, Harris also addressed some Republican lawmakers’ suggestion of a federal abortion ban. Last fall, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham (R) introduced legislation to prohibit abortions at 15 weeks of pregnancy nationwide.
“Congress Republicans are now calling for a nationwide abortion ban,” Harris said. “The right of every woman in every state in this country to make decisions about her own body is under attack, some even from the moment of conception. And, as I’ve said before, I’ll say it again. They are so bold!”
In her remarks, the vice president also questioned whether Americans can be “truly free” without access to abortion.
“America is the home of the brave and the land of the free,” she declared. “But, can we truly be free if a woman is unable to make decisions about her own body? Can we be truly free if the doctor is unable to care for her patients? Can we truly be free if families are unable to make intimate decisions about their own line? And can we truly be free if our leaders claim to be “on the vanguard of freedom” while restricting the rights of the American people and attacking the very foundations of freedom?”
