Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to her campaign staff on Monday following President Joe Biden’s announcement via X that he has withdrawn from the 2024 presidential election. In her speech, she committed herself to ensuring that “reproductive freedoms” are restored. “We who will fight for reproductive freedom, knowing if Trump gets the chance, he will sign a national abortion ban to outlaw abortion in every state. But we will not let that happen,” said Harris.
She added, “It is this team here that is going to help this November to elect a majority of members of US Congress who agree that the government should not be telling a woman what to do with her body. And when Congress passes a law to restore reproductive freedoms, as president of the US, I will sign it into law.”
The ideas of “bodily autonomy” and “reproductive freedom” are popular ones, and it’s catchy to say that the government shouldn’t “tell a woman what to do with her body.” However, with just a little critical thinking, one might realize that essentially every law tells Americans what they can or cannot do with their bodies, their property, and much more.
In addition, “reproductive freedom” denotes the freedom to reproduce… or not reproduce. Not to kill. Once fertilization has occurred, reproduction has already happened. Therefore, abortion cannot reasonably be considered “reproductive freedom” or a “reproductive right.” Watch the Live Action video below to see more:
Harris also referred to how abolitionists and suffragettes, among others, helped to fight for freedom in America. Abolitionists fought for enslaved Black Americans to be treated as full human beings with full rights in society, and suffragettes fought for women’s rights to vote, own property, and more. Abolitionists saw Black Americans for what they were and are: full human beings. Suffragettes, the early feminists, saw preborn children for what they were and are — fully human beings — and they opposed abortion (as the “murder of children”).
Indeed, they fought for true freedom and true human rights.
So-called “reproductive freedoms”
Last year, abortion advocates launched this marketing tactic of framing abortion as “freedom,” departing from the long-held campaign that abortion is about “choice.” It sounds appealing, yet it insinuates that a woman cannot be truly free unless she has the ability to kill her child.
Americans value freedom, and few would argue that any human being should not be free to make their own decisions about their lives. But the very act of induced abortion — which directly and intentionally kills an innocent person — ignores that very freedom — the right to life — that belongs to every human being simply by virtue of being human (like those in the womb), to live out their own lives. True freedom can never deprive another human being of his or her right to not be unjustly killed.
No one should use their freedom to oppress (to death) innocent human beings, and pro-life laws do not have the power to control women’s bodies — but they do assert the truth. No one — not even a mother — has a legitimate “right” to intentionally kill a vulnerable and innocent child in the womb.
Editor’s Note, 7/25/24: This post has been revised since its original publication.
