Press Release
☷Remarks by Vice President Harris During the “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” Tour | Phoenix AZ
White House ( By Press Release office)
Mar 11,2024
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Hey everyone , good afternoon! It ' s great to be back in Arizona . I want to thank President Florez and all the other leaders here for their hard work and dedication . Special shoutout to Mayor Kate Gallego and Congressman Greg Stanton , who is celebrating his birthday today . And big thanks to all the organizers in Arizona fighting for our freedoms , including the freedom to make decisions about our own bodies . Let ' s keep pushing forward for a better future . However , about two years ago , the highest court in our country - the court of Thurgood and RBG - took away a constitutional right that the American people , especially women , had . And now we have to talk about Roe in the past tense . All over the country , there are extremists proposing and passing laws that make doctors and women who seek healthcare criminals . These laws even threaten doctors and nurses with prison time , sometimes for life , just for providing healthcare . Some states , like Arizona , have laws that don ' t even make exceptions for cases of rape or incest . Now , many of you may know that I started my career as a prosecutor focusing on crimes against women and children . What you may not know is why . When I was in high school , I found out that my best friend was being abused by her stepfather . So I told her she had to come stay with us and asked my mother , who agreed without hesitation . The idea that someone who has survived a violent crime and had their body violated would then be told they don ' t have the right to make decisions about their own body is just wrong . It ' s immoral . ( Applause . ) And today , extremists even attack the freedom to use IVF treatment . Women and couples are being denied the chance to fulfill their dream of having a child . Let ' s think about the irony here . On one hand , these extremists say that women don ' t have the freedom to end an unwanted pregnancy . And on the other hand , they say women don ' t have the freedom to start a family . Let ' s all agree on something: You don ' t have to give up your faith or beliefs to understand that the government shouldn ' t be telling women what to do with their bodies . ( Applause . ) And this is a real healthcare crisis . This is not a hypothetical situation . Today , one in three women of reproductive age in America live in a state with an abortion ban . That number is even higher for Latinas . Forty percent of Latinas live in a state where abortion is banned , including right here in Arizona , where extremist lawmakers passed an abortion ban without exceptions for rape or incest . And right now , other extremists are in court , trying to bring back a law from 1864 that would completely ban abortion in Arizona . 1864 . Understand this: 1864 , before women could vote , before women could own property , before Arizona was even a state . These extremists want to take women back to the 1800s . But we won ' t let them . ( Applause . ) We won ' t let them . We absolutely won ' t let them . And let ' s really grasp the impact of laws like these . Since Roe was overturned , it ' s created a terrible reality that women in our country face every single day . Real people are being harmed by this . I ' ve actually met women who had miscarriages in toilets because they were denied care . There was a woman who went to the emergency room during a miscarriage , and they kept turning her away because the doctors were afraid of getting in trouble . It wasn ' t until she developed sepsis that they finally helped her . And consider this , the majority of women in America who have abortions are actually mothers . So if she lives in a state with an abortion ban and needs to travel for care , it ' s a real struggle if she doesn ' t have paid leave , affordable childcare , or the money to travel . And these extremists claim they care about women and children , but they stay silent on the issue of maternal mortality . It ' s shocking that women in America have a higher death rate during childbirth compared to women in wealthy nations . And they ' ve been silent on that . Suddenly , they act like they ' re the great defenders of women and children . But let ' s not forget that Black women are three times more likely to die in connection with pregnancy , Native women are twice as likely , and rural women are one and a half times as likely . And guess what? The top 10 states with the highest rates of maternal mortality all have abortion bans . It ' s pure hypocrisy . And the sad reality is that for every story we hear , there are countless others we don ' t . Right now , there are countless women suffering in silence . They ' re being judged and made to feel like they did something wrong , like they should be ashamed , like they ' re all alone . So to these women , I want you to know that we see you , we stand with you , and you are not alone . And in this healthcare crisis , let ' s be clear about who is to blame . The former President , Donald Trump , deliberately chose three Supreme Court justices to overturn Roe . He wanted to take away your rights , and he ' s proud of it . He openly admits that he worked for years to get rid of Roe v . Wade , and he succeeded . He takes pride in it . Proud that women across our nation are suffering Proud that doctors and nurses can go to prison for providing care Proud that young women today have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers How dare they ( applause ) . So , let ' s understand: The former president is the architect of this health care crisis . The extremists are not finished . In the United States Congress , extremists attempted to pass the National Abortion Ban Act to criminalize abortion in every state . But what they need to know is that if Congress passes a national abortion ban , President Joe Biden will veto it . ( applause ) . Because that ' s the deal . We trust women . ( applause ) . We trust that women know what is in their best interest . Women trust us to fight to protect their basic freedoms . It will take all of us . It will take all of us . Joe Biden and I are fighting in court to protect women ' s access to emergency medicine and care . We have worked to ensure that medical records remain between the doctor and his or her patient . We have protected a woman ' s right to travel interstate to obtain abortion care . We struggle to get free contraception . But here ' s the point . As President Biden made clear last night in his State of the Union address , to truly protect reproductive freedoms , we must restore the protections provided by Roe . What the US Supreme Court has taken , Congress can put back in place . Therefore , we must have a majority of members in Congress who simply agree - regardless of their personal beliefs for themselves or their families , who simply agree that the government should not be making these personal decisions for other people . ( applause ) . This is the bottom line . When Congress passes a law restoring Roe ' s reproductive freedoms and freedoms , Joe Biden will sign it into law . ( applause ) . So , in conclusion , I will repeat: it will take all of us . It will take all of us to get there . The momentum is on our side . ( applause ) . Since the overthrow of Roe , every time reproductive freedom has been on the ballot - every time - 22 , 23 - every time reproductive freedom has been on the ballot , the people of America have voted for freedom . ( Applause . ) From Kansas to California to Kentucky , in Michigan , Montana , Vermont , and Ohio - ( Applause ) - the American people voted for freedom overwhelmingly . And by the way , this also raises a different point , which is that this is not a partisan issue . It is not a partisan issue . In red and blue states , tens of millions of Americans marched to the polls , and the voice of the people has been heard , and will be heard . So , in closing , today I ask: Arizona , are you ready to make your voices heard? ( Applause ) Do we trust women? ( Applause ) Do we believe in reproductive freedom? ( Applause . ) Do we really believe in the promise of America? ( Applause . ) Are we ready to fight for it? ( Applause . ) And you know what? When we fight , we win . ( Applause . ) Bless you all . Bless the United States of America . Thank you , everyone . Thank you . That ' s all for now . 4:54 P . M . MST .
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