Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday said that the Biden administration wasn’t looking into allowing abortions to be performed on federal land in states that restrict the procedure following the Supreme Court’s Friday decision reversing Roe v. Wade.
The idea was put forward Friday by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and echoed Sunday by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) after the court rescinded federal abortion rights and allowed states to set their own policies.
Harris is the first woman to hold her post, but she faced criticism from abortion rights advocates who said she seemed aloof by releasing a photo of herself watching cable news coverage of the court ruling from Air Force Two.
CNN reporter Dana Bash asked Harris, “Can the administration expand abortion access or abortion services on federal land — meaning provide the access on federal land that might be in around states that ban abortion?”
“I think that what is most important right now is that we ensure that the restrictions that the states are trying to put up that would prohibit a woman from exercising what we still maintain is her right, that we do everything we can to empower women to not only seek but to receive the care where it is available,” Harris said.
“Is federal land one of those options?” Bash pressed.
“I mean, it’s not right now what we are discussing,” Harris said, before turning the conversation toward the November midterm elections, which Republicans have been favored to win due to public frustration at high inflation and record gas prices.
“I will say that when I think about what is happening in terms of the states, we have to also recognize, Dana, that we are 130 odd days away from an election, which is going to include Senate races right part of the issue here is that the court has acted and now Congress needs to act,” Harris said.
“But we — if you count the votes — don’t appear to have the votes in the Senate. Well, there’s an election happening.”
Ocasio-Cortez proposed using federal land to create islands of abortion access in restrictive states while speaking to protesters on the night of the ruling in New York City’s Union Square.
“There are also actions at President Biden’s disposal that he can mobilize,” AOC said. “I’ll start with the babiest of the babiest of the baby steps: Open abortion clinics on federal lands in red states right now. Right now.”
Warren echoed the demand on Sunday, telling ABC News, that Biden should “make abortion as available as possible with the tools he has, including medication abortion, including using federal lands as a place where abortions can occur.”
Harris said that the Biden administration would, however, fight to ensure that women retain access in all states to FDA-approved medications that can cause an abortion, and to ensure that women can travel from more restrictive to less-restrictive state to seek out the procedure.