Harris Backs Eliminating Senate Filibuster to Restore Federal Abortion Rights

The Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, on Tuesday endorsed eliminating the filibuster to codify Roe v. Wade, the federal abortion rights ruling that was overturned two years ago.

"It is well within our reach to hold onto the majority in the Senate and take back the House," Harris, a former U.S. senator, toldWisconsin Public Radio. "I would also emphasize that while the presidential election is extremely important and dispositive of where we go moving forward, it also is about what we need to do to hold onto the Senate and win seats in the House."

"I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe," she continued. "And get us to the point where 51 votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do."

Multiple current lawmakers joined a wide range of reproductive rights advocates in welcoming Harris' comments about ending the filibuster, which requires 60 of the Senate's 100 members to agree to hold a final vote on a bill.

"This is so important," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus and has shared her own abortion story. "Abortion access is under attack as extreme MAGA Republicans pass cruel laws to strip away our rights. Congress needs to step up and codify abortion rights—and we do that by ending the filibuster."

Unable to pass any defenses of reproductive healthcare in the divided Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has instead held recent votes on legislation regarding abortion, birth control, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) to call out Republicans.

"The filibuster is an undemocratic rule that prevents us from passing policies that a majority of Americans want. Look no further than last week's IVF vote," Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said Tuesday. "Could not agree more with Vice President Harris."

The Hillreported that after Harris' comments, Schumer told journalists that if Senate Democrats retain their majority next year, they will discuss creating an abortion "carveout" in the filibuster rule to pass abortion rights legislation.

Meanwhile, the campaign of former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the November election, claimed on social media Tuesday that Harris' position is a "real threat to democracy."

In response, Nina Turner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy, declared that "the filibuster is anti-democratic in nature. It's a rule that takes the votes necessary in the Senate from 50 to 60."

Another critic of Harris' position was retiring Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), a key supporter of the filibuster. According toCNN's Manu Raju, the former Democrat—who left the party in May—responded to the vice president's remarks by saying, "Shame on her."

"She knows the filibuster is the Holy Grail of democracy. It's the only thing that keeps us talking and working together. If she gets rid of that, then this would be the House on steroids," Manchin continued, adding that he wouldn't support Harris for president.

Veteran Democratic political strategist Tom Bonier said that "defending 'the filibuster' over women's bodily autonomy is one heck of a way for Joe Manchin to leave the scene. Though I imagine this lack of endorsement helps Harris much more than it hurts her."

While Manchin was a Democrat, he was a major obstructionist of the party's agenda under President Joe Biden—who backed a filibuster carveout for legislation to codify abortion rights in 2022. The other primary defender of the filibuster is Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who ditched the Democratic Party later that year and is also leaving the chamber after this term.

In the absence of federal legislation, GOP state lawmakers have ramped up efforts to restrict reproductive freedom since the U.S. Supreme Court's right-wing justices—including three Trump appointees— reversedRoe with their June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision.

Given the Republican-led attacks, reproductive freedom has been a major focus of the presidential contest. While Trump has bragged about his role in reversing Roe, Harris has blamed him for states' recently enacted and deadly abortion bans.

It is "great to finally hear Kamala Harris be clear as our candidate about ending the filibuster to restore abortion rights nationwide," For All founder Kai Newkirk said Tuesday. "Abolishing the Jim Crow relic minority veto is essential to undo abortion bans and deliver the progress our nation needs."