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- Pence hit back at Harris over her denunciation of the draft SCOTUS decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
- The former VP said generations of women endured “heartbreaking and loss that can last a lifetime.”
- Democratic leaders have vowed to fight back against the longstanding GOP effort to roll back Roe.
Former Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday hit back at Vice President Kamala Harris over her strong denunciation of the leaked draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade case.
During a Tuesday speech to the prominent pro-choice political action committee Emily’s List, Harris blasted Republicans for their longstanding goal to roll back abortion rights since the landmark high court decision.
“Those Republicans leaders who are trying to weaponize the use of the law against women — how dare they?” she said during her remarks. “How dare they tell a woman what she can do and cannot do with her own body? How dare they? How dare they try to stop her from determining her own future? How dare they try to deny women their rights and their freedoms?”
Pence — widely known for his ardent anti-abortion stance — responded to the vice president’s comments by stating that “62 million unborn boys and girls ended in abortion” since the advent of Roe v. Wade.
“Since 1973, generations of mothers enduring heartbreaking and loss that can last a lifetime. Madame Vice President, how dare you?” the former vice president retorted while speaking at an event for the Carolina Pregnancy Center.
He continued: “My hope, and frankly my prayer, is that those five justices on the Supreme Court have the courage of their convictions and will give us a fresh start on life in America.”
Pence encouraged the anti-abortion leaders to continue the fight in halting abortion procedures, while at the same time decrying the leak itself.
“We must remain steadfast,” he said on Thursday. “The decision is not final. So I want to encourage you to keep praying.”
He added: “No matter what happens in the coming weeks, the pro-abortion left will not succeed. The Supreme Court of the United States will not be intimidated and we will never stop fighting for the sanctity of life.”
Since the draft opinion was published by Politico on Monday evening, the revelation has rocked the country, amplifying fissures on the subject from Democratic congressional leaders and left-leaning organizations who want to codify Roe into law to the 2024 GOP presidential aspirants and grassroots activists who have fought to eliminate the procedure for years.
The majority opinion — which was written in February by Associate Justice Samuel Alito, an appointee of former President George W. Bush — could possibly shift by the time a decision is made in the summer.
However, leading Republicans like Pence very much want the final outcome to mirror the draft opinion.
“My hope, and frankly my prayer, is that those five justices on the Supreme Court have the courage of their convictions and will give us a fresh start on life in America,” he said.
Since 1990, the rate of abortions has declined markedly, per The New York Times.
In 2017, an estimated 862,320 abortions were performed in the United States, which represented a decline of almost 200,000 procedures compared to 2011, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
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