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Kamala Harris's 'first priority' as president: To 'stop this pain' and 'injustice' from abortion bans

Democratic presidential nominee US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris is using her pro-choice platform to carry her over the finish line.

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Just one week out from the elections, Vice President Kamala Harris is using her pro-choice platform to carry her over the finish line.

The Democratic presidential nominee warned of the dangers of a second term under former President Donald Trump in an interview with CBS on Sunday, in which she said that "my first priority is to put back in place [abortion] protections and to stop this pain, and to stop this injustice that is happening around our country."

"We have seen women who are experiencing a miscarriage around a pregnancy they prayed for and being denied health care because doctors are afraid they're gonna go to prison, and those women developing sepsis," Harris said. "We have seen extraordinary harm and pain and suffering happen because of what Donald Trump did in intending and effectuating and overturning of Roe v. Wade."

Trump’s campaign has attempted to distance itself from the unpopular idea of a national ban — even claiming recently that he would veto one if it made it to his desk — but Trump himself has "said that women should be punished" for undergoing abortions, as Harris noted. His running mate, JD Vance, also previously expressed the desire to restrict abortion federally.

Harris pointed out that a road map to implement such a policy is outlined in Project 2025, the blueprint for a second Trump presidency crafted by conservative organization the Heritage Foundation, which includes criminalizing administering abortion medication as well as shipping it. While Trump has denied his connection to Project 2025, Harris noted that "he has been all over the place on this."

"I'm too busy watching what he's doing to see what he has said," she said.

Ultimately, "we would not be debating this if Donald Trump had not hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade," Harris added. Under a second term, Trump could further stack the court, allowing them to overturn other legal protections.

"And what we have seen, as demonstrated ... every day these last two years, is extraordinary harm that has occurred in America," Harris said. "Where women have died because of Trump abortion bans; where women who have survived rape and girls incest, and no exception for someone whose body has been violated, to make a decision about what happens to their body next."

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Ryan Adamczeski

Ryan is a reporter at The Advocate, and a graduate of New York University Tisch's Department of Dramatic Writing, with a focus in television writing and comedy. She first became a published author at the age of 15 with her YA novel "Someone Else's Stars," and is now a member of GALECA, the LGBTQ+ society of entertainment critics, and the IRE, the society of Investigative Reporters and Editors. In her free time, Ryan likes watching New York Rangers hockey, listening to the Beach Boys, and practicing witchcraft.
Ryan is a reporter at The Advocate, and a graduate of New York University Tisch's Department of Dramatic Writing, with a focus in television writing and comedy. She first became a published author at the age of 15 with her YA novel "Someone Else's Stars," and is now a member of GALECA, the LGBTQ+ society of entertainment critics, and the IRE, the society of Investigative Reporters and Editors. In her free time, Ryan likes watching New York Rangers hockey, listening to the Beach Boys, and practicing witchcraft.