Biden-Harris Didn’t Protect Abortion Rights & Neither Would Harris-Walz
By Willow Reader. Published October 23 2024.
Amidst the false claims and blatant lies that characterized much of Donald Trump’s debate performance, he got one thing absolutely correct: Kamala Harris is running to the right of where she ran in the 2020 primaries. Then, under pressure from Bernie Sanders’s campaign and movements in the streets, she said she supported Medicare for All, a $15/hour federal minimum wage, and banning fracking. Now she has abandoned all of them. Instead, she and Biden continued or expanded many of the right wing policies of the Trump administration, including his deeply racist immigration policy, tax cuts for the rich, and record levels of oil drilling. Trump joked, “I was going to send her a MAGA hat.”
While borrowing from Trump’s policies has made Harris popular with CEOs and Dick Cheney, it’s damaging to working people and not even a winning message with Democratic voters. As a fig leaf to cover her move to the right, the Harris campaign has made abortion rights a central feature of their campaign messaging. She blames Trump for the overturn of Roe and subsequent state-level restrictions on abortion, while claiming she has and will continue to fight to expand abortion access. The Democrats hope this will help create a contrast with Trump. Trump’s “let the states decide” position on abortion is increasingly unpopular with support for abortion rights steadily growing since the overturn on Roe in 2022. Seven in 10 Americans think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and a majority support federal protections for abortion that would supersede state bans.
But what is Harris’ and the Democrats’ actual record on defending abortion rights? Democrats had fifty years to codify Roe and refused to do so, preferring to dangle the threat of losing it over voters’ heads each election cycle to secure votes as the lesser evil. The Biden-Harris administration utterly failed to defend federal abortion protections even after getting advanced notice of the leaked Dobbs decision to overturn Roe. They did nothing in the face of this attack, including calling for any mass mobilizations to defend abortion rights or trying to pass any federal laws codifying Roe. They also failed to defend against subsequent attacks at the state level. In fact, it has been grassroots ballot initiatives, not any Democratic party initiatives, that have done the most to push back against right-wing abortion bans since Roe was overturned.
Harris’ position to abortion rights remains firmly rooted in the Democrats’ defensive approach on the issue and unwillingness to fight for the oppressed groups it claims to represent. This has allowed the far-right minority to make huge advances in recent years. Since the Dobbs ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the Biden-Harris administration has adopted a strategy of “aggressive incrementalism,” such as increasing telehealth access to abortion pills and allowing abortion services through federal veterans affairs hospitals. When compared to the all-out attacks from the right wing, it’s understandable that these very limited gains or vague rhetoric may come as a relief to some. However, it’s important to place these supposed victories in context of the huge losses that have taken place because of the total failure of the Democrats to fight.
Beyond making any effort to prevent the overturn of Roe in the first place, the Biden-Harris administration and the Democratic Party could have done far more to protect abortion rights across the U.S. after the Dobbs ruling became official. The Biden-Harris administration could have used federal land to establish abortion centers in each state. The abortion rights sanctuary that socialist Kshama Sawant led the way in winning in Seattle could have been followed as a model in cities around the country. Democrats could have sponsored and put forward state-level legislation across the country to make abortion legal and affordable. If elected Democrats systematically put forward legislation to expand abortion protections as part of broader bills for affordable healthcare access – paid for by taxing the rich, it would be overwhelmingly popular as Bernie Sanders’ campaign proved. But Harris and the Democratic Party would rather allow the continued roll back of abortion rights than take on a fight with the right wing. Why? Fundamentally, reproductive rights are not a priority even for the liberal wing of the capitalists, and in fact they rely on their strategies of divide-and-rule.
Despite the minor improvements to the Affordable Care Act under the Biden-Harris administration, healthcare has actually become less affordable on their watch – the proportion of American adults who can afford healthcare fell by 6 percentage points between 2022 and 2024. In a recent Gallup poll, 61% of Americans said they were dissatisfied with the availability of affordable healthcare. But while Harris expressed support for Medicare for All during her 2020 primary run against Sanders, she has since dropped that position and stated her opposition clearly, firmly, and consistently.
Working people should reject Harris and the Democratic Party’s failed strategy on reproductive rights, along with their attacks on working people and backing of the genocide in Gaza. We should instead support pro-worker, pro-abortion rights, and antiwar candidate Jill Stein in November. Stein’s platform includes Medicare for All with fully-funded contraception, abortion, and gender-affirming care. Real reproductive freedom goes far beyond the right to abortion - it also includes the ability to choose whether or not to get pregnant in the first place and the ability to raise a child in a secure and stable environment. Access to safe, quality affordable housing; free universal childcare; paid family leave; free college education and student loan forgiveness; fully funded public education without the threat of gun violence; and a livable planet without the threat of climate change – these should be guaranteed to every family. Jill Stein is the strongest candidate in this election who is calling for all of these things.
We need a new party for working people, because neither the Democrats or Republicans represent us. To build momentum for this and towards federal abortion protections and Medicare for All, we should urgently build the largest possible vote for Stein. If you agree, join us for upcoming meetings, phonebanks, and other GOTV efforts. And no matter who ends up in the White House, we need to keep pushing by building an independent political organization that can fight for reproductive rights and other things working people desperately need. That’s why Workers Strike Back is hosting an Organizing Conference on February 22, 2025 to begin to lay the foundations of a new workers’ party.