Catholic organizations and other religious leaders are angered with Vice President Kamala Harris after she said there should be no concessions made on abortion rights.
NBC News’s Hallie Jackson asked Harris if any concessions should be made when drafting legislation in order to win over Republicans, using religious exemptions as an example of a concession that Democrats may have to make.
“I don’t think we should be making concessions when we’re talking about a fundamental freedom to make decisions about your own body,” Harris said.
Harris dug her heels in when Jackson asked again how she would appeal to more moderate Republicans like Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
“I’m not gonna engage in hypotheticals because we could go on a variety of scenarios. Let’s just start with a fundamental fact, a basic freedom has been taken from the women of America: the freedom to make decisions about their own body,” Harris said. “And that cannot be negotiable, which is that we need to put back in the protections of Roe v. Wade.”
Federal statutes bar withholding federal funding to healthcare providers who refuse to engage in an action they find to be in violation of their religious beliefs. These amendments were added in the 1970s. However, it is uncertain if Harris meant she would roll back these protections for religious liberties.
“So she’s not only pro-abortion, she is anti-religious freedom. Duly noted,” Ralph Reed, Chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, said in a statement.
The vice president is campaigning heavily on abortion rights, promising to restore the abortion protections lost following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Abortion is a core concern for Harris, and she has said she supports ending the Senate filibuster in order to pass abortion-rights legislation with just 51 votes.
“[Harris] promises ‘freedom’ but then pledges to federally steamroll Americans into taking part in abortions against their will,” SBA Pro-Life America tweeted. “Docs must perform them. Taxpayers must pay for them, for any reason, in all 50 states, no exceptions.”
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“Kamala Harris admits she would deny religious exemptions for abortions, forcing Christians to kill unborn children and seemingly doubling down on weaponizing the government to jail pro-lifers who pray outside abortion facilities,” Catholic Vote shared in a statement.
In January, six anti-abortion protesters were convicted of violating the FACE Act for their role in a blockade outside an abortion clinic in Tennessee.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.