After the series of monumental failures that the Supreme Court announced in recent days, the vice president Kamala Harris said there are fundamental issues at stake, in an interview with NPR’s Michel Martin, released on audio Friday.
The Supreme Court handed down three sweeping decisions in the past two days, striking down race-based college admissions, student loan forgiveness, and LGBTQ+ protections. The cases were followed with great anticipation that the high court, which has a conservative majority, could overturn decades of precedent, as it actually did.
The vice president spoke to NPR after speaking at a moderated discussion on maternal health and reproductive rights at the Essence Festival in New Orleans.
Harris stated that “This is a serious time” for people “who believe in the promise of our country [pero] They understand that we still have work to do to fully achieve that promise.”
“Fundamental issues are at stake,” Harris said, as he called on Americans to vote in the 2024 election for political candidates who would work to protect their rights rather than terminate them.
Harris referred to the fact that there is a worrying issue regarding the highest court in the country, because these rulings against fundamental rights come precisely one year after the Supreme Court annulled the constitutional right to abortion with its ruling against Roe vs. Wade.
“I do believe that there is a national movement underway,” adding: “This is an attack on fundamental freedoms and access to opportunity.”
When addressing student loan forgiveness, Harris said, “We’re going to be creative in how we can bring some relief to this population that we have in mind on this issue.”
Harris said he has a responsibility to help inform Americans about their fundamental freedoms, such as the right to privacy. But she’s counting on voters to help restore critical protections like reproductive care.
“The court took the rights of the people of the United States”, Harris said. “Congress can return those rights. We cannot”, referring to the executive branch that she represents.
The Supreme Court’s turn to the extreme right became possible after the presidency of Donald Trump succeeded in appointing ultra-conservative justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
Harris predicted that the week’s supreme court decisions “would have a generational impact” and described herself as “deeply concerned about the implications of this … for the future of our country,” according to Nola.com.
His focus right now is also on the election campaignwhere she and Biden are running for the Democratic Party for re-election in 2024.
“I am traveling across the country to make sure that people know not only what they have received [bajo la administracion de Biden], because they lined up for hours during the height of a pandemic in 2020 demanding these things, but also what is to come,” Harris said. “And that includes what we will do to keep fighting, to make sure that people’s freedoms and rights are protected.”
Keep reading:
– Biden revealed new details about his plan B for student loan forgiveness
– Supreme Court deals a blow to LGBTQ+ rights and a victory for religious plaintiffs
– Supreme Court strikes down Biden’s student debt relief plan
Source: La Opinion
