Presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris released a plan Tuesday that would mandate states where past anti-abortion laws have been overturned by the courts to have any new ones approved by the Department of Justice.
“Under the plan, states and localities will be subject to the preclearance requirement if they have a pattern of violating Roe v. Wade in the preceding 25 years,” the California Democrat said.
“Any change with respect to abortion in a covered jurisdiction will remain legally unenforceable until DOJ determines it comports with the standards laid out by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade,” she said.
Harris termed her plan the Reproduction Rights Act and wants to codify abortion into state laws nationwide. The plan also allows women and healthcare providers to sue the Department of Justice if “hostile administrations” seek to approve anti-abortion laws.
The plan, which would be similar to the Voting Rights Act, is a response to a slew of anti-abortion laws passed this year in a dozen conservative states, including Georgia, Alabama, and Missouri.
The presidential hopeful’s competitor Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called this month for Congress to pass legislation to guarantee abortion protections if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Harris is polling fourth in RealCearPolitics’ polling average at 8%, behind former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Warren.
[Opinion: Roe v. Wade is not ‘gone,’ but for the first time in nearly 30 years, its survival is uncertain]
