Kamala Harris condemns government ‘ownership over human bodies’

Kamala Harris Saturday condemned the federal government’s “problematic” interference with bodily autonomy while speaking at the Essence Festival in New Orleans. Her remarks suggest she was speaking about the Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Roe v. Wade and not the vaccine mandates she supported. 

"We have to recognize we're a nation that was founded on certain principles that are … grounded in the concept of freedom and liberty," Harris said, speaking during a chat with actress Keke Palmer. 

"We also know we've had a history in this country of government trying to claim ownership over human bodies, and we had supposedly evolved from that time and that way of thinking," she continued. "So this is very problematic on so many levels, the impact that it is going to have on women without means." 

She added, "The statement has been made that the government has a right to come in your home and tell you as a woman and as a family what you should do with your body." 

Harris is only one of many politicians to have supported forced vaccinations and become zealous for bodily autonomy after abortion laws were turned over to the states.  

As reported by America’s Frontline News, New York State Attorney General Letitia James pushed heavily for mandates, even urging the Supreme Court last year to deny a group of healthcare workers the right to not be injected with Pfizer’s serum, which the Court indeed did.  

Now, James is pushing for the right to choose what to do with one’s own body and urging people not to obey the Supreme Court.  

Telling a crowd Tuesday that she “walked proudly into Planned Parenthood” to have an abortion – for which she makes “no apologies” - James said that her faith teaches her about the right to bodily autonomy.  

“And all of you also know I am a woman of faith, I go to church,” James told the cheering crowd. “But my God teaches me all about love and acceptance. And my God teaches me about privacy. And my God says that you’ve gotta make the best decision for your body and your life.”  

“No judge of the Supreme Court can dictate to me or to you how to use your body,” added James. 

New York State’s vaccine mandate is not set to expire until the end of this year.  

But even New York has its limits. California, on the other hand, is one of only two states in the country that imposed a vaccine mandate on schoolchildren. But on Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom stressed that he will “fight” for “the right to choose”.  

“California will fight like hell to protect the right to choose,” wrote Newsom. 

“If men could get pregnant, this wouldn’t even be a conversation,” the governor wrote in another tweet. “This decision isn’t about strengthening families - it’s about extremism. It’s about control. We will fight for the right to choose.” 

Former Labor Secretary and abortion sympathizer Robert Reich last week elicited backlash for tweeting support for bodily autonomy after calling repeatedly for forced vaccinations. Reich, who was Secretary of Labor under former President Bill Clinton, boasts over 1.5 million followers.  

“I don’t know who needs to hear this but every person should have control over their own body,” he tweeted, referring to the US Supreme Court’s ruling. Reich is of the camp which believes freedom ends where public health – which is dictated by authority – begins.