The Unsung Death of ‘My Body, My Choice’

As late as 3:43 p.m. on Thursday, September 9, the long-lived mantra of the pro-abortion movement, “My Body, My Choice,” was still showing signs of life. It was at that time, that the White House published the remarks made by Vice-President Kamala Harris at a “Reproductive Rights” roundtable.

“The President and I are unequivocal in our support of Roe v. Wade and the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade, and the right of women to make decisions for themselves with whomever they choose — about their own bodies,” said Ms. Harris.

“And, needless to say,” Harris continued much too quotably, “the right of women to make decisions about their own bodies is not negotiable. The right of women to make decisions about their own bodies is their decision; it is their body.”

So far is Harris out of the White House power loop that she may not have known the mantra had less than two hours to live.

Although clearly on the defensive, Harris was targeting the wrong enemy at the White House roundtable. She thought the threat to “My Body, My Choice” came from those rascally Republicans in Texas that had passed the Texas Heartbeat Act. Despite legal challenges, the new law had gone into effect just a week earlier. Attempts to challenge the terminology of the “heartbeat” bills inevitably reinforced just whose body was being violated, namely the baby with the beating heart. And unlike other heartbeat states, say, Mississippi or North Dakota, Texas was too big to boycott.

In a jam, the abortion rights crowd turned to Harris. As attorney general of California, she had proved her killer instinct. When undercover journalist David Daleiden recorded Planned Parenthood’s traffic in baby body parts—and even Hillary Clinton conceded his videos were “disturbing”—Harris had Daleiden arrested and silenced. End of threat.

Not one to be silenced herself, Harris cut off Mike Pence in the 2020 vice-presidential debate, saying, “I’m speaking.” This was apparently a milestone moment in feminist history. NARAL Pro-Choice America now asks its followers to “show your support of our first woman VP and her support for reproductive freedom” by buying for just $10—marked down from $15—an “’I’m Speaking’ VP Kamala Harris Quote Face Mask.”

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