By Jarrett Renshaw

(Reuters) – Kamala Harris, Vice President of Kamala America said Tuesday that Roe v. Wade’s potential Supreme Court ruling was an attack against women. She also lashed out at Republicans who “weaponized” the issue. This is a glimpse into how the White House may use the fight for abortion rights in order to energize voters during the upcoming midterm elections.

“If the court overturns Roe v. Wade, it will be a direct assault on freedom,” Harris, a Democrat, told attendees at a gala hosted by Emily’s List, an organization which works to get abortion-rights Democrats elected to office.

After a late-night leak of a Supreme Court draft decision showing that its conservative majority was ready to repeal the landmark 1973 Roe.v. Wade decision that guaranteed women the right for an abortion, the event is a surprise. The leaked document was confirmed authentic by the court.

Although the Harris speech was originally planned prior to the release of the ruling’s details, it has acquired a new meaning.

Harris makes a great choice to represent the Biden administration on the midterm campaign trail. If the Supreme Court approves a draft opinion, and removes five decades federal protections of abortion rights, Harris will be the natural choice.

Republicans could take the House of Representatives, and possibly the Senate, after November’s midterm elections. But Democrats want to make the abortion issue a rallying point for voters. The Democrats currently hold a slim majority in each chamber.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, nearly three-quarters of Americans believe they would vote in favor of candidates who allow abortion. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/majority-americans-prefer-political-candidates-who-support-abortion-reutersipsos-2022-05-03

The vice president has long championed women’s health, particularly related to abortion rights.

Harris, who has won awards from abortion rights groups, spoke at Emily’s List’s 30th anniversary gala in 2015 after launching her Senate bid, making a trip to Washington to address the group before even speaking about her campaign in her home state of California.

She stated Tuesday that the past 24 hours had made clear which party is in power.

Some Republican leaders want to make the law more favorable against women. What dare they? How dare they tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her own body. How dare they stop women from making decisions about their own lives? Harris stated, “How dare they deny women their rights or their freedoms.”

Experts estimate that about one in four women will obtain an abortion in her lifetime, of whom 75% are low-income, 59% are already mothers, and 55% are experiencing disruptive life events such as losing a job, according to Caitlin Myers, an economics professor with a focus on the effects of reproductive policies at Middlebury College.