Vice Presidential Pool Reports of June 14, 2022

VP Pool Report #1 gathering

Good afternoon — I'll be your pooler for the vice president's Roe V. Wade event this afternoon. Event is slated to begin at 2:30 pm, from the vice president's office in the EEOB.

No livestream of the event is planned. I'll attempt to pass along an Otter recording of the event's public portion when I can.

VP pool report #2 event begins

Pool entered the VP's ceremonial office in the EEOB with the Vice President seated at the head of the table. Event began at 2:33

VP's office sends this along as background, including a list of participants

On Background from a White House Official

Today, Vice President Kamala Harris will convene constitutional law, privacy, and technology experts to discuss what is at stake if Roe v. Wade is overruled. The conversation will highlight the real-world implications if Roe falls, including in areas such as privacy, contraception, and in vitro fertilization.

The Vice President has spent her career fighting for women, and as Vice President, she has continued to be a forceful advocate of protecting women's reproductive rights, and the right to privacy.

Over the last several weeks, the Vice President has convened faith leaders and health care providers to hear about what their communities are experiencing and to discuss how to chart the path forward. Tomorrow's engagement is a continuation of the Vice President's work convening a broad coalition to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of women.

Participants:

• Professor Peggy Cooper Davis of NYU School of Law
• Professor Melissa Murray of NYU School of Law
• Professor Glenn Cohen of Harvard Law School
• Professor Michele Bratcher Goodwin of UC Irvine School of Law
• Jennifer Weiss-Wolf of Brennan Center for Justice and Ms. Magazine
• Professor Leah Litman of University of Michigan Law School

Additional Background:

• Vice President Harris is playing a lead role championing and protecting reproductive rights. She has forcefully spoken out about the Supreme Court's leaked opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, convened experts and activists, and she will continue to make the case for protecting reproductive health care access and the right to privacy.
  • On June 6, 2022, the Vice President convened faith leaders to discuss reproductive rights and the path forward. (Remarks; Readout)
  • On June 2, 2022, the Vice President Harris released a video about what is at stake with Roe v. Wade. (Video; Article)
  • On May 11, 2022, the Vice President virtually met with doctors and nurses on the frontlines about the impact that overturning Roe v. Wade would have on reproductive health care. (Remarks;Readout)
  • On January 22, 2022, following the oral arguments in Dobbs, the Vice President released a video marking the 49thanniversary of Roe v. Wade. (Video; Article)
  • On September 9, 2021, the Vice President met with reproductive health providers and patients at the White House to discuss the impact of Texas Senate Bill 8 and other restrictions on reproductive health. (Remarks)
• Vice President Harris is a longtime supporter of codifying Roe in federal legislation.
  • On May 11, 2022, she presided over the Senate's vote on the Women's Health Protection Act. (Video)
• Vice President Harris is a longtime champion of protecting reproductive rights.
  • As California Attorney General, she signed onto multiple amicus briefs to ensure women have full access to their reproductive health care.
• The Vice President also has a long record of defending privacy rights.
  • In July 2012, then-AG Harris created the Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit to protect consumer and individual privacy through civil prosecution of those who violate state and federal privacy laws.
• The Biden-Harris Administration has made historic commitments to advancing gender equality, including standing up the White House's first-ever Gender Policy Council, dedicated to driving a whole-of-government effort that is advancing gender equity and equality, from championing women's access to high quality and equitable health care; to women's rights, equal opportunities and pay, equal protection, and safety from gender-based harassment and violence.
  • The President and Vice President have continued to stand side by side with women to protect and defend the long-recognized, constitutional right to abortion.
  • In response to Texas's SB 8, the President and Vice President strongly denounced the law as an affront to a woman's constitutional rights. (Statement). The President and Vice President directed the Gender Policy Council and White House Counsel to lead a whole-of-government effort to protect women's rights across this country.
  • The Biden-Harris Administration is continuing to speak out as extremist Republican legislators are weaponizing the use of the law in states across the country to punish and criminalize women.
• The Vice President will continue to work with Members of Congress, state advocates and legislators, stakeholders, and those on the frontlines of the fight to protect reproductive rights.

VP pool report #3 event ends

The Vice President gave about five minutes of opening remarks to a group of legal experts, whom she said she had gathered in anticipation of the Supreme Court's Roe decision.

The remarks covered a broad range of topics — Otter link and highlight of key quotes to come shortly — but included concerns about invasion of privacy and a loss of "fundamental" rights, beyond the right to an absorption.

"I do believe that overturning Roe could lead the way for challenges to other fundamental rights, including the right to contraception and same-sex marriage," Harris said.

Pool was escorted out at 2:38. The Vice President did not take any questions.

Fuller remarks to come.

VP pool report #4 transcript/key quotes

Here's the Otter link from the VP's remarks (and a friendly reminder that the transcript from Otter often doesn't match the audio). About five minutes in all.

https://otter.ai/u/p0pKHdX2rTd7hZhqAoeHzKyljAc

A few key quotes:

The VP said the nation was founded on "principles of freedom, liberty, and self-determination."

"From these principles, most notably come the Constitutional right to privacy, the rights of an individual to make decisions about their life, about their family, about their family, about their body, without government interference. And so there is a lot at stake in the outcome of this decision."

"But I do believe that we should prepare for the right to privacy to be attacked and under attack with this decision."

The vice president mentioned concern about "bad actors" who could use menstrual tracking apps or Google search results against vulnerable citizens and that she was worried about the future of in vitro fertilization.

"I have concern that if Roe is overturned, states with abortion could potentially restrict IVF if their definition of life begins at the point of fertilization."

She said that states with abortion bans could also "potentially restrict specific types of of contraception in particular IUDs and the so-called morning after pill.

That's all from me this afternoon. Please reach out if you have any questions.