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  • 2023-01-23 (xsd:date)
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  • Did Kamala Harris Omit Right to 'Life' When Referencing the Declaration of Independence? (en)
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  • On Jan. 22, 2023, while in Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris marked the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade — the since-overturned Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right to an abortion — with a speech urging Americans to enshrine abortion rights in federal law. Following the event, numerous media outlets and social media users honed in on a section of her remarks in which Harris referenced the Declaration of Independence, claiming that she left out or omitted the founding document's reference to life as an unalienable right. For example: It's no surprise Kamala Harris left God and the right to life out of the Declaration of Independence. She worships abortion, said the Twitter account of Life News, an anti-abortion news outlet. VP Harris leaves of [sic] 'by their Creator' and 'life' out of her Declaration of Independence quote, Jeryl Bier, a freelance writer, tweeted, linking to an archived version of C-SPAN's transcript of the speech. It was true that, while referencing rights established in the Declaration of Independence, Harris only mentioned liberty and the pursuit of happiness — she did not say life. She said, according to the White House's official transcript, as well as video evidence: The full speech can be seen below. She made the statement in question at the 2:40 mark: Verbatim, the Declaration of Independence reads: We asked the White House why Harris did not say life while referencing inalienable rights, and we are waiting for a response. We will update this report when, or if, we get one. Let us note here: Historians have many interpretations for what the Declaration of Independence means when it says life alongside liberty and the pursuit of happiness — one of which is that life is a state of being, a quality of existence, and literally the ability to be alive rather than dead. Nowhere in the document, nor the U.S. Constitution, are pregnancy, abortion, or even women mentioned at the time they were written. (en)
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