Vice President Kamala Harris visiting NJ for meeting on abortion, NAACP convention

Harris is expected to speak on topics of voting and policing at the NAACP convention.

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Monday, July 18, 2022
VP Kamala Harris speaks at NAACP convention in Atlantic City
The vice president stopped for a visit in Atlantic City for the NAACP National Convention.

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey -- Vice President Kamala Harris will stop in Atlantic City on Monday to make remarks at the NAACP National Convention and then take part in a meeting centered on abortion.

Harris is expected to speak on topics of voting and policing at the NAACP convention.

She will then shift her focus to the topic of abortion and meet with New Jersey lawmakers, just as she did in Philadelphia with Pennsylvania lawmakers over the weekend.

In Philadelphia, Harris blasted the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

"We are looking at an extraordinary moment in the history of our nation and our democracy when the United States Supreme Court took a constitutional right that had been recognized from the women of America," Harris said. "That alone is so deeply harmful to our nation prides itself on being a defender of freedoms and liberty, the very principals upon which we were founded."

On the federal level, House Democrats passed a bill Friday that would codify Roe v. Wade, which means to put into law, and protect women who travel across state lines for abortions.

Those bills are likely to fail in the Senate.

"It must be understood that on this subject, we are not asking anyone to compromise their beliefs or abandon their faith," Harris said. "We are simply saying the government should not be in the position, nor should the government have the power to replace its beliefs for those of the woman-- that's what we are saying."

New Jersey state legislatures already codified a state law back in January to protect abortion rights in anticipation of the Supreme Court ruling.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy went on to sign two bills into law earlier this month to protect out-of-state residents seeking abortions.

Pennsylvania Republicans advanced a proposed constitutional amendment last week that says an abortion is not a right.

That amendment could be on the ballot for voters to decide as soon as next year.

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