Politics and Current
Vice President Harris Engages ‘Married to Medicine’ Star Chrissy Teigen to Defend Abortion Rights
Vice President Kamala Harris met with reproductive rights advocates and professionals on Thursday for a moderated conversation with Chrissy Teigen ahead of the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down federal protections for abortion care.
Days before reproductive health advocates mark June 24 to commemorate the Women’s Health Organization’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, which overturned Roe v. Wade, Harris met with model and entrepreneur Teigen on the White House to discuss the unprecedented and controversial the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision and its consequences two years later.
“The Thurgood Marshall Court and RBG (Ruth Bader Ginsberg) (…) embraced a fundamental freedom, which is the freedom of people to make decisions about their own bodies,” condemned Harris, who also referred to her historic role as America’s first vice chairman to condemn states which have enacted abortion bans within the aftermath of the Dobbs decision and its impact on Americans across the country.
“These laws, which do not make exceptions even for rape or incest… imagine what these extremists are suggesting, namely that a person who has experienced the violation of his or her body has no right to decide what happens to his or her body next.” said Harris. “It’s immoral.”
Harris placed the blame squarely on former President Donald Trump, the GOP’s presumptive 2024 presidential nominee, calling the restrictions “Trump abortion bans.” Trump notably nominated three Supreme Court justices, fulfilling conservative groups’ wish for a right-wing majority on the court that may overturn Roe v. Wade.
Teigen opened up about her own abortion, admitting that she felt “unaware” of the undeniable fact that it was an abortion. She recalled lying in bed along with her husband, singer-songwriter John Legend, who was also at Thursday’s event, as they discussed Dobbs’ decision.
“I was talking about it from a place where I felt so bad… to anyone who has ever had to go through this and is not able to make choices about their own body, and he was like, ‘Well, you had to have an abortion,'” Teigen recalled. “I thought: what? I had no idea… I just assumed I was having a miscarriage.”
The model and abortion advocate said the word “abortion” is usually “so scary” and “so taboo that it’s worth talking about.”
The celebrity doctors said they were inspired to use their voices and platforms to raise the problem of voting ahead of the 2024 election, when Harris and President Joe Biden run for re-election.
“The most important thing is to realize how much our vote counts and what a difference voting makes,” Whitmore said.
“We all need to get more involved… You don’t realize how much not voting affects women’s health and rights. I’m just delighted,” Walters said. “As OB-GYNs, we see women all day long…every day, and we say over and over again that we want to be part of the change we want to see.”
During her meeting with Teigen, Harris stated that the “attack” on women and their access to reproductive and health care is something that ought to concern everyone since the conservative movement to ban abortion is a component of a collective and intersectional attack on other women. marginalized groups, including Black and LGBTQ Americans. She specifically noted efforts by Republican lawmakers to enact book bans and said the “freedom to learn the full history of America” have to be upheld.
“I asked my team (to) show me where we see attacks on reproductive freedom, where we see attacks on ballot access, where we see attacks on LGBTQ rights, and all of you, I wouldn’t be shocked or surprised to know that there was a huge intersection,” she said. “These freedoms are interconnected.”
Harris continued: “In moments like these, we should also recognize turning points and thus strengthen our commitment to coalition building and remind ourselves that we are not alone.”
While thousands and thousands of Americans remain concerned in regards to the 21 states which have implemented some type of abortion ban, the vice chairman encouraged viewers to express their concerns and frustrations through advocacy.
“A lot of things in this case were really about power grabs,” she said. “Our work, our activism and the courageous use of your voice make a difference. This should all the time give us a way of hope and awareness of our power.
At the top of the conversation, Teigen gave her 8-year-old Luna a heartfelt message about her own “power” as a young girl.
“I hope that you will see all the amazing people in this room, mostly women, and I hope that when you grow up you will want to fight for justice like we do without embarrassment, without fear and knowing that your body belongs to you and no one can take that away from you,” Teigen said with tears in her eyes. “I like you.”