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Vice President Kamala Harris said she called her husband in agitation after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark abortion decision Roe v. Wade earlier this year.
"I was like, they bleep did it," Harris recalled in an interview with Vanity Fair published on Thursday. "I was so upset."
The Supreme Court’s ruling came in the court's opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which centered on a Mississippi law that banned abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The Republican-led state of Mississippi asked the Supreme Court to strike down a lower court ruling that stopped the 15-week abortion ban from taking place. The ruling was seen as a major victory for the pro-life movement, but sparked significant backlash on the left and was considered a key factor in Democrats performing above expectations in November's midterms.
Harris, who explained that her initial reaction was to call her husband, Doug Emhoff, and vent, needed to find an "appropriate place" to release her anger.
Vice President Kamala Harris called her husband in a fit of rage after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this year. (Reuters/Hannah Beier)
"I first had to release that feeling in an appropriate place, and then my team, we just roundtabled around what we need to do and what this means. I was actually on my way to a maternal mortality event, and the connection between these two issues is profound," Harris told far-left writer Molly Jong-Fast. "The same people jumping up and down as proponents of Dobbs [have] been virtually silent on the fact that women in America are dying every day in connection with childbirth."
Harris also said she previously had given a spontaneous, "How dare they?," when she first heard of a leaked draft of the court’s opinion.
"You brace for any major catastrophe. I think it’s human nature that we retained some element of hope that this couldn’t happen because it would be so awful if it did… That was kind of just mentally and emotionally where I was, which is eyes open that it could happen, but also believing this can’t happen. Then, of course, when the leaked decision came down, that was it," Harris said.
Vice President Kamala Harris said that her initial reaction was to call her husband, Doug Emhoff, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. (Marc Piasecki/Getty Images)
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But the leaked draft turned into reality and Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the issue would be left up to individual states.
"We end this opinion where we began. Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives," Alito wrote.
Alito's opinion began with an exploration and criticism of Roe v. Wade and its holding that while states have "a legitimate interest in protecting ‘potential life,''' this interest was not strong enough to prohibit abortions before the time of fetal viability, understood to be at about 23 weeks into pregnancy.
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"The Court did not explain the basis for this line, and even abortion supporters have found it hard to defend Roe’s reasoning," Alito wrote.
In keeping with Vanity Fair's liberal lean, the interview featured gushing commentary from Jong-Fast, known for her famous parents and one of the Democratic Party's most reliable media boosters.
Harris also commented on her relationship with President Biden, saying the two like each other a lot, although a book excerpt out this week reported that Biden initially called Harris a "work in progress" and was annoyed by her husband complaining about Harris' work portfolio.
Fox News' Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.
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