By — Juana Summers, Associated Press Juana Summers, Associated Press Leave a comment 0comments Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/kamala-harris-targets-state-abortion-bans Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Harris says changes to state abortion laws should require federal approval Politics May 28, 2019 12:46 PM EDT Kamala Harris says she would require states seeking to restrict abortion laws to first obtain federal approval. The Democratic presidential candidate and California senator says that if she won the White House, she would back legislation requiring states with a history of restricting abortion rights to receive clearance from the Justice Department to change abortion laws. The move follows laws that recently passed in Georgia, Alabama and other states to drastically restrict abortions. The pre-clearance requirement would face steep hurdles. The Supreme Court struck down a similar provision of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, effectively freeing states to change election laws without seeking federal approval. The Harris campaign argues that decision doesn’t ban pre-clearance measures, leaving it up to Congress to decide how to impose such requirements. READ MORE: What does Kamala Harris believe? Where the candidate stands on 9 issues We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Juana Summers, Associated Press Juana Summers, Associated Press
Kamala Harris says she would require states seeking to restrict abortion laws to first obtain federal approval. The Democratic presidential candidate and California senator says that if she won the White House, she would back legislation requiring states with a history of restricting abortion rights to receive clearance from the Justice Department to change abortion laws. The move follows laws that recently passed in Georgia, Alabama and other states to drastically restrict abortions. The pre-clearance requirement would face steep hurdles. The Supreme Court struck down a similar provision of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, effectively freeing states to change election laws without seeking federal approval. The Harris campaign argues that decision doesn’t ban pre-clearance measures, leaving it up to Congress to decide how to impose such requirements. READ MORE: What does Kamala Harris believe? Where the candidate stands on 9 issues We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now