The word “freedom” is plastered on signs at Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign rallies. It’s communicated in every sound bite and TV ad, and it’s the punch line of every speech Harris gives—speeches preceded by the official retirement song, Beyoncé’s “Freedom.”
As it’s her campaign watchword, a future Harris-Waltz administration must be prepared to truly embrace it—and the weight it carries—in its approach to reproductive rights if it succeeds in its path to the White House, even if means break from a Roe v. Wade– focused mindset and to go further in ensuring fair access to abortion for all Americans.
Gen Z, the youngest and one of the most progressive generations of votershas been instrumental in boosting her candidacy through a formidable online presence. Harris represents the future of the party — so her approach to reproductive rights should reflect a shift to a more aggressive strategy to protect and expand one of the most fundamental freedoms: bodily autonomy.
As a college student who is part of the Gen Z voting bloc, I believe that one of the most effective ways for a President Harris to build my generation’s long-term support for Democrats is to uphold abortion rights.
There are many abortion policies that a Harris administration should support: codifying abortion rights into law and expanded access, data privacy, a national information campaign about reproductive care, support for reproductive equality, and a long-term strategy for preventing future attacks on abortion rights.
Protect abortion nationwide and expand access to abortion pills
Roe v. Wade has been established law for nearly 50 years, and Democrats would no doubt have to fight tooth and nail to codify the right to abortion. Realistically, to get this through Congress, Democrats would need a majority in both houses and a suspension of the filibuster.
According to Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), there are enough votes in the Senate to suspend the filibuster and codify Roe into law through Congress. However, this will only be possible with Democratic control of the White House and both houses of Congress. While that would be the ideal scenario, Harris must be equally prepared for something less than optimal.
Without a Democratic trifecta, there are still several ways a Harris-Walz administration could advance reproductive freedom, other than and including codifying abortion rights into law.
Abortion access can be expanded by making abortion pills available over the counter (OTC), similar to how an OTC birth control pill is now sold. Mifepristone in particular is safer than Tylenol and other OTC drugs, meaning that their prescription only serves the moral opposition to abortion, despite the scientific evidence about the effectiveness and safety of medical abortion. In a country where access to abortion is determined by the state, OTC medical abortion will alleviate some barriers to care.
Privacy protection
Data privacy regulations are critical to protecting access to abortion care because private companies otherwise have almost unlimited access to what should be private health care information.
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance has publicly supported a policy that would allow police to track patients crossing state lines for abortion care. Even if Democrats can’t codify abortion rights into federal law, a Harris administration can make strides toward abortion access through health care privacy measures with a nationwide data privacy bill that protects location data and healthcare from being sold or accessed by private companies.
Democrats have made strides on privacy in states like Massachusetts, where proposed Massachusetts Privacy and Data Protection Act will protect internet search history related to health care services, prohibit the sale of mobile phone location data, and protect data collected online about an individual’s reproductive health (such as the purchase or use of contraception and birth control ).
In February, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) published report detailing how a data broker shared cellphone location data with an anti-abortion group to target patients at reproductive health clinics in 48 states with anti-abortion misinformation ads. These attacks are particularly harmful to vulnerable populations, such as Gen Z people who may have limited resources and access to care due to their age.
The proposed data privacy protections are tied to the Harris campaign’s message of freedom, and a bill of this nature could pass without the Democratic trifecta. Basic data privacy should please moderate Republicans (especially those who favor limited government) because the nature of this bill is simple: to uphold the freedom of all Americans to receive health care without the unnecessary and harmful interference of private companies.
Nationwide awareness campaign against CPCs
In a similar vein to data privacy and misinformation about reproductive health care is the issue of “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs), also known as anti-abortion centers. CPCs lure patients seeking abortions through misleading advertising—for example, they may claim to “counsel” patients about their decision to have an abortion, when in fact they are trying to persuade them to carry the pregnancy to term. Many CPCs have a history of claiming to provide “abortion reversals”, which is a myth and not a legitimate medical treatment.
Although the The Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that CPCs cannot be compelled to provide patients with accurate information about terminating their pregnancies, a potential Harris-Walz provision could address the dangerous consequences of misinformation from unlicensed bogus anti-abortion clinics through a national advertising campaign that maps and distinguishes CPCs from actual reproductive health – care and abortion clinics.
This issue is particularly relevant to young voters. CPC is the perfect trap for a college student who is desperate to end a pregnancy and may not have the financial or educational resources to know where to get care. While Harris should try to restore the right to abortion nationwide, specific access to reproductive health care will be hindered if CPCs are not exposed for their deceptive practices.
Promoting reproductive equality
Even in a world where Americans have unlimited access to legal abortion care, large segments of the population will not be able to access abortion services until we make strides in reproductive justice— which, simply put, means that every person has the right to make decisions about their own body and is provided with accessible and affordable care to meet their reproductive health wants and needs.
We have the Hyde Amendment—which prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion services (with the exception of rape, incest, and life-threatening pregnancies) and has been renewed every year in the federal budget since 1976—to thank.
The Hyde Amendment “especially affects black, Latina, and Native American women, who earn just over half the wages of white men and are more likely to be uninsured,” National Network of Abortion Funds. This makes a basic health care procedure out of reach – especially for the young uninsured at higher rates than the national average. According to the National Women’s Law Center“half of women who have abortions live below the federal poverty level.” In order for Harris to truly fulfill her promise of freedom, she must work to repeal the Hyde Amendment to alleviate disparities in access to abortion care.
Along with its abolition The Hyde Amendmentthat clears a path for Medicaid coverage of abortion in any circumstance, a potential Harris administration should support federal legislation requiring private insurers to cover abortion services. This may require modification of a forecast of the Affordable Care Act that allows states to exempt private insurers from covering abortion in health insurance plans.
Preventing future attacks on abortion
A President Harris should prioritize repealing the Comstock Act to ensure that a future Republican president cannot pass a national abortion ban.
For now, the Comstock Act of 1873—a purity law that outlawed contraceptives and banned their distribution across state lines or through the mail—is the best vehicle for a national ban. The architects behind Project 2025 have outlined a path toward a national ban that includes calling for the Justice Department to revive and enforce the Comstock Act. Consequently, abortion would be banned nationwide due to restrictions on mailing and transporting equipment and drugs across state lines.
Repealing the Comstock Act is a necessary first step in preventing the further erosion of reproductive rights in the United States. Regardless of whether abortion rights are codified into law or not, the Comstock Act must also be repealed under the Harris administration.
Bottom line: Democrats must deliver
As evidenced by Harris’s campaign, his reversal Roe 2022 marked a watershed moment for reproductive rights, health and justice in the country—and in US electoral politics. Instead of running away from the issue of abortion, as they have for decades, Democrats from the bottom to the top of the ticket are now running on the message of abortion as a fundamental component of freedom and autonomy.
Harris and the down-voting Democrats will continue to campaign on abortion because it is strong, effectiveand precise. But for the sake of their credibility and long-term success, especially among Gen Z voters who will remember this moment in politics for decades to come, Democrats must keep their promise to secure abortion rights nationwide.
During coding Roe would be a basic first step, this is the floor. As president, Harris would have the opportunity to advance a new, progressive narrative on abortion and the full spectrum of reproductive justice—that means not only securing the right to bodily autonomy, but promoting fair, affordable access to abortion and protecting of the country from future attacks on reproductive care.
