In her first statement since word of the drafted judgement that might overturn Roe v. Wade emerged, US Vice President Kamala Harris stated that now is the moment to “fight for women and for our country with everything we have.”

President Joe Biden previously told reporters that codifying Roe v. Wade “makes a lot of sense.” While Harris did not address the topic directly in her comments, she stated that people opposed to the law “want to punish women” and take away their rights.

Also read: Can Roe v Wade survive through US Congress, if not SCOTUS?

“Roe ensures a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. It also, at its root, protects the fundamental right to privacy. What is clear is that opponents of Roe want to punish women and take away their rights to make decisions about their own bodies,” Harris said.

Harris, the first female vice president of the United States, repeated Biden’s comments that the draft opinion jeopardises “the rights of all Americans are at risk.”

“If the right to privacy is weakened, every person could face a future in which the government can potentially interfere in the personal decisions you make about your life. This is the time to fight for women and for our country with everything we have,” she added in the statement.

Also read: Roe v Wade: President Biden urges Congress to protect abortion rights in US

Tuesday, the Supreme Court verified the validity of a draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, while emphasising that it was not the final decision.

An official Supreme Court decision in the United States overturning Roe v. Wade would ripple around the world. It would forcefully oppose a global trend toward greater abortion access and position the United States in a relatively narrow group of countries that have tried to restrict access in recent years.

Several states have already reduced the availability of the operation; if large swaths of the country are allowed to eliminate it totally, the country will have some of the harshest abortion laws in the Western world.

Also read: US Chief Justice John Roberts confirms authenticity of abortion draft opinion

According to the World Health Organization, the United States is currently one of 56 countries where abortion is lawful at the request of a woman, with no necessity for explanation.