Harris to convene privacy experts to talk stakes of Roe v. Wade

Vice President Harris is slated to meet with privacy, constitutional law, and technology experts to discuss what is at stake if the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion ruling is overturned by the Supreme Court. 

A White House official said the discussion on Tuesday will focus on real-world implications should the landmark ruling be overturned, touching on topics such as privacy, contraception, and in vitro fertilization.

Participants in the latest meeting include the New York University (NYU) School of Law professors Peggy Cooper Davis and Melissa Murray, Harvard Law School professor Glenn Cohen, UC Irvine School of Law professor Michele Bratcher Goodwin, University of Michigan Law School professor Leah Litman. 

The Brennan Center for Justice and Ms. Magazine’s Jennifer Weiss-Wolf will also participate in the meeting with Harris. 

“The Vice President has spent her career fighting for women, and as Vice President, she has continued to be a forceful advocate of protecting women’s reproductive rights, and the right to privacy,” the White House said in a statement. “Over the last several weeks, the Vice President has convened faith leaders and health care providers to hear about what their communities are experiencing and to discuss how to chart the path forward.” 

“Tomorrow’s engagement is a continuation of the Vice President’s work convening a broad coalition to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of women,” the statement added. 

The White House has been quietly preparing for a Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, a consequential decision expected to come this month that will create immediate pressure to respond following the leak of a draft opinion in early May that showed a majority of justices had voted in favor of banning abortion on the federal level.

Harris has slammed the possibility of overturning the landmark ruling, adding that women’s rights are at stake.

“Roe v. Wade in its power has protected a woman’s right, her right to make decisions about her own body for nearly half a century,” Harris said during a speech last month. “If the court overturns Roe v. Wade, it will be a direct assault on freedom, on the fundamental right to self-determination to which all Americans are entitled.”