Vice President Kamala Harris praised Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker for his support for abortion during an event Thursday.
Baker, a Republican, was the only member of the GOP at a pro-abortion roundtable discussion between Harris and several Massachusetts elected officials.
“Governor, I appreciate the role – the national leadership — that you have provided on this issue,” Harris said, looking at Baker, in kicking off her remarks.
Baker, who signed an abortion expansion bill on Friday, July 29, noted that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade largely puts abortion policy on state elected officials.
“And in Massachusetts, this issue about reproductive rights has not been a partisan issue. I mean, my mother made clear to me what my position was going to be when I was very young,” Baker said. “When I worked for two governors, Republicans both, in the 1990s, who were also big supporters of a woman’s right to make this decision on behalf of themselves, and their family.”
Baker was referring to William Weld, who served as governor from 1991 to 1997, and Paul Cellucci, who served as governor from 1997 to 2001.
Harris and Baker were two of seven speakers during the public portion of the event, which Harris said was meant “to visit with you to hear from you about what you are doing on the ground, how it is working, what your challenges are, and also to talk with you about how we can support this work.”
Harris called abortion policy measures in Massachusetts “a model for work that can, and we believe, should happen around the country.”
Both Harris and Baker made reference to a statewide referendum in Kansas on Tuesday, August 2 in which voters rejected a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would have flipped a 2019 state supreme court decision declaring abortion a “fundamental right” demanding strict scrutiny to justify legal restrictions on it. The vote for the No side was 59 to 41 percent.
On Thursday in Dorchester, Harris never mentioned the word “abortion” during her remarks, which lasted 6 minutes 30 seconds and, according to a White House transcript, 875 words.
Baker, who spoke for 2 minutes 2 seconds, didn’t mention the word “abortion,” either.
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