Vice President Kamala Harris made history when she became what is believed to be the first president or vice president to visit an abortion clinic on Thursday as the fight over abortion rights has been front and center since the overturning of Roe v Wade.
Harris met with abortion providers and staff at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minneapolis, Minnesota as part of a nationwide tour she has been on after the landmark decision was struck down in 2022.
The vice president has been a fierce defender of abortion rights within the Biden administration as the issue has proven to be a strong motivator for voters and is expected to be one of the top issues for Democrats ahead of November’s election.
‘Many of you have asked why am I here at this facility in particular and I will tell you it is because right now in our country we are facing a very serious health crisis, and the crisis is affecting many many people in our country, most of whom are frankly silently suffering,’ Harris said during her visit.
This was Harris’ sixth stop in her ‘Fight for Reproductive Freedoms’ tour which kicked off in Wisconsin to mark the 51st anniversary of Roe in January.
‘In states around our country, extremists have proposed and passed laws that have denied women access to reproductive health care,’ Harris said.
She went on to slam such elected leaders who ‘believe they are in a better position to tell women what they need.’
Vice President Harris has been a fierce advocate for abortion rights in the Biden administration since Roe was overturned and is the first vice president or president to visit an abortion clinic
Harris speaking with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Dr. Sarah Traxler as she visits an abortion clinic in Minneapolis
Harris speaking with reporters after touring abortion clinic in Minnesota
Anti-abortion protesters outside as the vice president’s motorcade arrived at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota
Harris said she was at the clinic to ‘uplift’ the work happening in Minnesota as an example of true leadership. She said when she talks about a clinic like the one she visited, it is ‘absolutely about health care and reproductive health care.’
‘Everyone get ready for the language: uterus. That part of the body needs a lot of medical care from time to time. Issues like fibroids, we can handle this. Breast cancer screenings, contraceptive care. That is the kind of work that happens here in addition of course to abortion care,’ Harris said.
During her visit Thursday, Harris was joined by Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as well as Congresswoman Betty McCollum.
Upon arriving, her visit was also greeted by a handful of anti-abortion protesters who held signs outside including one that said ‘abortion is not healthcare.’
After Roe fell, the Biden administration has taken several executive actions to help protect access to abortion and the drugs used for abortions, but their efforts have been limited.
President Biden has also called for Congress to pass legislation codifying Roe and protecting the right to an abortion nationwide, but Democrats have not had the necessary support in Congress to pass a bill.
The White House and Biden campaign have leaned in on the issue ahead of the 2024 election. The reelection campaign started running ads earlier this year featuring a woman who had travel out of state to have an emergency abortion.
Kate Cox, who went to court to try and get permission for an abortion in Texas, was a guest of First Lady Jill Biden for the president’s State of the Union address last week.
President Biden has blasted his Republican opponent former President Donald Trump calling him the reason Roe v Wade was overturned after Trump nominated three of the justices who supported the Dobbs decision.
‘If you the American people send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you, I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again,’ Biden said during his State of the Union address.
Harris thanked clinic staff after tour. She said their work is ‘absolutely about health care’
President Biden vowed during his State of the Union address to sign a bill codifying Roe v Wade into law if Americans sent him a Congress that could pass the legislation
Harris with Dr. Sarah Traxler, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood North Central States
Harris arriving in Minneapolis ahead of her tour of an abortion clinic
Abortion rights has been a key issue for Democrats since Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022
Minnesota is one of multiple blue states that moved to strengthen abortion rights after Roe fell while red states have passed numerous pieces of legislation further restricting abortion or banning it altogether.
In January of last year, Governor Walz signed a law enshrining the right to an abortion in the state as well as strengthening other reproductive health care protections.
It was the first state after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision returned the issue to states to take legislative protective action.
Minnesota, which is bordered by four states with abortion bans, has also become a haven for women seeking abortions in recent years from other states.
The Society for Family Planning, a research organization, found the average number of abortion in the state increased by 36 percent the year after the decision.
Dr. Sarah Traxler, the chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood North Central States, joined Harris during her visit. Traxler discussed how she had been helping patients from all over the country including ones from as far as Texas.
The anti-abortion organization SBA Pro-Life America slammed the vice president ahead of her visit saying Harris spent her ‘whole career in the pocket of Big Abortion.’
Later this month, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in another high-profile case in the abortion fight. It raises whether patients can access mifepristone, a pill commonly used in abortion across the country.
