Abortion
Kamala Harris becomes first vice president to visit an abortion provider on Minnesota campaign visit
Vice President Kamala Harris (D) became the first sitting president or vice president to visit an abortion provider as part of her campaign tour of Minnesota on Thursday.
“I’m here at this health care clinic to uplift the work that is happening in Minnesota as an example of what true leadership looks like,” Harris said at the St. Paul clinic.
Vice President Kamala Harris visits a Planned Parenthood facility in Minnesota and calls out neighboring Midwest Republican leaders who have restricted abortion access:
“How dare these elected leaders believe they are in a better position to tell women what they need.” pic.twitter.com/ReONSXNbHt
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) March 14, 2024
The fundamental right to abortion was codified into Minnesota state law in January 2023 when Gov. Tim Walz (DFL) signed the Protect Reproductive Options Act. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, Minnesota is one of two states in the Midwest (the other being Illinois) to provide expanded access to reproductive health care. State legislatures in Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana have taken firm stances against reproductive rights through legislation and the enforcement of previously passed abortion bans.
Harris began her “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour in Wisconsin in January and has since held events in Arizona, California, Michigan and Georgia. Harris has expressed her desire to bring together thousands of people on the reproductive rights issue.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Democrats have seen victories on the reproductive rights issue almost every time voters were given a choice on it. Notably, reproductive rights were upheld in Republican-controlled states like Ohio, Kansas and Kentucky.