ST. PAUL, Minn. ― Vice President Kamala Harris made a historic visit Thursday to an abortion clinic in the Twin Cities, declaring a “health crisis” from the lack of access to reproductive services in parts of the country that has resulted in the suffering of women.
The visit to the Planned Parenthood facility ― the first ever by a president or vice president to a clinic that provides abortion services ― marked the Biden campaign’s most dramatic push to make abortion rights a defining issue in the 2024 election.
“Many of you have asked why am I here at this facility,” Harris said after touring of the the St. Paul Health Center – Vandalia. “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, the nation’s first female vice president, has become the White House’s leading voice on restoring abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending a 50-year constitutional right for an abortion.
The trip was the final stop of Harris’ “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour, which launched in January and included previous visits to Wisconsin, California, Georgia, Michigan and Arizona.
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More:Vice President Kamala Harris to make historic visit to abortion clinic in Minnesota
Minnesota, which offers broad access to abortion procedures, has become a safe haven to individuals from other states that have bans on abortion. Harris was greeted at the clinic by Dr. Sarah Traxler, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood North Central States.
“Please do understand that when we talk about clinics such as this, it is absolutely about health care and reproductive health care,” Harris said. “So 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.”
The Biden campaign has set out to relentlessly remind women voters that it was former President Donald Trump’s three Supreme Court appointments who led to Roe’s dismantling.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said in a Fox News town hall in January that he’s “proud to have done it” when asked about the court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. Trump later added that he supports exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.
“In this environment, these attacks against an individual’s right to make decisions about their whole body are outrageous and, in many instances, just plain old immoral,” Harris said. “How dare these elected leaders believe they are in a better position to tell women what is in their best interest. We have to be a nation that trusts women.”
Harris was joined by Minnesota’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz, and U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn. Walz signed legislation last year codifying the “fundamental right” to an abortion in the state and repeal the state’s 24-hour waiting period before an abortion.
While Biden struggles to convince Americans of an improving economy, according to polls, abortion rights has proven to be a winning issue for Democrats in elections held since the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion.
More:Joe Biden boosts abortion, contraception access on Roe v. Wade anniversary
U.S. abortion clinics have been the sites of violent protests and targets of bombings over the decades-long battle over abortion rights.
An hour before Harris was scheduled to speak, about two dozen protesters gathered outside the St. Paul Planned Parenthood, holding signs with slogans such as, “life is a human right, “they’re killing babies here,” and “the real war on women.” A heavy police and Secret Service presence surrounded the building in anticipation of the vice president’s arrival.