Vice President Harris on Thursday will visit a health clinic in Minnesota that provides abortion services as she emphasizes protections for reproductive health during an election year.
A White House official confirmed Harris will walk through the facility, speak with staff and hear how Minnesota has been affected by abortion bans in other states that have forced women seeking abortions to travel elsewhere. The Twin Cities facility provides abortion services, birth control and preventative wellness services, the official said.
It will reportedly mark the first time a president or vice president has visited a clinic that provides abortion services.
Harris is expected to speak about the Biden administration’s efforts to protect reproductive health care access in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
The Minnesota trip is part of Harris’ post-State of the Union travel, during which she has highlighted the fight for abortion rights and the White House’s legislative accomplishments. It is also part of her broader “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour, during which she has specifically focused on the issue of abortion, set to play a significant role in November’s election.
Minnesota enacted a statute in 2022 protecting the right to reproductive freedom, including abortion, contraception and fertility services. Abortion is protected under the state constitution.
But other states have restricted abortion following the Supreme Court ruling, and an Alabama court last month raised questions about in vitro fertilization (IVF) access after it ruled frozen embryos were people.
The Biden campaign has tied the Alabama ruling and other states’ efforts to restrict abortion directly to former President Trump, who is the presumptive GOP nominee for November. Trump has repeatedly bragged that he deserves credit for ending Roe v. Wade because of his appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices.
