Vice President Kamala Harris confronted Republican opposition regarding reproductive freedom during her first-ever White House visit to an abortion clinic, part of the Biden administration’s “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” Tour.
During her historic visit to Planned Parenthood in St. Paul, Minnesota, Harris faced questions from reporters regarding the significance of her visit, the delay in such a visit by a sitting president or vice president, and her role in advocating for reproductive care.
Harris emphasized the healthcare crisis surrounding reproductive rights, particularly in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, highlighting the closure of clinics like Planned Parenthood due to restrictive state laws. She underscored the essential nature of reproductive healthcare beyond abortion, including screenings for conditions like breast cancer.
Responding to questions about her tour of the clinic, Harris praised the dedication of healthcare workers and emphasized the importance of providing safe and judgment-free environments for patients.
Regarding her role in advocating for reproductive rights, Harris stressed the significance of elections in shaping policies and protecting fundamental rights. She expressed confidence in Congress passing legislation to safeguard abortion rights once the House is regained by supporters of reproductive freedoms.
In addressing the imperfections of Roe v. Wade, Harris advocated for codifying its protections into law to restore the rights curtailed by recent Supreme Court decisions.
AIDE: We’re going to take a couple of questions, and we’re — we’re going to start with Rochelle from the Star Tribune.
Q Hi, Madam Vice President. Why do you think it took so long for a sitting president or vice president to visit an abortion provider? And, also, how concerned are you about the 20 percent who voted uncommitted in the Minnesota presidential primary?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, I’ll tell you, the reason I’m here is because this is a healthcare crisis. And I think that of the many stories that we can tell — excuse me. (Coughs.)
Of the many stories that we need to tell about what has happened after the Dobbs decision, one of them is that part of this healthcare crisis is the clinics like this that have had to shut down and what that has meant to leave no options with any reasonable geographic area for so many women who need this essential care.
And, again, it runs the gamut of reproductive healthcare. So, yes, it is abortion care. It is also, as I mentioned earlier, essential and critical reproductive healthcare like paps, like breast cancer screenings, things of that nature.
So, I’m here to highlight that of the many, I believe, potentially intended consequences of the Dobbs decision, one of them has been for healthcare providers such as this in the states that have banned or outlawed access to reproductive care — clinics like this to shut down. And it’s a travesty. It’s a travesty.
Q Madam Vice President, can I —
AIDE: We’re going to go to our next question, Madam Vice President. Darlene, right to your left, with the AP.
Q Hi. Thank you. We were not able to go with you on the tour, obviously. Can you give us a sense of what you saw back there —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
Q — and also what you learned by coming here today?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, what I saw were, I don’t know, maybe two dozen healthcare workers who really care —
really care about their patients and who understand that in the healthcare delivery system, regardless of your gender or your healthcare need, I think we should all expect and certainly we all desire that you will be treated with dignity and you’ll be treated in an environment where you feel safe. And by that, I mean safe to be free from judgment, to be in an environment where you are actually and really listened to, where your needs and your expression of your needs are taken seriously.And walking through this clinic, that’s what I saw are people who have dedicated their lives to the profession of providing healthcare in a safe place that gives people dignity.
And I think we should all want that for each other.AIDE: Thank you, Vice President. We’ll going to Nick at the New York Times.
Q Madam Vice President, what do you see as your role on this issue, given that the administration has run up to the limit of what it can do to protect abortion rights and Congress is unlikely to pass a bill codifying them?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, Congress will pass that bill when we win back the House. (Applause.) And so, I am sure of that.
And I think that the — the point — one of the points that must be made on this issue, as we attempt to uplift the real stories and the real consequences of the Dobbs decision is to remind people elections matter. Elections matter.
What happened here in Minnesota, with the reelection of the governor and the turning of the state legislature is what has led to ensuring that these fundamental rights are intact and are protected. Elections matter.
And let me be very clear about this. When it comes to national elections and who sits in the United States Congress on this, there’s a fundamental point on this issue that I think most people agree with, which is that one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling women what to do with their body. If she chooses, she will consult with — with her priest, her pastor, her rabbi, her imam. But it’s not for the government to tell her what she can and cannot do with her own body.
Q And so, what do you see as your role on this issue?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: My role is to do what I just did, which is to articulate exactly these points and to continue to articulate them and to organize folks around what I know is an issue that is impacting more people than you’ll ever really know, who, as I said earlier, are silently suffering.
And so, we who have the ability to have a bouquet of microphones in front of us, as I do, I take on then the responsibility of uplifting these stories and reminding people — with some belief, by the way, when I do it, that the vast majority of Americans do have empathy and that, even if they don’t agree that this would be the best decision for them,
would agree that other people should not be suffering the way they are.AIDE: Thank you, Vice President. We have one more question right here from Patricia —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yes.
AIDE: — at Bloomberg.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yes. Hi.
Q Madam Vice President, Roe was always an imperfect vessel. What exactly would you like to see replace it? What form should it take? What should the scope of it be?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: What we want is to put back in place the protections that the Supreme Court took away, which is to codify, put into law the protections of Roe v. Wade. That’s what we want.
AIDE: Madam Vice President, thank you so much.
