SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during her visit to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on March 14, 2024.
(Photo: Stephen Maturen/AFP via Getty Images)
'Huge': Harris Becomes First Vice President to Visit Abortion Clinic
"These attacks against an individual's right to make decisions about their own body are outrageous," said Vice President Kamala Harris.
Mar 14, 2024
Following repeated calls by reproductive justice groups in recent months for the Biden administration to more forcefully fight for abortion rights and against the stigmatization of care, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday made history by visiting an abortion clinic in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Harris is the first vice president to make such an appearance, and a U.S. president has yet to publicly visit an abortion clinic while in office.
The vice president toured the facility, Planned Parenthood St. Paul, before speaking to the press about what she referred to as the "true leadership" of the healthcare providers and other staffers of the clinic.
"The work that happens here is about providing assistance to women who do not live in the state of Minnesota because sadly, this state exists in a neighborhood where laws have been passed to deny people reproductive healthcare," Harris said. "In this environment, these attacks against an individual's right to make decisions about their own body are outrageous and, in many instances, just plain old immoral."
"How dare these elected leaders believe they are in a better position to tell women what they need?" the vice president added. "To tell women what's in their best interest? We have to be a nation that trusts women."
Two states that border Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, ban abortion care in nearly all circumstances.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court, which is dominated by a right-wing majority, overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, 21 states have banned abortion or imposed restrictions barring pregnant people from obtaining care earlier in pregnancy than the standard set by Roe for nearly 50 years.
Former President Donald Trump, now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has expressed support for a nationwide 16-week abortion ban. Harris and Democratic President Joe Biden are seeking reelection in November.
The Public Religion Research Institute found in 2022 that 64% of Americans believe abortion should be legal in "most or all cases."
A Kaiser Family Foundation survey released last week found that two-thirds of the public, including 86% of Democrats and 67% of Independents, supported a federal law guaranteeing the right to abortion. Fifty-eight percent of Americans said they opposed a 16-week abortion ban.
Harris also met with a woman this week in Wisconsin—where there's an ongoing legal battle over an 1849 state law—and learned about her experience being denied abortion care.
Reproductive Freedom for All thanked the vice president for her "commitment to protecting abortion providers and patients."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
abortionreproductive freedom for allroe v. wadereproductive rightskamala harrisabortion rightsplanned parenthoodwomenminnesota
Following repeated calls by reproductive justice groups in recent months for the Biden administration to more forcefully fight for abortion rights and against the stigmatization of care, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday made history by visiting an abortion clinic in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Harris is the first vice president to make such an appearance, and a U.S. president has yet to publicly visit an abortion clinic while in office.
The vice president toured the facility, Planned Parenthood St. Paul, before speaking to the press about what she referred to as the "true leadership" of the healthcare providers and other staffers of the clinic.
"The work that happens here is about providing assistance to women who do not live in the state of Minnesota because sadly, this state exists in a neighborhood where laws have been passed to deny people reproductive healthcare," Harris said. "In this environment, these attacks against an individual's right to make decisions about their own body are outrageous and, in many instances, just plain old immoral."
"How dare these elected leaders believe they are in a better position to tell women what they need?" the vice president added. "To tell women what's in their best interest? We have to be a nation that trusts women."
Two states that border Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, ban abortion care in nearly all circumstances.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court, which is dominated by a right-wing majority, overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, 21 states have banned abortion or imposed restrictions barring pregnant people from obtaining care earlier in pregnancy than the standard set by Roe for nearly 50 years.
Former President Donald Trump, now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has expressed support for a nationwide 16-week abortion ban. Harris and Democratic President Joe Biden are seeking reelection in November.
The Public Religion Research Institute found in 2022 that 64% of Americans believe abortion should be legal in "most or all cases."
A Kaiser Family Foundation survey released last week found that two-thirds of the public, including 86% of Democrats and 67% of Independents, supported a federal law guaranteeing the right to abortion. Fifty-eight percent of Americans said they opposed a 16-week abortion ban.
Harris also met with a woman this week in Wisconsin—where there's an ongoing legal battle over an 1849 state law—and learned about her experience being denied abortion care.
Reproductive Freedom for All thanked the vice president for her "commitment to protecting abortion providers and patients."
From Your Site Articles
- South Carolina Bill to Execute People Who Have Abortions Gets Support From 21 Republicans ›
- Oklahoma Woman Told to Wait in Hospital Parking Lot Until 'Crashing' for Abortion ›
- Faced With 'Devastating' Fallout One Year After Dobbs, Dem Lawmakers Fight Back ›
- Trump, House GOP Converge on 15-Week Federal Abortion Ban ›
- Trump 'Is the Architect of This Crisis,' Says Harris of Women Killed by Abortion Bans | Common Dreams ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Following repeated calls by reproductive justice groups in recent months for the Biden administration to more forcefully fight for abortion rights and against the stigmatization of care, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday made history by visiting an abortion clinic in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Harris is the first vice president to make such an appearance, and a U.S. president has yet to publicly visit an abortion clinic while in office.
The vice president toured the facility, Planned Parenthood St. Paul, before speaking to the press about what she referred to as the "true leadership" of the healthcare providers and other staffers of the clinic.
"The work that happens here is about providing assistance to women who do not live in the state of Minnesota because sadly, this state exists in a neighborhood where laws have been passed to deny people reproductive healthcare," Harris said. "In this environment, these attacks against an individual's right to make decisions about their own body are outrageous and, in many instances, just plain old immoral."
"How dare these elected leaders believe they are in a better position to tell women what they need?" the vice president added. "To tell women what's in their best interest? We have to be a nation that trusts women."
Two states that border Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, ban abortion care in nearly all circumstances.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court, which is dominated by a right-wing majority, overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, 21 states have banned abortion or imposed restrictions barring pregnant people from obtaining care earlier in pregnancy than the standard set by Roe for nearly 50 years.
Former President Donald Trump, now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has expressed support for a nationwide 16-week abortion ban. Harris and Democratic President Joe Biden are seeking reelection in November.
The Public Religion Research Institute found in 2022 that 64% of Americans believe abortion should be legal in "most or all cases."
A Kaiser Family Foundation survey released last week found that two-thirds of the public, including 86% of Democrats and 67% of Independents, supported a federal law guaranteeing the right to abortion. Fifty-eight percent of Americans said they opposed a 16-week abortion ban.
Harris also met with a woman this week in Wisconsin—where there's an ongoing legal battle over an 1849 state law—and learned about her experience being denied abortion care.
Reproductive Freedom for All thanked the vice president for her "commitment to protecting abortion providers and patients."
From Your Site Articles
- South Carolina Bill to Execute People Who Have Abortions Gets Support From 21 Republicans ›
- Oklahoma Woman Told to Wait in Hospital Parking Lot Until 'Crashing' for Abortion ›
- Faced With 'Devastating' Fallout One Year After Dobbs, Dem Lawmakers Fight Back ›
- Trump, House GOP Converge on 15-Week Federal Abortion Ban ›
- Trump 'Is the Architect of This Crisis,' Says Harris of Women Killed by Abortion Bans | Common Dreams ›
Related Articles Around the Web
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.