WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden may not apply the word “abortion” often when talking about overturning Roe v. Wade, but Vice President Kamala Harris does. She has also toured a Planned Parenthood clinic where the procedure is performed and regularly connects the failure of Roe to the larger problem of rising maternal mortality rates nationwide.
Now that Harris is running for president instead of Biden, Democrats and reproductive rights activists hope that her outspokenness on the abortion issue – coupled with the administration’s policies – will aid sway voters and secure them not only the White House but also key seats in Congress.
“The president was great in the media and the campaign produced several ads every week focused on reproduction and had an army of surrogates,” said Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All. “But you know, nothing is more persuasive than when the front-runner is the most persuasive on the issue, and that’s what we have now.”
Harris briefly addressed the issue of abortion at her first official campaign event on Tuesday, but she is expected to make it a central theme of her campaign going forward as she seeks to draw a stark contrast between herself and Republican Donald Trump.
She would like to portray herself as a direct and consistent advocate for reproductive health who has long been a champion of this health, especially the health of black mothers.
“We who believe in reproductive freedom will stop Donald Trump’s extreme abortion bans because we trust that women make decisions about their own bodies and will not let the government dictate what they should do,” she said to thunderous cheers at a rally in Wisconsin.
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned abortion law that had existed since 1973. Since then, about half of all states have enacted a ban of some form.
The consequences of these bans go far beyond restricting access for those seeking to terminate unwanted pregnancies. And in general, the states with the most restrictions also have the highest maternal mortality rates.
Trump has repeatedly campaigned on repealing the federal right to abortion, nominating three of the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe, but he has publicly resisted supporting a national abortion ban.
Trump’s running mate JD Vance has said he supports Trump’s views. But when he ran for Senate in 2022, Vance said, “I certainly want abortion to be illegal nationwide.”
Dr. Jamila Perritt, head of the nonpartisan group Physicians for Reproductive Health, outlined the grim situation for women today and hopes for change.
“The destruction of the health care safety net, the attacks on bodily autonomy and the rising maternal mortality rate show us clearly that pregnant people and those with the ability to become pregnant do not have access to the options they need to stay safe and healthy,” she said, adding that it is even worse for black women who have to contend with racism on top of deteriorating health care.
“We need bold solutions to tackle these crises on multiple fronts,” she said.
Even before Biden dropped out of the race, he had made Harris his top ambassador on the issue. In the days following the Roe overturn, the vice president met with lawmakers from conservative states to discuss how to protect abortion rights after the ruling. They convened meetings at the White House. Earlier this year, she embarked on a reproductive rights tour of swing states, starting in Wisconsin.
Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, has said reproductive freedom is an issue that “affects everyone,” not just “women.” On Tuesday, he visited an abortion clinic in his first public appearance since his wife began her bid for the top spot on the ballot.
“We have heard stories of women who were literally on the verge of death before they received treatment. It’s barbaric, it’s immoral and it has to change,” Emhoff said.
The president’s personal views have changed over the course of his 50 years in public service, but the 81-year-old Catholic has always preferred to leave the direct words to his vice president.
On the policy front, Biden has sought to make medication abortion more accessible and to enhance access to contraception. His administration argued before the Supreme Court that federal law requires hospitals to perform the procedure in life-threatening situations, even in states where abortion is now banned. Biden has also said the Hyde Amendment should be repealed. Among other things, the amendment prohibits the apply of federal funds to finance abortion.
But when the president had the opportunity to attack Trump on the issue during the June 27 debate, Biden faltered, gave confused and even nonsensical answers, and failed to check Trump’s false claims about Democrats’ views on the issue. That debate set his downfall in motion.
Harris’ views have been consistent since her time in the U.S. Senate and as Attorney General in California. She links the issue of abortion to the larger problems in the U.S., namely maternal mortality and morbidity – and speaks openly about how black women face a significantly higher risk of complications and are less likely to be believed when things go wrong.
As a senator, she championed maternal health legislation. In 2019, she sponsored the Maternal CARE Act, which called for grants to combat implicit bias in maternal health. In 2020, she introduced legislation to improve maternal health for marginalized populations. She is also a co-sponsor of bills addressing access to contraception and funding for uterine fibroid treatment.
During her time as California Attorney General, Harris also sued an anti-abortion group that secretly recorded videos of abortion doctors.
Mary Ruth Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law, said Harris is poised to become one of, if not the, most pro-abortion candidate ever nominated by a major political party.
“If Harris prevails, it could have a big impact on how we deal with abortion rights because it would show that a more decisive and forceful stand for reproductive rights can lead to political victory and the overcoming of other political obstacles,” said Ziegler, one of the country’s leading abortion rights experts.
Renee Bracey Sherman, founder and co-executive director of the national abortion rights organization WeTestify, said Harris’ identity as a Black and South Asian woman empowers her to speak more personally about how abortion bans disproportionately affect women of color. She said it “means something for all of us” when people of color speak thoughtfully and without regret.
She added: “I look forward to working with someone who we don’t have to beg to use the word ‘abortion.'”
