Kamala Harris is set to become the first sitting vice president or president to visit an abortion clinic on Thursday when she tours a Planned Parenthood facility in Minnesota, according to reports. Harris, 59, has not had children, but she has helped raise her husband Doug Emhoff’s two children since the couple was married in 2014.


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The Biden-Harris campaign is pinning their election hopes on fear-mongering women over abortion in the wake of the 2022 ruling by the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in part because of the votes by three Trump appointed justices. The ruling by the Court returned the issue of abortion to the people and the states.

NBC News was first to report on Harris’ trip (excerpt):

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to tour a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota that provides abortion services Thursday, according to three sources familiar with the planning.

The sources said they believed this was the first time a president or vice president has ever visited a clinic that provides abortion services in U.S. history.

Harris plans to tour the clinic and speak to healthcare providers, the sources said. The vice president may also talk to patients, though the sources stressed that Harris wants to make sure she doesn’t disrupt any services during her visit. She could also speak to reporters outside the clinic.

…The trip will be the sixth stop in the vice president’s “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour, which she kicked off in January to push for more abortion access in the wake of the overruling of Roe v. Wade.

Her office plans to release the location of the clinic closer to the time of her visit as her team has been concerned about protests, the sources said.

Axios explained the politics of the visit (excerpt):

Why it matters: Harris will become the first president or vice president to tour an abortion clinic while in office, according to the White House.

Her visit is another indication that the Biden-Harris campaign considers reproductive rights as one of the most potent and salient issues favoring Democrats in the 2024 election.

It’s also a sign of the key role Harris is taking in trying to generate enthusiasm for the Democratic ticket among Black, Hispanic and young voters.

The big picture: Polls suggest that many voters in those traditionally Democratic groups are either lukewarm about President Biden, giving Donald Trump a look or haven’t tuned into the 2024 campaign yet.

Getting those three groups to support Biden is crucial to the White House’s plan to reassemble the coalition that gave Democrats a narrow victory in 2020.

Last week Biden threatened the Supreme Court over abortion in his State of the Union address as a majority of justices sat just feet away in the House chamber:

More abortion fear-mongering posted to X Twitter by Harris, “If extremists in Congress pass a national abortion ban, President Joe Biden will veto it.”

The Biden-Harris administration and campaign have been organizing events to minimize disruptions by pro-Hamas protesters like these at a Harris appearance in Phoenix last week:





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