Almost two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Vice President Kamala Harris, the first female Vice President of the United States, created a historic milestone on Thursday. She became the first sitting president or vice president to visit an abortion clinic. According to NBC News, Harris visited the Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota with the intention of not disrupting medical services. During her visit, she toured the facility and engaged in conversations with healthcare providers and patients who were willing to speak with her.
During the clinic tour, Harris expressed her admiration for the healthcare professionals who have devoted their lives to the noble profession of providing healthcare. She emphasized the importance of having safe and dignified spaces where people can receive the care they need. Harris stated, “We should all aspire to have access to such quality healthcare and treat each other with dignity.”
In her statement, Vice President Harris highlighted the alarming “healthcare crisis” that has emerged in the aftermath of the 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade. She stressed the significance of elections, emphasizing that the individuals elected to the United States Congress have a crucial role to play. Harris pointed out a fundamental consensus among the majority of people, asserting that it is possible to respect one’s faith or personal convictions while also recognizing that the government should not dictate women’s choices regarding their bodies.
Vice President Harris is taking a proactive stance on women’s health issues, spearheading the “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour under President Biden’s administration. Since the beginning of the year, Harris has been actively advocating for women’s reproductive rights, with her visit to the Minnesota Planned Parenthood clinic marking the sixth stop on her tour. However, her visit was met with opposition from anti-abortion protesters, who held signs expressing their disagreement with Planned Parenthood. These signs carried slogans such as “abortion is not healthcare” and “Planned Parenthood = abortion.” While Harris is not the first national elected official to address Planned Parenthood, she is the first to do so from an actual clinic. Former President Barack Obama, during his time in office in 2013, addressed a Planned Parenthood chapter from a hotel in Washington, D.C.
