Harris to travel the country in early 2024 highlighting fight for abortion rights
Vice President Harris is planning to launch a nationwide tour in early 2024 focused on the fight over abortion access as it is set to become a pivotal issue in next year's general election.
The "Fight for Reproductive Freedoms" tour will begin in Wisconsin on Jan. 22, 2024, which marks the 51st anniversary since the original Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing abortion access.
The Supreme Court in June 2022 struck down that precedent, leading to a series of restrictive abortion laws being passed in GOP-led states.
“Extremists across our country continue to wage a full-on attack against hard-won, hard-fought freedoms as they push their radical policies – from banning abortion in all 50 states and criminalizing doctors, to forcing women to travel out of state in order to get the care they need,” Harris said in a statement. “I will continue to fight for our fundamental freedoms while bringing together those throughout America who agree that every woman should have the right to make decisions about her own body – not the government."
Harris will host events during the tour highlighting first hand accounts of individuals who have been affected by abortion bans, and she will outline what steps the Biden administration has taken to protect abortion access.
The White House said additional dates and locations will be announced in the coming weeks, but the tour itself and its first planned stop in the swing state of Wisconsin underscore how Harris is poised to play a leading role in making abortion a major issue at the ballot box next year.
Harris has often been the face of the White House's response to the Supreme Court decision that ended Roe. She has frequently met with reproductive health care specialists, state legislators and advocates to discuss the topic of abortion access.
Abortion is expected to be one of the defining issues of the 2024 presidential campaign, with Democrats warning that a Republican president could sign off on a nationwide abortion ban.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a six-week abortion ban in his state, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) has said she would have done the same, even as she avoids specifics on what she would sign if elected president.
Former President Trump, the frontrunner in the GOP primary, has said he supports exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother, but he has repeatedly taken credit for bringing about the end of Roe v. Wade through his appointment of three conservative justices to the Supreme Court.
The issue has proven to be a galvanizing force for Democrats, with the party retaining control of the Senate, winning the Kentucky gubernatorial election, winning both chambers in the Virginia legislative elections and passing pro-abortion ballot referendums in Kansas and Ohio in the aftermath of the 2022 Supreme Court decision.