Vice President Kamala Harris made history during her visit to Minnesota on Thursday, becoming the first U.S. vice president to ever visit an abortion clinic.
The vice president visited a Planned Parenthood clinic situated in an industrial area in St. Paul. The clinic is notable because it provides abortions and other essential reproductive health care services, particularly as neighboring states have imposed bans or restrictions on such procedures. This makes the state a crucial access point for individuals in need from surrounding areas.
"Right now in our country, we are facing a very serious health crisis, and the crisis is affecting many, many people in our country, most of whom are frankly silently suffering after the United States Supreme Court took a constitutional right that had been recognized from the people of America, from the women of America," said Harris. “How dare these elected leaders believe they are in a better position to tell women what they need. We have to be a nation that trusts women.”
During the tour, Harris was accompanied by Dr. Sarah Traxler, the chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood North Central States. Traxler proudly identified herself as an abortion provider and hailed Harris' visit as a historic occasion, during a time when this particular clinic has seen a doubling in the number of patients coming from out of state.
"Our new abortion landscape is difficult. It is dangerous and it is putting my patients and health care providers at severe risk,” Traxler said. "Everyone should have the right to access health care. Your ZIP Code shouldn’t dictate the care that you can access."
The Biden-Harris administration has prioritized rolling back restrictions on abortion access nationwide as a central focus of their campaign, with Harris taking aim at former President Donald Trump.
“Let us all recognize who is to blame,” she said. “The former president, Donald Trump, handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would overturn Roe. He intended for them to take your freedoms. And he brags about it.”
According to the vice president's office, her visit marks the first time a U.S. vice president, or president, has visited an abortion clinic.
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