Kamala Harris will visit the abortion clinic, at Historic First

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to meet with abortion providers and staff in the Twin Cities on Thursday, a visit believed to be the first stop by a president or vice president to an abortion clinic.

The appearance at a health center will be the final leg of a nationwide tour by Ms. Harris, who has emerged as the government’s most outspoken defender of abortion rights. While White House officials say they have largely reached the limits of their power to protect abortion rights, the issue has emerged as a cornerstone of their reelection strategy.

Ms. Harris plans to tour the center with an abortion provider on Thursday and highlight what the administration has done to maintain access to the procedure as conservative states impose increasing restrictions.

Minnesota has become a haven for abortion seekers since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, triggering restrictive laws and bans in neighboring states. The Society of Family Planning, a health research organization, found that the average number of abortions in the state has increased rose by about 36 percent in the year after the Supreme Court decision.

Last year, Gov. Tim Walz signed legislation enshrining abortion rights into state law, an effort to ensure the procedure remains legal no matter who comes to power in the state. Ms. Harris will be joined Thursday by Minnesota Democrats, including Mr. Walz and Rep. Betty McCollum.

The mere sight of a top Democratic official walking into an abortion clinic will provide the clearest illustration yet of how the politics of abortion rights have changed for the party — and for the nation.

For decades, many Democrats shied away from direct discussion of what their strategists said was a divisive issue. Instead, a notable number focused on the complexity, embracing slogans like “safe, legal and rare” and joining Republicans in opposing taxpayer funding of the procedure through the Hyde Amendment.

But the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade upended that old policy and created an energized coalition of voters who helped Democrats win a series of federal and state races thanks to their support for abortion rights. Recent polls from KFFa nonprofit focused on health policy, found that one in five voters when voting in 2024 said abortion was the “most important issue,” and the majority supported a law guaranteeing a federal right to abortion.

President Biden’s campaign is taking aim at abortion, running ads featuring testimonials from women denied access to the procedure in conservative states and highlighting former President Donald J. Trump’s role in appointing three of the judges who voted to To undo Roe.

Mr. Biden has pledged to restore federal abortion rights and preserve access to medication abortion, which faces new threats from a case set to be heard before the Supreme Court this month.

These assurances represent a notable escalation of the issue by Mr. Biden, an observant Catholic who was caught for decades between his religious opposition to his party’s proceedings and policies. He barely mentioned abortion rights during his 2020 campaign, a reflection of his discomfort with discussing the issue and how little his strategists believed abortion energized swing voters.

This time, Mr. Biden has framed the issue as one of personal freedom and the right to make decisions about private health care. But he has still expressed some discomfort with the procedure itself, often avoiding the word “abortion.” In his State of the Union address, he said comments prepared called for him to say “abortion,” referring to a Texas woman who could not request a procedure due to state law. Instead, he said Texas had “banned her ability to act.”

Mr. Biden prefers to discuss the issue in terms of restoring Roe through congressional legislation. Legislation codifying federal abortion rights would have little chance of passing given the narrow Democratic majority in the Senate and disagreements within the president’s own party over the scope of such a bill.

Ms Harris has taken a much more assertive approach. She has visited five states on a tour to talk about abortion rights and has portrayed the proliferation of anti-abortion laws in Republican states as a “health care crisis” for women.

Reid J. Epstein reporting contributed.