Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Arizona on Friday, the White House announced Tuesday, shortly after the state Supreme Court upheld the decision. almost a ban on abortion.
Harris will travel to Tucson, the White House said, as an adviser “to continue her leadership in the fight for reproductive freedoms.” It was noted that this will be the second visit of the vice president to Arizona this year and the fifth visit after taking the oath.
“Last month, the Vice President visited Phoenix to highlight how extremists in states across the country are proposing and passing abortion bans that threaten women’s health, force them to travel out of state, and criminalize doctors,” the White House said. .
The White House said the trip was part of Harris’ nationwide “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour, which “includes stops in Wisconsin, California, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona and Minnesota.”
Since overturning the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, Harris has held more than 80 reproductive rights actions in 20 states, the White House added.
The announcement of her upcoming visit came about an hour after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the state’s 160-year-old abortion ban still on the books is enforceable. Under the 1864 law, anyone who performs the procedure or helps a woman receive this care faces felony charges and two to five years in prison. The law – codified in 1901 and again in 1913 – included an exception to save a woman’s life.
President Joe Biden, Harris and Democrats in general are hoping existing abortion bans and threats to expand them across the country will help them win races in the general election this November.
Adam Edelman and Alex Tabet contributed.