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ST. PAUL, Minn. — These are not words politicians use. But Vice President Kamala Harris, already a historic figure, broke through political barriers and went there by touring a Minnesota-based family planning clinic.
Harris, the country’s first female vice president, warned: “Everyone get ready for this language.”
“Uterus.”
The crowd burst into laughter. “That part of the body sometimes requires a lot of medical care,” Harris says.
Muscle tumors that grow in a woman’s uterine wall – problems like uterine fibroids – should no longer be taboo. “We can deal with this,” she insisted.
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Decades ago, they might have found it offensive or condemned it as vulgar.
The 59-year-old Democrat stood in front of a microphone with a bouquet of flowers and detailed the many services provided by Planned Parenthood, unrelated to abortion.
Harris’ decision to visit the clinic and use of medical terminology related to the human reproductive system in public is the clearest sign yet of how confused the US abortion debate is ahead of the 2024 election. It was a sign.
The decision by the most powerful woman in elected office in the United States was a stunning departure for the Democratic Party, which has historically kept abortion providers at arm’s length.
And the people are ready for it too.
For University of Minnesota student Paige Robinson, 22, abortion is an important issue to consider on her ballot this fall.
Of Harris’ visit, she told USA Today, “It’s a very clear stance on the government’s support, and this is a strong move.”
Experts and activists reiterated that Thursday’s visit is a further reflection of how the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade threw out old rules on abortion.
“Given the shock of Dobbs’ decision, this is unprecedented and not surprising,” said Matthew Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University.
Some say the moment signals Harris’ expanding role as chief executive of the Biden campaign’s progressive movement on social issues.
She spoke about women’s health at stake as part of her “Fight for Reproductive Freedom” tour, which ended this week in Minnesota after visiting battleground states such as Wisconsin, Georgia, Michigan and Arizona. I have made an urgent appeal.
Opinion polls show support for independent women
An exclusive USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll released this week highlights one of the reasons Harris is pushing toward the abortion issue.
Polls show that the vice president already has a high approval rating among Democrats, with a 78% approval rating among Democratic women. However, her popularity plummeted when she tiptoed outside a party tent.
For example, approximately 54% of all respondents said she was unqualified to be president, while 38% believed she was qualified to be president.
The gap narrows slightly when compared to the opinions of independent women who have been at odds with Republicans on reproductive rights.
According to the poll, 45% of independent women think Harris is not qualified to be president, while 40% think she is qualified to be president.
“Besides the Democratic Party’s core voters, she has an opportunity to turn independent women into positive territory. She’s negative there, but it’s close,” said David Paleologos, director of the Center for Political Research at Suffolk University. Told.
Compared to all voters, Harris received slightly higher ratings for job approval and favorability among women who are not affiliated with either party, the survey found.
Among all, Harris has a net negative rating of 16% for both her work as vice president and her popularity. However, for independent women, this drops to a net negative 5% upon approval.
In terms of favorability, independent women have a net rejection rate of 15%, while the larger group’s 9% is still undecided.
Paleologos said it was troubling that the vice president had no support in other races, given legitimate concerns among voters about Biden’s age and ability to serve. That means her role, and ultimately that of President Trump’s running mate, will grow in the coming months, he said.
“The fact that statistically she can’t really add to the Biden equation in November is a problem and a concern,” he said.
“They’re aligned and very popular among Democrats, but they’re questionable among independents and won’t get you anywhere among Republicans.”
‘We can’t do this without Harris,’ supporters say
Speaking to more than 100 supporters at a rally in St. Paul, Harris praised the Minnesota Democratic Party’s accomplishments in strengthening health care access for women. She also hinted at her hopes for what kind of impact it could have on November’s national elections, including that Congress eventually enact Roe into law.
“So the wins that you were hoping for, especially the wins in the statehouse, proved to our country once again how much progress the Democratic trifecta can make,” Harris said.
The vice president didn’t mince words when voters have to make a choice this fall, saying the nation should “realize who is in charge” of the patchwork of laws.
“Former President Donald Trump hand-picked three Supreme Court justices with the intention of overturning Roe,” she said. “He intended for them to take away your freedom, and it’s a decision he’s proud of.”
Abortion rights groups said Thursday’s events illustrate how valuable Harris is to the president in ways snapshot polls can’t capture.
For example, after Biden’s annual State of the Union address, some progressives reportedly took a hard stance against the president for not using the word “abortion” in his remarks. There is.
Biden instead chose less political language, such as “reproductive freedom” and “freedom to choose,” according to the Associated Press.
Mini Thimaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly known as NARAL Pro-Choice America), said that by going to the clinic, Ms. Harris can talk about experiences that all women share. He said that he stood out as someone who could do things.
“This has been the most pro-reproductive freedom administration in the history of this country, and there’s a lot of respect and love for Joe Biden, but that wouldn’t have happened if Kamala Harris wasn’t at the tip of the spear. There wouldn’t have been,” she said.
Jacqueline Ayers, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, agreed that the Biden administration has been “an invaluable champion of reproductive health care, including abortion.”
She emphasized that Harris has “made it a priority since Roe’s ouster to travel around the country to see this access crisis firsthand.”
Janet Pai-Espinosa, president of the Justice & Joy National Collaborative, a national racial and gender advocacy group, said Harris’ visit is all the more poignant given the impact abortion restrictions have on women of color. He said it felt like something.
“This is a watershed moment for me, especially as a woman of color, not only because the vice president is a woman, but at a time when there’s so much animosity, so much risk, so much polarization,” she said. said.
“It’s a huge statement of courage, control and power for her to walk through that door.”
Public opinion polls consistently show that Americans broadly support some level of access to abortion rights.
For example, a poll conducted last year by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 64% of adults think it should be legal in at least some situations.
Coupled with voters in seven states favoring liberal positions on ballot issues starting in 2022, Biden and his allies believe this will be the defining issue in November.
Supporters say Harris’ high profile as a woman on the brink of the presidency is also an asset.
“She is sincere on this issue. She understands it. She is its moral conscience,” Thimaraju said. “She not only speaks to the base, but she also speaks to kind-hearted Republicans and independent women. We can’t do this without her.”
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