President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will share the stage on Tuesday in Virginia to push abortion rights in an election battle with the former Republican president Donald Trump.
Biden and Harris will be joined by their spouses, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff. The four of them are appearing together for the first time since the campaign began, a reflection of the importance that Democrats are putting on abortion this year.
Biden, Harris Push Abortion Rights in Virginia
On Monday, Harris visited Wisconsin to mark the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the US Supreme Court ruling that made abortion legal nationwide. The ruling was overturned two years ago, and Trump helped pave the way by appointing three conservative justices to the court during his administration.
Trump recently said that he was proud of his role.
"Proud that women across our nation are suffering?" Harris said. "Proud that women have been robbed of a fundamental freedom?"
Wisconsin was Harris' first destination on what is expected to be a nationwide tour focused on abortion. She described the visit as an integral part of the country's tradition of personal liberty.
She said freedom should not be given in America and should not be bestowed. She noted that it is theirs by right.
Furthermore, she continued, "And that includes the freedom to make decisions about one's own body - not the government telling you what to do."
Harris shared stories of women who had miscarried in restrooms and developed sepsis because they were denied help by doctors concerned about breaking abortion laws. She claimed that this is a healthcare crisis for women.
Abortion is also the focus of Biden's new television advertisement, starring Dr. Austin Dennard, an OB-GYN in Texas who had to leave her state to have an abortion after finding out her unborn child had a deadly condition called anencephaly.
"In Texas, you are forced to carry that pregnancy, and that is because of Donald Trump overturning Roe v. Wade," Dennard said.
Although Democrats want to reinstate the rights established in Roe v. Wade, there will be no chance with the current makeup of the Supreme Court and Republican control of the House. However, they have been successful in state-level campaigns when the topic of abortion is on the ballot.
On Monday, Biden said at a meeting of his reproductive rights task force that they need the American people to keep making their voices heard.
White House Supports Harris
The White House has repeatedly turned to Harris, the first woman to serve as vice president, to argue on abortion. Despite Biden's longstanding support for abortion rights, he speaks about the topic less frequently and sometimes avoids using the word abortion even when he discusses the issue.
Former Harris communications director Jamal Simmons claimed that abortion brought her and her team together in a manner that had never been possible before.
Simmons added that the president and vice president appeal to different parts of the party. He noted that they are stronger as a team.
