Vice President Kamala Harris will visit a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota on Thursday as part of the Biden administration's efforts to raise awareness of the threat to abortion services and other reproductive rights ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
According to the sources, they believed this was the first time in American history that a president or vice president has ever visited an abortion facility.
Kamala Harris to Visit Abortion Clinic in Minnesota
The sources said Harris intends to visit the clinic and talk with medical professionals. The vice president may also speak to patients, though the sources noted that Harris wants to ensure she does not disrupt services during her visit.
She could also talk to reporters outside the clinic.
In 2013, former President Barack Obama became the first sitting president to address Planned Parenthood. However, Obama did not speak at a Planned Parenthood facility.
Harris has been a well-known and outspoken supporter of the Biden administration's abortion rights. She has committed to advocating for federal legislation to restore the legal right to abortions.
She has publicly criticized Republicans and former President Donald Trump for supporting limitations on abortion rights.
A significant part of Biden's State of the Union speech last week focused on the problem of women's access to reproductive healthcare. It was among the first major issues in the address, a priority for the White House.
The vice president's "Fight for Reproductive Freedoms" tour, which she introduced in January to promote better access to abortion following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, will make this trip its sixth destination.
Furthermore, the sources said her office intends to disclose the clinic site closer to her visit as her team has been concerned about protests.
This is Harris' third trip to Minnesota as vice president. When NBC News contacted them on Wednesday, the vice president's office declined to respond.
Minnesota Signs Abortion Rights Bill Into Law
On Tuesday, Democratic Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz signed a bill enshrining the fundamental right to obtain an abortion in the state.
Although Minnesota already allows abortion, the Protect Reproductive Options Act goes one step further, stating that every individual has the fundamental right to make "autonomous decisions" about their reproductive health, including the right to refuse reproductive health care, following the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
"This is very simple, very right to the point," Walz said Tuesday on "CNN Tonight." "We trust women in Minnesota, and that's not what came out of the [Supreme Court's] decision, so I think it's critically important that we build a firewall."
Minnesota is now the first state to codify abortion through legislative action since Roe v. Wade was overturned, the office of the bill's lead author in Minnesota's state Senate told CNN.
