Vice President Kamala Harris argued Sunday that the impact of the anti-abortion law goes beyond medical procedures and poses a major “crisis” to other women’s health care.
Harris, Interview with MSNBC On Sunday, two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, President Obama warned that “everything is at stake” regarding abortion and other reproductive freedoms in the upcoming election.
“Fundamentally, this issue is about freedom, and every person, regardless of gender, should recognize that if a fundamental freedom like the right to make decisions about their own body is taken away, what other freedoms may be at risk,” Harris told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski.
The vice president noted that reproductive health clinics provide more than abortion services, and highlighted the threat that state abortion bans pose to other reproductive health services.
“This issue really creates a health care crisis in America, including the fact that I was the first president, and the first person to visit a reproductive health clinic. One of the reasons I went to that clinic was to highlight that cervical cancer screening is available in clinics that are trusted in the community,” she said. [smear]”Breast cancer screening, HIV screening,” Harris said. “We want people to be able to go to a health facility, be treated with dignity and without stigma, and have their health concerns addressed.”
“That’s the way it is at these clinics, and in states where Trump’s abortion bans have been passed, these clinics are closing, which means cuts across the board to vital health care for many people,” she added.
Harris’ interview with MSNBC took place alongside Hadley Duvall, a 22-year-old woman who is an abortion rights advocate after being sexually abused by her stepfather.
Duvall urged voters to take a stand on the issue on the November ballot.
“If you’ve never voted Democrat in your life, it doesn’t matter. Get off your high and mighty feet. Women don’t have a lot of options, but at least we can choose who we vote for,” Duvall told Brzezinski.
The interview took place exactly two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, abolishing the 1973 constitutional right to abortion.
The U.S. Supreme Court gave states the power to restrict or ban abortion services, and in the months since, several Republican-led states have passed bills limiting or banning their residents’ access to abortion services.
A total of 14 states have halted nearly all abortion services, with three states imposing six-week bans. According to a tally by ABC News.
The rest of the interview will air Monday morning.
