Kamala Harris’ visit to abortion clinic marks ‘distressing’ first for a US vice president

NEW YORK – The head of the US Bishops’ Conference Committee on Pro-Life Activities
has spoken out after Vice President Kamala Harris visited an abortion clinic in Minnesota, a first for a US vice president.

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, the USCCB Pro-Life Chair, said that the vice president should have used the opportunity to visit an agency or organisation “at the service of life” instead, a point in line with other bishops in Minnesota who have expressed deep concerns about “state-sanctioned violence against a whole class of human beings” as a result of the state’s permissive abortion laws.

“I am distressed to learn that the vice president is visiting an abortion clinic when there are so many agencies and organisations who are at the service of life that she could visit,” Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, the USCCB Pro-Life Chair, told Crux in a statement.

“She could learn about all they do to welcome every child, and how they support and accompany the mothers and fathers, especially those in need,” Burbidge continued.

Harris visited a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minneapolis-St. Paul area on 14 March, as the latest stop on a national tour she began in January to promote the Biden administration’s commitment to reproductive rights following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which gave US states the power to determine their abortion laws.

In response to Harris’s 14 March visit, Maggee Hangge, a policy associate with the Minnesota Catholic Conference, told Crux that it “undermines the goal of fostering an inclusive society”. 

“Vice President Harris is here to celebrate that Minnesota is one of the most permissive places for abortion anywhere in the world,” Haggee said. “This open access to abortion without protections undermines the goal of fostering an inclusive society and is out of touch with the views of most Minnesotans on the issue.”

Harris’s visit included a tour of the facility and a meeting with staff. In remarks afterwards, she touted a “health crisis” that the nation is facing following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe, and called what’s happening at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota an example of “what true leadership looks like”. 

“I’m here at this health care clinic to uplift the work that is happening in Minnesota as an example of what true leadership looks like, which is to understand that it is only right and fair that people have access to the healthcare they need,” Harris said.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was present with Harris during her visit, signed sweeping abortion legislation last year that gave the midwestern state some of the loosest abortion restrictions nationwide.

Among other things, the legislation enshrined the right to abortion in Minnesota’s constitution, made the procedure available throughout a woman’s pregnancy, and made the state a safe haven for abortion providers and people who come from other states to get an abortion.

The state’s Catholic bishops responded to the legislation saying in a letter to lawmakers that “we cannot allow state-sanctioned violence against a whole class of human beings”.

“At the very minimum, we should all be able to agree that post-viability abortions, except to save the life of the mother, should not be allowed; that taxpayers not be required to fund any more abortions than those already required by the courts; and that medical professionals should not be punished for refusing to participate in abortion,” the bishops’ said at the time.

Hangge highlighted the potential for state legislation that aims to support mothers and mothers-to-be, such as the child tax credit that passed in 2023.

“Irrespective of the laws today, Catholics in Minnesota are committed to walking with moms in need and identifying common ground policy solutions that foster prenatal justice,” Hangge said.

Photo: US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during her visit to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Saint Paul, Minnesota, 14 March 2024. Harris toured an abortion clinic, highlighting a key election issue in what US media reported was the first such visit by a president or vice president. (Photo by STEPHEN MATUREN/AFP via Getty Images.)

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