Abortion access is likely to be one of, if not the, biggest issues in the 2024 presidential election. Vice President Harris has led the Biden administration’s fight to roll back anti-abortion measures and it’s likely that it will be one of the biggest priorities in her presidential campaign. The administration tasked Harris with being the face of reproductive rights for the Democratic party in 2022 and the role that has given her increased visibility and allowed her to showcase herself as a leader.
“This is a healthcare crisis, because understand: Millions of women in America will go to bed tonight without access to the healthcare and reproductive care that they had this morning; without access to the same healthcare or reproductive healthcare that their mothers and grandmothers had for 50 years,” she said, after the Dobbs decision. “This is the first time in the history of our nation that a constitutional right has been taken from the people of America. And what is that right? — some might ask. It’s the right to privacy.”
In addition to her public support for abortion access in large forums, Harris has also taken part in roundtables with state legislators and others involved in community healthcare, including doctors. She has also spoke about the issue in smaller settings.
Abortion has wide national support, with Pew Research reporting that 63 percent of Americans want it to be legal in all or most situations, which has fueled Democratic wins in post-Dobbs elections. Below, where Harris has stood on the issue throughout her career.
Her history with abortion
In high school, Harris learned that her close friend was being sexually abused by her stepfather. She has said that this inspired her work as a prosecutor. Harris began her career as a deputy district attorney in California, before she was elected District Attorney of San Francisco in 2002, Attorney General of California in 2010, and a California Senator in 2016. More recently, she has cited her friend’s experience when talking about bans on abortion in situations involving rape or incest.
As a Senator, she cosponsored legislation in 2017, which would ban restrictions on doctors that make it more difficult to provide abortions. As a presidential candidate in 2019, pre-Dobbs, she presented a plan that would require states to get federal clearance for measures that would strictly curtail abortion rights.
Her work on abortion as VP
The 2022 Dobbs decision dramatically transformed the political discourse. After a draft of the decision was leaked that May, Harris immediately came out in support of abortion rights. Speaking at an Emily’s List gala, she said, “How dare they tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her own body?… How dare they try to stop her from determining her own future? How dare they try to deny women their rights and their freedoms?”
On the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Harris appeared in Wisconsin to kick off Fight for Reproductive Freedoms, a nationwide tour that highlighted the way abortion restrictions have threatened women’s health and presented the Biden administration’s efforts to protect healthcare for women. In March, she visited an abortion clinic, becoming the first President or Vice President to do so.
During her vice presidency, Harris has met with leaders from 38 states to discuss abortion. In a January speech, she announced that the administration would protect access to mifepristone, one of the drugs used in medication abortions.
Abortion as a 2024 election issue
Since the Dobbs ruling, abortion has been front and center as a political issue and has been key to many Democratic victories. In addition to her general support for reproductive rights, she has also voiced support for codifying abortion rights into law.
A Harris presidency would present the possibility of striking down the Hyde Amendment, the 1976 law prohibiting the use of federal funds for abortions, which is widely believed to be a major obstacle that keeps millions of women from obtaining abortions. Harris has long been critical of the Amendment and has indicated the desire to eliminate it.
Adrienne Gaffney is a features editor at ELLE and previously worked at WSJ Magazine and Vanity Fair.