Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Arizona on Friday, the White House announced Tuesday, shortly after the state Supreme Court upheld a near-total abortion ban.
Harris will travel to Tucson, the White House said in an advisory, "to continue her leadership in the fight for reproductive freedoms." It noted that it will be the vice president's second trip to Arizona this year and her fifth time since being sworn in.
"Last month, the Vice President visited Phoenix, AZ to highlight how extremists in states across the country have proposed and enacted abortion bans that threaten women’s health, force them to travel out of state to receive care, and criminalize doctors," the White House said.
The White House said that the trip was part of Harris' nationwide "Fight for Reproductive Freedoms" tour "that included stops in Wisconsin, California, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, and Minnesota."
Since the Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, Harris has held more than 80 events on reproductive rights in 20 states, the White House added.
The announcement about her upcoming trip came just about an hour after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that a 160-year-old near-total abortion ban still on the books in the state could be enforced. Under the law from 1864, anyone who performs the procedure or helps a woman access that care could face felony charges and up to two to five years in prison. The law — which was codified in 1901, and again in 1913 — includes an exception to save the woman’s life.
President Joe Biden, Harris and Democrats in general are hoping that existing abortion bans and threats to expand them nationwide will help them win their races in this November's general election.
