Harris to deliver speech in North Carolina on anniversary of Roe v. Wade reversal

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver a major speech in North Carolina on June 24 as part of the Biden administration's plans to mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, a White House official said Thursday.

During the speech in Charlotte, Harris, the first female vice president, will rally supporters, advocates and community leaders around the administration’s focus on the fight for reproductive rights, the official told NBC News.

It will be among several events the White House plans to hold this month to mark the anniversary, putting a spotlight on an issue campaign advisers see as a dominant 2024 voting issue.

President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff are also expected to participate in events, the White House official said.

In her remarks next week, Harris plans to draw a contrast between the “Republicans’ extreme approach” to reproductive health care and the Biden administration’s approach, the White House official said.

Harris is also scheduled to sit down Tuesday with MSNBC’s Joy Reid for a televised roundtable discussion about the impact of the Supreme Court's decision.

Harris will speak in Charlotte exactly a year after the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to reverse the landmark 1973 ruling on abortion rights. The Supreme Court’s ruling last year proved to be one of the defining moments of the midterm elections, galvanizing key voting groups — especially women — in support of Democratic candidates.

Democrats ultimately defied historical trends in which the president's party usually has major losses at the ballot box, especially in congressional races. While Republicans won control of the House, they did so only narrowly, while Democrats added a seat to their slim majority in the Senate.

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Now, Biden advisers say they expect abortion to be even more significant in the 2024 election. Republican governors and legislators have moved swiftly in several states to enact more restrictive abortion policies.

As part of the lead-up to the June 24 anniversary, the White House held a pair of events Wednesday and Thursday, hosting Democratic legislators from 41 states to discuss state-level attacks on reproductive rights.

The White House on Wednesday hosted 49 legislators from 25 states that have taken steps to roll back reproductive rights. On Thursday, it hosted 32 legislators from 16 states working to safeguard access to abortion care. Some of the participants from the White House were Neera Tanden, assistant to the president and the director of the Domestic Policy Council, and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

The Biden administration has been trying to navigate ways to protect reproductive health care services after last year's Supreme Court decision.

Abortion rights advocates are entrenched in a legal battle over the abortion medication mifepristone, part of a two-drug regimen, to self-manage the ending of a pregnancy. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana recently heard arguments in the case, but the appeals process could take months.