Kamala Harris says abortion bans are creating 'a health care crisis'

In an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” set to air Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris said abortion bans in states across the country are cutting women off from essential reproductive care and causing a “health care crisis.”

“In those clinics that are trusted in the community, there is — you can get a Pap [smear] ... breast cancer screening, HIV screening, the things that where people want to be able to walk into a health care facility and be treated with dignity and without judgment so they can address their health care concerns,” Harris told co-host Mika Brzezinski, reflecting on her own experience visiting a reproductive care clinic in Minnesota in March.

“That’s what these clinics do. And in states where they have passed these Trump abortion bans, these clinics are closing, which means that there is a reduction of very essential health care across the board for a lot of people,” Harris added.

The full interview airs on “Morning Joe” on Monday, exactly two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

She recorded the interview alongside reproductive rights advocate Hadley Duvall, who starred in a campaign ad for Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s 2023 re-election campaign where she spoke about her experience needing an abortion after sexual abuse by her stepfather.

“If there is a woman who is in that reproductive age, then her life is at stake during this election,” Duvall told Brzezinski.

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She added that she was urging voters to turn out for Biden and other Democrats this fall, specifically to protect abortion rights across the U.S.

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“It does not matter if you have never voted Democrat in your life. It’s get off your high horse, because women, we don’t get to choose a whole lot, and you at least can choose who you can vote for,” Duvall said.

Harris framed the issue around freedom, beyond guaranteeing access to health care for women across the country.

“Fundamentally, on this issue, it’s about freedom,” the vice president said, adding: “And every person of whatever gender should understand that, if such a fundamental freedom such as the right to make decisions about your own body can be taken, be aware of what other freedoms may be at stake.”