VP Kamala Harris will visit Arizona days after court ruling banned most abortions in state

PHOENIX – Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Arizona to promote reproductive rights just days after the state Supreme Court upheld a near-total abortion ban.

Harris will appear in Tucson on Friday, her office announced on Tuesday, the same day the state high court released its decision.

It will be the Democrat’s fifth trip to Arizona since she became vice president and the second Grand Canyon State stop of her Fight for Reproductive Freedoms tour. On March 8, she delivered a speech about reproductive rights at the South Mountain Community Center.

Kamala Harris issues statement about Arizona abortion ruling

Harris issued a statement in response to the Arizona Supreme Court ruling that will make almost all abortions illegal in the state. (The only exception is when the life of the mother is at risk.)

The vice president said Donald Trump, the former president and Republican nominee for the third consecutive election, is responsible for women losing reproductive rights in Arizona and other states.

“President Biden and I are doing everything in our power to stop Trump and restore women’s reproductive freedom, but it is going to take all of us,” Harris said in a statement. “The American people believe that health care decisions should be made between women and their doctors, not politicians, and we are ready to stand up to fight for our most fundamental freedoms.”

Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court appointments from his time as president arguably led to SCOTUS overturning the Roe v. Wade ruling that had ensured national abortion rights since 1973.

Since Roe was tossed out in June 2022, 14 states started enforcing bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions. Two states ban the procedure once cardiac activity can be detected, which is about six weeks into pregnancy and often before women realize they’re pregnant.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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