In Grand Rapids, Kamala Harris says abortion access would be lost under second Trump term
Arpan Lobo
GRAND RAPIDS — Vice President Kamala Harris visited Michigan on Thursday, participating in a roundtable discussion on abortion access with elected officials and other advocates.
The news media were permitted to view about 15 minutes of the roundtable discussion, which also included Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids. Officials from the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and other advocacy groups also attended the event, held at Fountain Street Church in downtown Grand Rapids.
Harris, speaking in front of a backdrop that included the phrases “Fight for Reproductive Freedom” and “Trust Women,” spoke about state-led efforts to restrict access to abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Before the court’s decision in June of that year, abortion access was protected at the federal level for nearly 50 years.
“What we saw over a year ago, the highest court in our land ... took a constitutional right that had been recognized from the people of America, from the women of America,” Harris said. “And since that ruling came down, we have seen states across our country, thankfully, not Michigan, but states across our country, proposing and passing laws that criminalize doctors and nurses, some (with) prison for life for health care professional providing reproductive care for their patients.”
Since Roe was reversed, some states have either passed bans on abortion or have amended their state constitution to say it does not protect abortion access, according to the pro-abortion rights access Guttmacher Institute. In Texas, performing an abortion is a felony punishable by up to life in prison.
After Roe was struck down, abortion access nationally became decided at the state level — in Michigan, voters that year approved an amendment, Proposal 3, enshrining abortion access in the state’s constitution.
But leading Democratic figures nationally have warned that if former President Donald Trump were to get a second term — he’s the presumptive Republican nominee and recent polling shows he holds a slight lead over Biden in Michigan — abortion access could be limited at the federal level. Abortion rights groups have embraced a report that Trump has privately told people he supports a ban on abortion after 16 weeks of pregnancy, although the Trump campaign has denied the report, according to the Associated Press.
Harris, although she didn’t mention Trump by name, said “the previous president of the United States was clear in his intention” by naming three Supreme Court justices who ultimately ruled to reverse Roe.
“This is a very real issue,” she said. “And I thank again, the governor and Michigan Legislature, for all you have done. But do understand, the people of Michigan do not sit back and take comfort without also understanding that elections matter and that there is a full-on conservative effort to pass a national ban, which would mean the people of Michigan would not be as safe.”
Harris spoke for just under seven minutes during the period reporters were allowed to watch. The event was closed to the public.
Republicans criticized Harris' visit to Grand Rapids. In a statement attributed to the Michigan House Republican Women’s Caucus, members lambasted the Biden administration’s record on inflation and the border, saying, “If the best Democrats can do is send Kamala out to stump for them on abortion, which Michigan voters already settled, Republicans will certainly be taking back the gavel come November."
As the vice president arrived at the venue, there were a couple of protesters holding signs reading “Free Gaza” and “Ceasefire now,” according to pool reports. The Biden administration has been criticized by some, including a vocal contingent in Michigan, where there is a sizable bloc of Arab American voters, for not calling for an end to Israel’s military actions in Gaza, where nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched a war against Hamas in response to an Oct. 7 attack.
Abortion access has proved to be a motivating issue for voters, although it remains unclear how big of a factor it will be in the 2024 presidential election since abortion isn’t explicitly on the ballot in Michigan like it was two years ago.
In the 2022 midterms, voters in Michigan turned out to support both Proposal 3 and Whitmer’s reelection campaign, much of which was centered on protecting abortion access. In other states, pro-abortion amendments have been successful as well, including in Ohio, where voters in 2023 passed abortion protections of their own.
Since Roe’s reversal, the White House has focused heavily on abortion access. Harris has spoken at similar events in other states as part of a “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour. The event Thursday in Grand Rapids marked the fourth such event for the tour, with stops in Wisconsin, Georgia and California taking place in January.
In Michigan, Democratic lawmakers and Whitmer have moved to repeal a series of laws abortion advocates said stood in the way of access to reproductive health care — last year, Whitmer signed a repeal of a long-dormant 1931 abortion ban which remained on the state’s books. Whitmer also signed a series of bills in November advocates lauded as removing additional barriers to abortion access, and then in December signed a repeal of a requirement for the purchase of a special insurance rider to cover abortions with no exceptions for rape or incest.
Lawsuits from both those seeking to restrict abortion access and widen it in Michigan have been filed in recent months, as well. A lawsuit led by the anti-abortion group Right to Life of Michigan was filed in federal court last November asking a judge to declare Proposal 3 unconstitutional, while abortion advocates sued in federal court earlier in February asking a judge to end Michigan's 24-hour waiting period for patients seeking an abortion.
The groups seeking to end the waiting period say it should be struck down due to Proposal 3's passage. In the Legislature, Democrats had attempted to remove the waiting period but lacked the necessary votes.
Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) @arpanlobo.