Vice President Kamala Harris’ willingness to speak freely about abortion could mark a turning point in the national conversation about women’s health, experts said Monday, a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election . “She talks about abortion rights, and she talks about it unapologetically,” said Kelly Baden, vice president for public policy at the Guttmacher Institute, a nongovernmental research organization that works to expand reproductive rights. “She makes the connection between all facets of reproductive health care and abortion rights.
” Study after study has found that lack of access to abortion care has far-reaching health consequences. States with strict abortion policies tend to have higher rates of infant and maternal mortality . Women living in those states are less likely to be able to access OB/GYNs or even have the ability to pay for appointments.
And increasingly, medical students say abortion laws are driving them away from pursuing careers as doctors in states where the procedure is banned. Harris has highlighted the fallout during multiple campaign trips this year, including a visit in March at a Planned Parenthood in St. Paul, Minnesota .
She is the first vice president (or president) to visit a clinic that provides abortions. “Vice President Harris has made this an incredibly important part of her work on the campaign trail. What this means, fundamentally, is that it’s going to get a lot more attention,” said.