Kamala Harris says abortion ban is creating “a health crisis”

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

“In clinics that the community trusts, there is – you can get a Pap smear [smear] …breast cancer screenings, HIV screenings, things that people want to be able to walk into a health care center and be treated with dignity and without judgment so they can resolve their health care concerns,” Harris told co -host Mika Brzezinski, reflecting on his own experience visiting a reproductive care clinic in Minnesota in March.

“That’s what these clinics do. And in states where Trump’s abortion bans were passed, these clinics are closing, meaning there is a widespread reduction in essential health care for many people,” Harris added.

The full interview will air 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 Governor 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 of reproductive age, then her life is at stake during this election,” Duvall told Brzezinski.

She added that she was asking voters to support Biden and other Democrats this fall, specifically to protect abortion rights in the US.

“It doesn’t matter if you’ve never voted Democrat in your life. It’s getting off your pedestal, because women, we can’t choose much, and you can at least choose who to vote for,” said Duvall.

Harris framed the issue around freedom as well as ensuring access to health care for women across the country.

“Fundamentally, this issue is about freedom,” the vice president said, adding: “And all people, regardless of gender, must understand that if a freedom as fundamental as the right to make decisions about one’s own body can be taken, be aware that other freedoms may be at stake.”