The court overturned the decision in 2022 in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which resulted in dozens of states banning or severely restricting abortion.
The “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour will begin in Wisconsin on Jan. 22, 2024, and comes as Democrats plan to make abortion a central point of the 2024 election. Wisconsin is a crucial battleground state where abortion access is currently being fought in the courts. Control of the state supreme court recently flipped liberal.
Harris will host events during the tour highlighting firsthand accounts of individuals who have been affected by abortion bans, and she will outline what steps the Biden administration has taken to protect abortion access.
The White House said additional dates and locations will be announced in the coming weeks, but the tour underscores how Harris is poised to play a leading role in making abortion a major issue at the ballot box next year.
Harris has often been the face of the White House’s response to Dobbs, meeting regularly with reproductive health care specialists, state legislators and advocates to discuss the topic of abortion access.
The issue has proven to be a galvanizing force for Democrats, with the party retaining control of the Senate, winning the Kentucky gubernatorial election, winning both chambers in the Virginia legislative elections and passing pro-abortion ballot referendums in Kentucky, Kansas and Ohio.
There’s no immediate path to restoring nationwide access to abortion without congressional action, and Democrats warn that a Republican president with a GOP congressional majority could push through a nationwide abortion ban. Even without a majority in Congress, a Republican president would be able to use executive authority make abortion more difficult to access.
