| “I would challenge the hypocrisy of people who say they care about life and then ignore the maternal mortality crisis.”
- Vice President Harris, 3/13/23 |
Vice President Harris has underscored the link between restrictive abortion laws and the nation’s maternal health crisis. Even before Dobbs, the states with the most restrictive abortion laws had the highest maternal mortality rates. Vice President Harris has also highlighted stories of the impact that state abortion bans have on access to other types of care as well, including treatment for chronic conditions. She and President Biden shared the story of a 14-year-old girl in Arizona who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis and was unable to refill her prescription for the drug she had taken for years—simply because the same medication could cause an abortion.
| “Imagine looking someone in the eye and saying – I have all the skills and the tools to care for you, but our state’s politicians have told me I can’t. Imagine having to tell someone – you are sick, but not sick enough to receive care in our state based on our law’s very narrow exceptions.”
- Dr. Nisha Verma, Georgia Physician speaking at the Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access, 10/5/22 |
In October 2022, four OB/GYNs came to the White House to share their stories with President Biden, Vice President Harris, and the interagency Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access, which is co-chaired by Secretary Xavier Becerra of the Department of Health and Human Services and Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein. These physicians shared the devastating impacts of state abortion bans on their practice of medicine, and the personal impact these laws have on physicians as they consider leaving their communities due to potential criminal consequences of providing reproductive health care to patients who need it.
The White House’s Work with States to Protect Access to Reproductive Health Care
In the absence of a federal law protecting the right to choose, the White House will continue to partner with state leaders to support proactive legislation and fight abortion bans.
Fighting State-Level Attacks on Reproductive Rights
The White House has joined the fight against state abortion bans, bringing national attention to the stakes of state legislative debates and working alongside state elected officials, business leaders, health care providers, young people, and more.
Immediately after Dobbs, all eyes turned to Republican Governors in states such as Florida, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, and South Dakota to see if they would call special legislative sessions on abortion. In response, Vice President Harris quickly convened legislative leaders from these states to discuss the future of abortion rights in their states and ways the White House could help. On the first day of Indiana’s special session on abortion, Vice President Harris traveled to the state to stand with the Democratic legislative caucus in opposition to the proposed ban.
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