PROSPECT HEIGHTS — On the day Vice President Kamala Harris visited an abortion clinic in Minnesota, a first for a U.S. vice president, the head of the U.S. bishops’ conference Committee on Pro-Life Activities said she should have instead visited an agency or organization at the service of life.
“I am distressed to learn that the vice president is visiting an abortion clinic when there are so many agencies and organizations who are at the service of life that she could visit,” Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pro-life chair, told The Tablet.
“She could learn about all they do to welcome every child, and how they support and accompany the mothers and fathers, especially those in need,” Bishop Burbidge continued.
Harris visited a Planned Parenthood clinic in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area on March 14 as the latest stop on a national tour she began in January to promote the Biden administration’s commitment to reproductive rights following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which gave the states the power to determine their abortion laws.
Harris’ visit included a tour of the facility, and a meeting with two dozen staff.
In remarks afterwards, she touted a “health crisis” that the nation is facing following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe, and called what’s happening at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota an example of “what true leadership looks like.”
“I’m here at this health care clinic to uplift the work that is happening in Minnesota as an example of what true leadership looks like, which is to understand that it is only right and fair that people have access to the health care they need,” Harris said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was present with Harris during her visit, signed sweeping abortion legislation last year that gave the Midwestern state some of the loosest abortion restrictions nationwide.
Among other things, the legislation enshrined the right to abortion in Minnesota’s constitution, made the procedure available throughout a woman’s pregnancy, and made the state a safe haven for abortion providers, and people who come from other states to get the procedure.
The state’s Catholic bishops responded to the legislation, saying in a letter to lawmakers that “we cannot allow state-sanctioned violence against a whole class of human beings.
“At the very minimum, we should all be able to agree that post-viability abortions, except to save the life of the mother, should not be allowed; that taxpayers not be required to fund any more abortions than those already required by the courts; and that medical professionals should not be punished for refusing to participate in abortion,” the bishops said at the time.
In response to Harris’ March 14 visit, Maggee Hangge, a policy associate with the Minnesota Catholic Conference, told The Tablet that it “undermines the goal of fostering an inclusive society.
“Vice President Harris is here to celebrate that Minnesota is one of the most permissive places for abortion anywhere in the world,” Haggee said. “This open access to abortion without protections undermines the goal of fostering an inclusive society and is out of touch with the views of most Minnesotans on the issue.
“Irrespective of the laws today, Catholics in Minnesota are committed to walking with moms in need and identifying common ground policy solutions that foster prenatal justice, such as the child tax credit, which passed in 2023,” Hangge added.