MILWAUKEE — Vice President Kamala Harris will make her fifth trip to the Badger State since taking office with a stop scheduled in Waukesha County on Monday where she is anticipated to kick off her Fight for Reproductive Freedoms tour.
The visit comes 51 years to the day that Roe v. Wade was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as on the heels of an abortion rights proposal from Wisconsin Republicans.
Republicans in the Senate and Assembly introduced their 14-week abortion ban on Friday, which appears to be on the fast track with a public hearing already scheduled for Monday afternoon in Madison—the same day Harris will be in Wisconsin to launch what the campaign has called an aggressive effort to fight for reproductive freedom.
The latest bill offered by Republicans would let Wisconsinites decide whether abortion should be limited from the current 20 weeks to 14 weeks and calls for a binding statewide referendum to be on the ballot this April.
“Empowering the people of Wisconsin to affect abortion law directly in a referendum can save many lives by moving the gestational age from 20 to 14 weeks,” State Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, said in a statement introducing the legislation.
Marquette Law School Director Charles Franklin said abortion rights were not always a central issue in past elections, as was the case in both the race for Wisconsin Supreme Court and governor.
“The Supreme Court’s actions in striking down Roe v. Wade, and in recent elections the unwillingness of the Legislature to change the old law, makes that issue still very salient here,” Franklin explained. “And we’re a swing state, so put those two together, and it’s a very good reason for Vice President Harris to come here on that particular issue.”
Though Harris’ visit has been in the works for weeks, she did not wait to weigh in on what has been proposed in Wisconsin by state lawmakers.
“Women in Wisconsin have lived in a state of chaos and uncertainty ever since Donald Trump paved the way to overturn Roe v. Wade. If Donald Trump is reelected, he’ll try to gut abortion in every state across the country and he has the plans to do it,” Harris said in a statement.
Monday’s visit by Harris will be in an official capacity, meaning it’s not technically a campaign stop, and it will be the first of many as she plans to take her message across the country.
Even so, the Biden campaign said the vice president’s official travels throughout the 2022 midterms when she highlighted abortion rights, were critical for what they feel were strong Democratic performances up and down the ballot.
Meanwhile, Republicans have put the focus on illegal immigration at the southern border instead.
“If Kamala Harris really wants to help Wisconsin, she should go to the southern border, do her part to solve the migrant crisis and mend the breaches in our national security,” Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Brian Schimming said in a statement.