vice pres. harris: good afternoon, everyone. i first of all want to think the governor for your leadership -- to thankhe governor for your leadership. you been a great advisor for the

president and be, and thank you for all of that. congresswoman, she is an extraordinary leader. she is strong, powerful, committed and alwaysf the people state and i thank you for traveling with me. >> it was an honor. vice pres. harris: mayor, wpa.(e shared a lot of sties about your leadership and i know you have a lot of support in the city for the work you have done. thank you for that. so, many have asked wh%? is facn particular? i will tell you it is because right now in our country we are facing a very serious health and the crisis is affecting many many people in our country, most of whomr the united states supre court took a constitutional right that has been recognized from the people of america, from the women of america, in states

around ooue proposed and passed laws that h ave denied women access to reproductive health care. and the stories abound. i've heard stories and have met women -- [inaudible] women who are being denied emergency care because their health care provider is there, they are afraid because of the laws interstates they could be criminalized, sent to prison for providing health care. i'm here at this health care clinic to uplift an example of y leadership -- true leadership looks like, which is to understand. it is always right and fair that people have access to the health care they need and that they have access to health care inene

treated with dignity and respect and -- do understand that when we talk about a clinic such as this, it is absolutely about health care and reproductive health care. uterus. that part of the body has a lot of medical care from time to time. fibroids. econtraceptive care. that is the kind of work that happens here. in addition, of course, to abortion care. to have laws in states that have cost clinics like this to shut down so that women have no access to any -- regardless of

where they live to get this vital care, that is necessary for their health. [inaudible] again, i say thank you to the governor, the congresswoman, the mayor. and the doctor and others who work here, and the staff. this work incdehere who go out o young people, our young people in high school. in some of the places around our countrour young people to learn about our bodies and reproductive systems from social media. often with a profound amount of misinformation which leaves about what is happening to their own bodies. the work that happens here is about providing assistaewomen we state of minnesota because sadly this state exists in a

neighborhood where laws have been passed to deny people's repeat active health care. so, women have to travel here, the majority of women to receive an abortion -- god help her, that she has gotffp her. she has got paid family leave, so she can figure out, how is she going to get to the ace that would provider the care she needs? the work that happens in a clinic like this includes asking questions for someone who might be in great distress, letting her know what is available for her in terms of transportation and housing hotel, or assistance for her childcare needs. so, i'll close with this this ee attacks against individuals right to makeisions about

their own body are outrageous and in many instances, just plain old immoral. how dare these elected leaders believe they are in a better position to tell women what they need, to8e tell women what is in their best interests. we have to be a nation that trusts women. [applause] vice pres. harris: this extraordinary health care provider and doctor, please. >>xd thank you, thank you so mu. i'm not used to doing this. good afternoon, everyone. i'm sarah, the chief medical officer here at planned parenthood north-central states. i'm a board certified obstetrician gynecologist with a subspecialty in complex family policy.

and i also have my masters of science and i'm a proud abortion provider and i'm honored that vice president, harris has visited our clinic today. is an historic moment. and one that demonstrates how critically important access to reproductive health care is to nd their families across the country. so, thank you so much for being here today. thank you. after the dobbs decision a year and half ago, minnesota has become a bastion of access for abortion care, but abortion ,]rights are not only a minnesoa issue. it is a national issue. our planned parenthood has seen a 25% increase in abortions here minnesota was overturned. we've seen nearly 100% increase in patients coming here from outside oou state. this is not by accident. surrounding states have been limiting and banning abortion while minnesota, with the help

of our governor, has been increasing access. since roe was overturned, i've cared for patients from ever, from nearby states like south dakota and north dakota, and wisconsin, but from far away states like texas, alabama, wyoming, florida, oklahoma, missouri, and the list goes on. i've seen patients who have flown from places liklol her that her complex pregnancy condition would keep her from having her abortion here with me. forcing her to continue a dangerous pregnancy with a possible - where care is not available to her and her home state. traveling to access essential health care can be intidating and overwhelming. it is not an easy thing to do, as as we have all pretended that it is. like the expenf our patient who traveled from a small town a nd became lost in downtown minneapolis with a dead cell phone after her flight landed. we were able tge lyft

driver, and she described that driver as a savior for her. ur patient who drove hundreds and hundreds of miles through blizzard conditions just to get her abortion. our landscape is difficult. it is dangerous. and it is putting my patients andi've talked to mike collins, practicing in states where abortion is now illegal and they are struggling with decisions about providing ethical, proper medical care and conflict in with the law. this should never happen. thankfully abortion providing abortion care has gotten less complicated in minnesota. i'm trusted as provider an expert to work with my patients to provide the best care possible. to know that i'm trusted to do my job is a comfort to me. but it should be the standard

for everywhere. private medical decisions should be made between patients and and their doctors. without interference from politicians or the protesters standing outside on the street in front of our clinic today. in't always feel this way. i came to understand -- bodily autonomy after a long histor being anti-abortion and having a very distorted point of view about abortion care. it was not until a friend told me her abortion story that i came to see the light. after hearing her, knowing her history, i knew an abortion was the right choice for her, for her life, for her future and nobody else's. it dawned on me. if she is making the right decision for her life, then there are countless othereople who are making the right

decision in their lives, and no one should be interfering in that. from that poiinto understandingy autonomy and freedom grew to the point that i am today. everyone should have the right to access health care. your zip code should not dictate the care that you can access, your race, your socioeconomic status, none of that should determine it. so for 2024 beyond, we will keep fighting and keep working until we live in a world where everyone can access the care they decide is best for their futures and theirnity. thank you. [applause] >> we have a couple questions. >>

[inaudible]do you thin■ck a sitting president or vice president to visit a clinic -- vice pres. harris: because this is a health care crisis and of the many stories, excusing -- -- excuse me. of the many stories that we need to tell of the -- what has happened after the dobbs decision as that -- the clinics like this that have had to shut down. and what that has meant to leave no any reasonable geographic area for so many women who need this essential care. again, it■, runs the gamut of reproductive health care. yes, it is abortion, it is also as i mentioned earlier, central and paps, like breast cancer

screenings, things of that nature. i'm here to highlight that asj(g the many, i belief, intended consequences of the dobbs decision, one of them has been for health care provider such as this in the states that have banned or particular care, the clinics had to shut down and it is a travesty. it is a travesty. >> our next question. to your left, the ap. >> hi, thank you. [inaudible] can you give us a sense of what you have lost -- today? vice pres. harris: i don't know, maybe two dozen health care workers, who really care, really care about their patients. and who understand that in the■■ health care delivery system,

regardless of your gender or your health care needs, we sho d ld all respect that you will be treated with dignity. usually treated in an environment -- you will be treated in an environment where you feel se. and by that, i mean safe to be free from judgment. to be in an environment where you are actually listened to. where your needs and your expression of your needs are taken seriously. and clinic, that is what i saw. are people who have dedicated their lives to the profession of providing health care in a safe place that gives people dignity. i think we should all want that for each other. >> thank the new york times. >> what do you see is your role on this issue, givenhanistratioe

limits of what he can do to protect abortion rights and congress is unlikely to pass --- vice pres. harris: well, congress will pass that bill or we will take back the house. i am sure of that. and i think that the point, one of the points that must be made on this issue, as we attempt to uplift the real stories in the real consequences of the dobbs decision, is to remind people -- elections matter. elections matter. what happened here in minnesota with the reelection of the governor and thethe state legislature is what has led to ensuring that these fundamental lives are protective predilections matter. let me be clear about this. when it comes to national elections and -- there is a fundamental issue that i think most people agree with. which is that one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the

government should not be telling women what to do with their bodies. if she will consult with her priest, her pastor, or rabbi or imam,3p but it is not r the government to tell her what she can and cannot do with her own body. my role is to do what i just did, to articulate these points. and to organize folks around what i know is an issueeople thu will ever really know. who as i said earlier are silently suffering. so, so we will have the ability to have -- as i do. i take on the responslifting thd reminding people, by the the vast majority of american did have empathy and even if

they don't agree that this would be the best decision for them, would agree that other people should not be suffering the way they are. >> roe was always an imperfect statute. what do u think should replace it? vice pres. harris: what we want is to put back in place the protti away, which is to codify, put into law, the protections of roe v. wade. that's what we want.

■v stop funding genocide. the hard lives of palestinians. we will not be complicit in genocide. help