Abortion Rights Advocates Celebrate Walz Choice and Look Beyond Roe Restoration

Two rights groups on Tuesday celebrated Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' choice of running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, calling it the most pro-reproductive freedom ticket in history, while two other groups called on Democratic leaders to act boldly to establish new federal abortion protections.

Both Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF) and Reproductive Freedom for All (RFA) applauded Walz's pro-choice record and called him a "champion" of reproductive rights.

The ACLU and Physicians for Reproductive Health (PRH) called for bolder action to secure abortion rights, with the ACLU pushing for a number of federal reforms, and PRH urging more fundamental protections for abortion and gender-affirming care that go beyond the standards once set by Roe v. Wade.

"Unfortunately, Roe v. Wade was never enough to ensure our communities obtained the care they needed," Dr. Jamila Perritt, PRH's president, said in a statement. "It was, in fact, barely a starting point."

Walz, who served in U.S. Congress for 12 years before becoming governor of Minnesota at the start of 2019, has a sterling pro-choice record on abortion. He earned a consistent 100% on RFA's congressional report card during his time as a congressman, and signed a pair of key state bills into law as governor.

The first, signed in January 2023, strengthened and codified abortion protections, even as neighboring states restricted abortion rights, turning Minnesota into "the Midwest's abortion access center." The second, passed three months later, sought to shield people who seek or provide abortions or gender-affirming care from legal action by conservative states.

Both bills narrowly passed the Minnesota state Legislature, where Democrats have had a slight majority since the 2022 election and used it to push through a wide array of progressive laws. These included expanded funding for birth control access, family planning services, and Medicaid reimbursements.

Walz was by Harris' side when she became the first vice president to visit an abortion provider in March, at a Planned Parenthood in St. Paul. Reproductive rights advocates generally regard Harris as stronger on the issue than President Joe Biden, who is Catholic and has struggled to say the word "abortion" publicly, though his administration has pushed pro-choice policy.

"The Biden-Harris administration did more for reproductive freedom than any other, and a Harris-Walz administration is poised to build on that legacy," RFA president Mini Timmaraju said in a statement.

Biden and Harris have emphasized the need to restore Roe, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 1973 that established a federal right to abortion up to roughly 24 weeks for the next five decades, before it was reversed by the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling.

However, PRH on Tuesday sent Biden and Harris an open letter, signed by 430 healthcare providers, that called for them to be bolder, citing the limitations of the Roe framework:

While Roe provided a constitutional right to abortion, it never ensured access to that right for all those who needed it. The promise of Roe, the legal right to abortion care, was never fulfilled. This is especially true for communities facing the most barriers to care. When abortion care is treated as anything other than basic, essential healthcare and is so willingly stigmatized by supporters and nonsupporters alike, ensuring true access to our communities is not possible. We urge the administration and lawmakers across the country to broaden their efforts, moving beyond Roe's framework, and talk about the future our patients deserve boldly and bravely. We ask you to champion policy solutions that are not premised on returning us to the narrow protections Roe created.

The ACLU warned of the erosion of reproductive rights following Dobbs, which left states to determine abortion policy; 14 Republican-controlled states have since banned abortion altogether, while eight others have passed bans on abortions at 18 weeks of gestation or less. In a statement, the nonprofit human rights group praised Harris for her pledge to restore reproductive freedom and vowed to hold her accountable.

The ACLU's "roadmap" for Harris includes overturning the Hyde amendment, which restricts Medicaid coverage for abortion and "has forced 1 in 4 low-income women seeking an abortions to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term," the ACLU said. The group also calls for increased federal funding for Title X, which helps low-income people secure healthcare services, a federal push to ensure that all hospitals that receive Medicare funding provide emergency stabilizing treatment, including abortion.

Amnesty International on Monday issued a detailed report on the negative impact of the abortion bans and restrictions in Republican-led states, saying they "cause extensive harm" and "violate human rights."

Reproductive rights advocates warn that much worse is to come if Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump wins back the White House in November. Project 2025, a right-wing blueprint written by people affiliated with Trump, proposes "mobilizing an array of government agencies to curb access to abortion," The Guardianreported Monday.

PPAF implicitly nodded to the threat Republicans pose in making the case for the Democratic ticket in its statement on Tuesday.

"The stakes of this election could not be higher, the contrast between the two tickets could not be clearer, and the state of sexual and reproductive healthcare in this country could not be more dire," said Alexis McGill Johnson, PPAF's president. "Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the only people we can trust to ensure that everyone has the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies."