WASHINGTON– Preparations for the presidential candidacy began six months ago in an unusual place: an abortion clinic in Minnesota.
At the time, it was a historic visit for Vice President Kamala Harris – no president or vice president had ever made a public visit to one before. But the visit laid the groundwork for Harris to connect with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and learn more about his interest in reproductive health, an issue on which Harris has taken the lead during her tenure in the White House.
At first glance, the 60-year-old governor may not seem like the most suitable political surrogate when it comes to talking about abortion and pregnancy. But Harris has found a partner who has campaigned for better abortion in his state and who can speak openly about his own family’s struggles with infertility.
Walz has already captivated crowds in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin with the story of his daughter’s birth, made possible by in vitro fertilization, a procedure in which eggs are removed from a woman and combined with sperm in a laboratory dish to create a fertilized embryo that is transferred to the woman’s uterus in the hopes of causing a pregnancy.
His wife, Gwen, had to undergo fertility treatments for seven years before their daughter was born. During those years, he says, Gwen’s phone calls often broke his heart, until one day she called him crying and told him the good news that she was pregnant.
“It is no coincidence that we named our daughter Hope,” he told crowds in Philadelphia and again on Wednesday in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
The couple also has a son, Gus.
In his first appearance as Harris’s vice presidential candidate, Walz fired up the Philadelphia arena on Tuesday and issued a warning to Republicans.
“Even though we wouldn’t make the same decision for ourselves, there is one golden rule: Mind your own damn business,” Walz told a crowd that roared in response. Harris smiled and clapped behind him. “Look, that includes IVF. And that is a personal matter for me and my family.”
Democrats warn that access to contraception and fertility treatments could be at stake if Republicans win a clear victory in this election. Concerns grew after an Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that frozen embryos could count as children, calling into question fertility treatment for people in the state. Democrats and Republicans alike, including former President Donald Trump, condemned the ruling, although some conservatives said they supported it.
According to a June AP-NORC poll, most Americans — about 6 in 10 — support protecting access to IVF. But opinions are less strong on whether the destruction of IVF-derived embryos should be banned. About 4 in 10 neither support nor oppose a ban on the destruction of IVF-derived embryos, while a third support it and a quarter oppose it.
Walz’s experiences with reproductive issues are not purely personal.
After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion, Walz signed a state law declaring Minnesota residents a “fundamental right” to abortion and contraception.
Since Walz was announced as Harris’ running mate, some conservatives have criticized the law as extreme, saying it allows women to have abortions when their pregnancy is too far along. Abortion rights groups have praised the candidate’s choice.
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Associated Press writers Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux and Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.
