US Vice President Harris to ratchet up fight for abortion access as 2024 looms

By Jarrett Renshaw

(Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will kick off a nationwide tour in January focused on abortion rights as Democrats look to seize on an issue that has proven to be a winner at the ballot box.

Billed as the "Fight for Reproductive Freedoms" tour, it will include events across the country featuring Americans impacted by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark Roe V. Wade ruling last year and eliminate a nationwide right to abortion.

Harris' office said on Monday the tour will kick off on Jan. 22 - the 51st anniversary of the Roe decision - with an event in Wisconsin.

"Extremists across our country continue to wage a full-on attack against hard-won, hard-fought freedoms as they push their radical policies – from banning abortion in all 50 states and criminalizing doctors, to forcing women to travel out of state in order to get the care they need," Harris said in a statement.

U.S. President Joe Biden's re-election campaign and Democratic-aligned groups intend to put abortion rights at the center of next year's White House contest.

The Supreme Court's decision eliminating a right to abortion was a moment of triumph for conservatives, but the ruling has also turned the issue into a political liability for Republicans.

Every statewide ballot question about reproductive rights since 2022 - seven in all - has yielded victory for abortion rights advocates, including in conservative states such as Ohio, Kansas and Kentucky.

Voter backlash was also widely credited with limiting Republican gains in the 2022 congressional midterm elections, as well as propelling Democrats in November to victories in Virginia and Kentucky.

(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Christopher Cushing)