13 April 2023
Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Reno on Tuesday to discuss the administration’s efforts to defend reproductive rights amidst legal battles over the abortion pill mifepristone.
Harris will participate in a conversation moderated by Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and actress Rosario Dawson, according to a White House official. The audience will be primarily composed of young people.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, reproductive rights and the fallout of the decision have become part of Harris’ portfolio. She plans to discuss access to medication abortion in the wake of a Fifth Circuit judge’s controversial ruling suspending the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authorization of mifepristone.
On Wednesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided to partially block the original ruling, allowing use of the drug to continue, but limiting its availability to the first seven weeks of pregnancy and temporarily discontinuing sending it through the mail.
In the administration’s response, Harris criticized the appeals court’s decision, saying it invalidates FDA scientists’ ability to work and calling the original lawsuit part of a march toward a nationwide abortion ban.
“The Fifth Circuit’s decision — just like the district court’s — second-guesses the agency’s medical experts,” Harris said in a statement. “If this decision stands, no medication — from chemotherapy drugs, to asthma medicine, to blood pressure pills, to insulin — would be safe from attacks.”
Tuesday’s visit will be Harris’ second trip to Reno as vice president; she spoke at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in June. She has previously visited Nevada to discuss the American Rescue Plan at UNLV in March 2021, climate change at Lake Mead in October 2021, and the administration’s legislative victories in an August 2022 stop in Las Vegas.
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