Readout of Vice President Kamala Harris's Meeting with Governor Baker, Massachusetts State Legislators, and Advocates on Reproductive Rights

Today Vice President Kamala Harris convened state legislators and advocates in Boston, Massachusetts to discuss the fight to protect reproductive rights and freedoms. She was joined by Governor Charlie Baker (R-MA).

The participants shared important steps that Governor Baker and Massachusetts state legislators have taken to protect reproductive health care, and they stressed the urgency of other states taking action to protect abortion access following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. The Vice President applauded the leaders for their bipartisan work defending reproductive health care, including expanding access and protecting patients and providers. She called Massachusetts a national model for protecting reproductive rights on the state level, and she encouraged the leaders to support state legislators across the country who are fighting for abortion protections.

The Vice President conveyed that reproductive rights are not a partisan issue, reiterating that a majority of Americans believe that a woman should have the right to make decisions about her body and her life without government interference. The state leaders thanked the Vice President for the Administration's leadership on the issue of reproductive care, and they said they look forward to working in partnership to stand up for women's health.

Massachusetts is the seventh state that the Vice President has traveled to in recent weeks to convene state legislators about protecting reproductive health care. She has visited Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia, and Indiana. She also convened legislators from Montana, Indiana, Florida, South Dakota, and Nebraska in Washington D.C. And she has convened health care providers, constitutional law experts, faith leaders, state attorneys general, disability rights leaders, and advocates over the last three months.

Meeting Speakers

1. Governor Charlie Baker (R-MA)
2. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07)
3. State Representative Aaron Michlewitz (D-MA), Chair, Ways and Means Committee
4. State Representative Kate Hogan (D-MA), Speaker Pro Tempore
5. State Representative Liz Miranda (D-MA)
6. Rebecca Holder, Executive Director, Reproductive Equity Now
7. Undersecretary Gil Cisneros, US Department of Defense