The records of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz on abortion

Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have touted their records on laws protecting and expanding abortion access as they have hit the campaign trail.
When Harris did an interview on “Face the Nation,” she was asked multiple times at what week abortion access should be legal. She did not give a specific week and answered by saying she wanted to restore Roe v. Wade — the U.S. Supreme Court decision that said abortion would be recognized as a constitutional right up until the point of viability.
“I am being precise. We need to put into law the protections of Roe v. Wade,” said Harris. “And that is about going back to where we were before the Dobbs decision.”
As a senator, Harris voted against a proposed 20-week abortion ban, calling it “another example of politicians playing politics with health care.”
She also co-sponsored the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify abortion up to viability and also prohibit states from restricting abortion after the point of viability if a physician determined continued pregnancy would pose a risk to a woman’s life or health.
Here is a closer look at the legislation Harris and her running mate have supported and opposed throughout the last few years.
When Harris was a California senator, she voted against proceeding on a 2019 bill that would have ensured no federal funds go toward abortions. The bill carved out an exception for rape, incest or where an illness or injury threatens the life of the mother.
It would have also prohibited qualified health plans from providing coverage for abortions and restricted federal health care facilities from providing abortions.
That same year, Harris also voted against proceeding on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. In cases where a child survived an attempted abortion, the bill would have required health care providers to preserve the life and health of the child as they would for any other child born alive at the same gestational age.
The bill required health care practitioners to ensure children born alive would be immediately transported and admitted to a hospital.
Harris voted against advancing the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in 2020. The bill would have prohibited abortions of fetuses 20 weeks or more with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. It also said women who undergo prohibited abortions may not be prosecuted for violating the bill. She also opposed advancing the bill in 2018.
As a senator, Harris also voted against denying funding to Planned Parenthood as well as suspending funding to Planned Parenthood for a year.
In 2019, Harris co-sponsored the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have prohibited state or local governments from imposing restrictions on access to abortion services such as “unnecessary tests or procedures in connection with the provision of abortion services.” The bill would have also prohibited local or state governments from requiring patients to disclose why they sought an abortion.
“A state or local government also may not prohibit abortions prior to fetal viability nor prohibit abortions after fetal viability in cases where the health care provider determines that continuing the pregnancy poses a risk to the patient’s life or health,” said the bill.
Other legislation she co-sponsored included measures to require public health insurance to provide coverage for abortion and ensure abortions are available at the federal level and are federally supported.
Harris co-sponsored the Women’s Health Protection Act, which was aimed at prohibiting any government “from imposing on abortion services” through requiring medical tests, limiting training on abortion, “a prohibition prior to fetal viability” and limiting abortion providers from prescribing drugs or providing services through telemedicine.
After the Department of Health and Human Services implemented a rule during the Trump administration to protect conscience rights of individuals as well as insurers, health care providers and employers, Harris co-sponsored legislation to prohibit this rule’s application. The rule was aimed at protecting the rights of health care providers who refuse to participate in abortions.
While still a senator, and also a presidential candidate, Harris in 2019 proposed a plan to require states to obtain preclearance from the Justice Department before enacting laws related to abortion access if they had attempted to restrict abortion access multiple times before, Politico reported. “Preclearance would only be granted to laws that do not violate either Roe vs. Wade or the Women’s Health Protection Act.”
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America graded Harris an F for her record as a senator from 2017 to 2021. The organization graded her based on the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act as well as judicial confirmations and other bills.
In 2019, Harris received a 100% on her scorecard from the self-described pro-choice organization National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (now known as Reproductive Freedom for All). The scorecard graded senators on how they voted on the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act as well as a series of judicial confirmations.
As governor of Minnesota, Walz signed the Protect Reproductive Options Act into law. It enshrined “a fundamental right to continue the pregnancy and give birth, or obtain an abortion, and to make autonomous decisions about how to exercise this fundamental right” into law.
At the time of its passing, state Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson and House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth wrote a letter to Walz urging him to veto it. The two Republican leaders said they offered amendments to it.
“These amendments included prohibiting third trimester abortions, and a requirement that all abortions facilities be licensed to ensure women are provided the safest environment possible,” said Johnson and Demuth. “Sadly, each of these amendments were struck down by a Democrat majority.”
Planned Parenthood Action Fund president Alexis McGill Johnson called the PRO Act “inspiring and needed” and said in a statement it cemented Minnesota as a leader for reproductive rights.
Walz and the Minnesota Legislature also repealed a state law that required women seeking abortions to wait 24 hours after receiving informed-consent. And he also reduced how much data needs to be collected — now health care providers will need to record how the abortion occurred, the age of the woman and the gestational age. He also signed into law a measure that would protect women traveling to Minnesota for an abortion from out of state.
Under Walz, funding for pregnancy resource centers under the Positive Alternatives program was eliminated. These centers provide women with resources to carry their unborn child to term. Often these resources include counseling and financial support.
Walz also signed into a law amendments to the Born Alive Act, including a repeal of the language requiring doctors to “preserve the life” of babies born alive. Instead, the law now says health care practitioners need to “care” for babies consistent with good medical practice.
During his time as an U.S. House representative, Walz also cosponsored the Women’s Health Protection Act. On the Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act, his vote was recorded as a yes to advance it, but he told the House speaker he had intended to vote no.