WASHINGTON (AP) — The makings of a presidential ticket began in an unusual spot six months ago: a Minnesota abortion clinic.
At the time, it was a historic visit for Vice President Kamala Harris — no president or vice president had ever made a public stop at one. But the visit laid the groundwork for Harris to connect with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and learn about his interest in reproductive health, an issue Harris has taken the lead on during her White House term.
At first glance, the 60-year-old governor might not seem the most likely of political surrogates to talk about abortion and pregnancy. But Harris found a partner who has a track record of increasing abortion access in his state and can speak comfortably about his own family’s struggles with infertility.
Already, Walz has captivated crowds in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin with the story of his daughter’s birth, made possible through in vitro fertilization treatments. The procedure involves retrieving a woman’s eggs and combining them in a lab dish with sperm to create a fertilized embryo that is transferred into the woman’s uterus in hopes of creating a pregnancy.
His wife, Gwen, went through seven years of fertility treatments before their daughter arrived. Phone calls in those years from Gwen often led to heartbreak, he’s said, until one day when she called crying with the good news that she was pregnant.
“It’s not by chance that we named our daughter Hope,” he told crowds in Philadelphia and again Wednesday in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
The couple also has a son, Gus.
Walz fired up the arena in Philadelphia on Tuesday, his first appearance as Harris’ vice presidential pick, with a warning to Republicans.
“Even if we wouldn’t make the same choice for ourselves, there’s a golden rule: mind your own damn business,” Walz said to a crowd that roared in response. Harris smiled, clapping behind him. “Look, that includes IVF. And this gets personal for me and family.”
Democrats have warned that access to birth control and fertility treatments could be on the line if Republicans win big in this election. The concern grew more frantic after an Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that frozen embryos could be considered children, throwing fertility treatment for people in the state into question. Democrats and Republicans alike, including former President Donald Trump, condemned the ruling, although some conservatives have said they support it.
Most Americans — around 6 in 10 — favor protecting access to IVF, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted in June. However, opinion is less developed on whether the destruction of embryos created through IVF should be banned. About 4 in 10 neither favor nor oppose a ban on the destruction of embryos created through IVF, while one-third are in favor and one-quarter are opposed.
Walz’s experience on reproductive issues isn’t just personal.
After the U.S. Supreme Court removed the constitutional right to an abortion, Walz signed a state law declaring that Minnesotans have 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 enables women to obtain abortions when they’re too far along in their pregnancies. Abortion rights groups, meanwhile, praised the pick.
Associated Press writers Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux and Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.