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Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off a "Fight for Reproductive Freedoms" nationwide tour Monday in Waukesha County, Wis., on the 51st anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling on Roe v. Wade. Coming during election season, the trip also marks Harris' fifth visit to Wisconsin -- a state President Joe Biden won in 2020 -- and highlights how the state is expected to again play a pivotal role in national politics.
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Harris -- the first woman to be vice president -- spoke on the effect of Roe v. Wade's overturning by the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson ruling in 2022. She was joined by Wisconsin's Sen. Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore and Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez.
"In America, freedom is not to be given, it not to be bestowed," she said in a speech that lasted nearly a half hour. Freedom "is ours by right," which includes the freedom to "make decisions about one's own body, not the government telling you what to do," Harris told the crowd.
The Supreme Court's original 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling "recognized the fundamental, constitutional right to reproductive freedom" and that American citizens relied on freedoms previously protected under Roe v. Wade who "now speak of it in past tense."
Harris said it's "immoral" for a woman to be told by the government what to do with their body after getting impregnated by rape and denounced state efforts across the country to limit a woman's access to abortion-related healthcare, calling the matter a "healthcare crisis" and adding that it is not a hypothetical crisis.
"One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that the government should not be telling [a woman] what to do with her body," the vice president said.
Harris cited real-world examples of recent cases in which an abortion was medically needed but said "extremists want to roll back the clock" and "extremists evoked a law from 1849 to stop abortion in Wisconsin."
She said despite the courage that is being shown by women who are coming out to tell their stories, "the reality of what's happening in real time across our country is that for every story we hear, there are so many we don't hear about."
Harris blamed former President Donald Trump -- the likely 2024 Republican presidential nominee -- for intentionally choosing three Supreme Court justices who "intended for them to take your freedom, and it's a decision he brags about."
She warned the crowd that ongoing efforts are being made in Congress to pass a national abortion ban, and that Biden has committed to veto such a ban.
The administration will "protect the most fundamental freedoms" of women, Harris said.
Her Wisconsin trip came on the same day that an abortion rights task force was meeting with the president at the White House.
She also said abortion rights are issues favored by U.S. voters.
"Momentum is on our side. We are winning. Every time reproductive freedom has been on the ballot, they have voted for freedom," Harris stated.
