Harris heading to Indiana as state GOP prepares new abortion ban

INDIANAPOLIS — Vice President Kamala Harris will head to Indianapolis on Monday, as Indiana is poised to become the first state to hold a special legislative session on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month.

While in the state, Harris will meet with legislators and abortion rights advocates, her office said. The visit comes the same day that a rally of pro-abortion rights protesters is set to take place at the statehouse. It is unclear if Harris will attend that rally, which is being organized by, among others, ACLU of Indiana and Planned Parenthood, the women’s care and abortion rights group.

Harris’ visit to deep-red Indiana, which was confirmed by three people familiar with the planning, comes as the state has become a flashpoint in the national debate over abortion rights. Leaders in the Indiana state Senate proposed a near-total ban on abortion on Wednesday, with exceptions only for the life of the mother and in cases of rape and incest.

Harris’ trip also comes shortly after it was revealed that a 10-year-old girl, who had become impregnated by a rapist, traveled to Indiana from Ohio for an abortion procedure. The girl was past the 6-week limit to get an abortion in her home state, and the proposed laws in Indiana have not yet been passed.

The doctor who helped perform her procedure, Caitlin Bernard, was targeted by Indiana’s attorney general, Todd Rokita, who said he was investigating whether proper paperwork was filed. Bernard has subsequently filed a notice of tort claim against Rokita, claiming he defamed her character.