Harris campaign’s ‘Fighting For Reproductive Freedom’ bus tour plans stop in Denver

People take pictures of the bus at a kickoff event for the "Reproductive Freedom Bus Tour" by the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Gov. Tim Walz on Sept. 3, 2024, in Boynton Beach, Florida. The campaign said the bus was scheduled to make a stop in Denver on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.
(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The Harris campaign’s national bus tour promoting reproductive rights is scheduled to make a stop in Denver next week, the campaign announced.
The big blue bus — with “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom” emblazoned on its side — has made its way across the country since the tour launched a month ago in Palm Beach, Florida, near former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
With more than 50 stops planned nationwide, the tour is intended to highlight Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’ plans to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court two years ago.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette and Brittany Pettersen are slated to speak when the bus pulls in to a parking lot in West Denver on Monday, a spokeswoman for the Harris-Walz campaign in Colorado told Colorado Politics. Other high-profile speakers could be announced closer to the event.
After its stop in Denver, the bus is scheduled to head to Pueblo for an afternoon event, according to the campaign. State Rep. Stephanie Vigil, state Sen. Nick Hinrichsen and Pueblo County Commissioner Daneya Esgar are on tap to speak there.
The campaign said politicians and other advocates at the Colorado stops plan to contrast the Democratic presidential ticket’s abortion-rights agenda with proposals made by Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance. The Republican nominees have issued conflicting statements about the issue, from Vance’s past support for legislation to ban abortion nationwide to Trump’s pledge this week to veto a federal abortion ban.
“Our campaign is hitting the road to meet voters in their communities, underscore the stakes of this election for reproductive freedom, and present them with the Harris-Walz ticket’s vision to move our country forward, which stands in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s plans to drag us back,” Harris-Walz campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement.
Trump has boasted that his Supreme Court appointments made possible the court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, returning the question to the states.
“President Trump has long been consistent in supporting the rights of states to make decisions on abortion and has been very clear that he will NOT sign a federal ban when he is back in the White House,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Colorado Politics in an email.
“President Trump also supports universal access to contraception and IVF. Contrarily, Kamala Harris and the Democrats are radically out of touch with the majority of Americans in their support for abortion up until birth and forcing taxpayers to fund it,” she added.
The Denver stop comes days before county clerks are scheduled to start mailing ballots to Colorado voters. Among the questions on the statewide ballot this year is Amendment 79, which would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution and allow abortion to be covered under state-funded health plans.
Colorado is one of 10 states that does not restrict abortion at any point in a pregnancy, under a state law passed in 2022.
About 60% of Americans think their state should allow abortion for any reason, an Associated Press NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found in July.