Abortion Support for rights wins backing of campaigners

The biggest abortion rights groups in US politics are lining up behind Kamala Harris's bid for president, a show of faith in a politician who has already become the face of the White House's fight over abortion rights.

- Carter Sherman

Within hours of Joe Biden's announcement on Sunday that he would drop out of the presidential race and endorse his vice-president, Emily's List, which champions Democratic women who support abortion rights, and Reproductive Freedom for All, which advocates for abortion access, officially endorsed Harris.

Emily's List plans to spend at least $20m (£15.5m) in support of Harris.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund, whose endorsement must be ratified by local chapters, has not officially weighed in. However, its chief executive and president, Alexis McGill Johnson, warmly commended Harris for keeping "the needs and experiences of patients and providers front and centre".

Harris has spent much of this year on a tour of the country in support of abortion rights, where she has proved to be a far more effective messenger than Biden. The president was infamously reluctant to even say the word "abortion" and fumbled answers to questions about it in the June debate that ultimately cost him his candidacy.

"Just right off the bat, she's primed to run with the message around abortion rights," said Jean Sinzdak, associate director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University in New Jersey.