Harris meets college, and university leaders

VICE PRESIDENT Kamala Harris met leaders from US colleges and universities on Monday (8) and discussed challenges students are facing after the recent Supreme Court decision to end the nationwide constitutional right to abortion.

Harris, who already held over half a dozen meetings on reproductive rights with key stakeholders, has focused on what campuses are doing to protect the health of students in the wake of the court's ruling, according to a White House official.

On Aug. 3, President Joe Biden said the Supreme Court and Republicans "don't have a clue" about the power of American women as he signed a second executive order aimed at protecting abortion rights.

The order came a day after Kansas voters rejected an effort to remove abortion protections from the state's constitution. The vote was a resounding win for the abortion rights movement in the first statewide electoral test since the Supreme Court ruling.

Limited access to abortion services has a higher impact on college-age women, the White House said.

College students in states with abortion bans will face many barriers to seeking care, including financial and time constraints due to academic responsibilities. Historically Black colleges and universities in the country are concentrated in states that have already limited or are likely to limit abortion access, according to the White House.