Harris to return to Selma to mark 'Bloody Sunday' anniversary

Vice President Harris will travel to Selma, Ala., on Sunday to mark the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and outline the Biden administration's focus on civil rights.

Harris, who marked the Bloody Sunday anniversary in Selma in 2022, will return to Alabama as the state makes national headlines for a court ruling that could have ramifications for in vitro fertilization treatments.

The White House said Harris would join the annual march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge and deliver remarks "honoring the legacy of the Civil Rights movement." She will also outline the White House's continued efforts to improve racial equality nationwide.

Bloody Sunday refers to a violent clash between 600 civil rights marchers and white police officers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965 that catalyzed the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

President Biden marked the anniversary of the event last year in Selma.

Harris has taken on a leading role in the administration's efforts to protect voting rights, though they have largely stalled in the face of a divided Congress.

The vice president is also the White House's main voice on the issue of abortion and reproductive freedom, which will be top of mind as she heads to Alabama.

The Alabama Supreme Court last week ruled frozen embryos are people, marking the first time a court has ever given rights and protections so early after conception. The ruling did not ban in vitro fertilization (IVF) and is limited to Alabama, but it has far-reaching potential consequences and seems poised to open a new front in the fight over reproductive rights in the country.  

The White House has tied the decision directly to the Supreme Court's decision in June 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade, and Harris and others have decried Republicans for threatening access to reproductive care.