Washington DC - Vice President Kamala Harris had established herself as the administration's leading advocate of abortion rights long before President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 election.

Now, Democrats are hoping that will help tip the scales in November's election.

"We'll stop Donald Trump's extreme abortin bans because we trust women to make decisions about their own bodies and not have the government tell them what to do," Harris, her party's presumptive nominee, thundered in front of a crowd in Milwaukee this week.

Two years after Trump-appointed judges helped overturn the national right to abortion, a passionate defender of reproductive freedoms at the top of the Democratic ticket could help mobilize more progressives in a tight race expected to hinge on turnout.

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From investigating anti-abortion activists accused of deceptive practices as California's attorney general to grilling conservative Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing, to becoming the first VP to visit an abortion clinic this spring, Harris's bona fides on abortion rights are unquestionable.

That contrasts starkly with Biden, who has often been reticent on the issue, frequently citing his Catholic upbringing as a reason for his discomfort.

During this year's State of the Union address, Biden deviated from pre-written remarks, opting for terms like "reproductive freedom" or "freedom to choose" instead of "abortion."

As a brand-new senator in 1973, Biden felt the Supreme Court went "too far" in deciding Roe v Wade, the ruling that established the right to terminate a pregnancy.

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As recently as 2006, he described the procedure as "always a tragedy" and "not a choice and right."

Though his stance has since evolved, abortion rights activists have long sensed his reluctance to fully embrace the issue.

Polling by YouGov released this week found Harris enjoying a 12-point advantage over Trump on abortion, significantly higher than the five-point lead Biden held over Trump in early July.

While she hasn't yet been formally nominated, the abortion rights group Reproductive Freedom for All was quick to throw its weight behind her.

"There is nobody who has fought as hard for abortion rights and access, and we are proud to endorse her in this race," the nonprofit's CEO Mini Timmaraju said.