Written by Colleen Long, Darlene Superville, and Nadia Lathan
HOUSTON (AP) – Vice President Kamala Harris teamed up with Beyoncé on Friday at a rally in heavily Republican Texas to highlight the health care impact of the state’s strict abortion ban and place blame on Donald Trump.・The aim is to directly attack Trump.
It’s a message intended to register in political battleground states far beyond Texas, where Harris hopes voters will rally behind her presidential bid in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade’s defeat. I am doing it.
Harris’ rally will also include women who nearly died from sepsis and other pregnancy complications due to lack of proper medical care, including those who had no intention of terminating their pregnancies. It will be done.
Some of them are already joining Harris’ campaign, trying to show that the issue has grown into something much bigger than the right to end unwanted pregnancies. Others tell harrowing stories in campaign ads.
Since Texas restricted abortion, the state’s infant mortality rate has increased, with more infants dying from birth defects and maternal mortality rates rising.
As the presidential election continues to heat up, Democratic candidates are making major advances among voters (including Republican women), especially since President Trump appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn constitutional rights. It relies on the right to abortion as a source of strength. He has been inconsistent about how he would tackle the issue if voters return him to the White House.
Harris’ campaign has adopted Beyoncé’s 2016 song “Freedom” as its national anthem, and its message is consistent with the vice president’s emphasis on reproductive freedom. The singer’s scheduled appearance on Friday adds a high level of star power to Harris’ visit to the state. She becomes the latest celebrity to appear with or on behalf of Harris, including Lizzo, James Taylor, Spike Lee, Tyler Perry, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Eminem. While in Texas, Harris will record a podcast with host Brené Brown.
President Trump will also head to Texas on Friday, where he will talk about immigration and record a podcast with host Joe Rogan.
There is some evidence to suggest that abortion rights may encourage women to vote, as they did in the 2022 midterm elections. Voters in seven states, including some conservative states, have upheld abortion rights or blocked attempts to restrict abortion rights in statewide ballots over the past two years.
“Living in Texas, I feel that protecting the health and safety of women is extremely important,” said Austin voter Colette Clark. She said voting for Harris is the best way to prevent further abortion restrictions across the country.
Daniel Kardish, another Austin resident, didn’t know anyone who was personally affected by the restrictions, but he still thinks it’s an important issue in this election.
“I feel strongly about women being physically independent,” he says.
Harris said this week that she thinks the issue is compelling enough to motivate even Republican women, adding: “For many of us, a daughter will have fewer rights than a grandmother.”
“When women’s freedom to make decisions about their bodies is on the ballot, Americans vote for freedom, regardless of the party they are registered to vote in,” Harris said.
Harris is unlikely to win Texas, but that’s not what she’s here for Friday.
President Skye Perryman said, “Of all the states in the nation, Texas has the greatest impact on women, including women who have been denied care, women who have had to leave the state, and mothers who have had to leave the state. It has become the birthplace of many tragic stories.” She is the president of Democracy Forward, a legal group that supports many lawsuits challenging abortion restrictions. “This is one of the main places where this reality has been felt so devastatingly.”
Democrats have warned that the sorting of rights and freedoms will only continue if Trump is elected. Republican lawmakers in states across the country are rejecting Democratic efforts to protect and expand access to contraception, for example.
Democrats are also hoping Harris’ visit will be a boost for U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, who is seeking to unseat Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Allred appears at the meeting with Harris.
When the Roe bill was first overturned, Democrats initially focused on new restrictions on access to abortion to end unwanted pregnancies. However, the same medical procedures used for abortions are also used to treat miscarriages.
And in the 14 states with strict abortion bans, women are increasingly denied access to medical care until their condition becomes life-threatening. In some states, doctors can face criminal charges if they provide medical care.
About 6 in 10 Americans think states should generally allow legal abortion if the pregnancy is unwanted for any reason, according to a July poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. are.
President Trump has been inconsistent in his messages to voters on abortion and reproductive rights. He has repeatedly changed positions and provided vague, contradictory and sometimes nonsensical answers to questions about the issues that have been major weaknesses for Republicans in this year’s election.
Texas epitomizes the post-Raw landscape. Abortion is strictly prohibited, and doctors are prohibited from performing an abortion if heart activity is detected, and the abortion may occur as early as six weeks.
As a result, women, even those who did not intend to terminate their pregnancies, are receiving increasingly poor medical care. That’s partly because doctors can’t intervene unless the woman is facing a life-threatening condition or to prevent “serious impairment of a major bodily function.”
The state has also become a battleground for litigation. The U.S. Supreme Court sided with the state ban just two weeks ago.
Complaints of pregnant women in medical crisis being turned away from emergency rooms in Texas and elsewhere are surging as hospitals consider whether standard care may violate strict state laws banning abortion. are.
Several women in Texas have filed complaints against a hospital for failing to terminate unsafe pregnancies, citing the state’s ban. In some cases, women lost their reproductive organs.
In recent days, Republicans have increasingly sought to shift the blame onto doctors, claiming they are purposely refusing to treat patients in order to weaken the ban and make political points.
Perryman said it was gaslighting.
“Physicians are being put in a position where they have to face potential criminal charges, personal liability, and threats to their license to practice and their ability to care for people. They face an untenable position.” she said.
Long reported from Washington and Lathan from Austin, Texas.
First published: October 25, 2024 at 8:33am
