Vice President Kamala Harris will warn voters Friday that if former President Donald Trump is elected in November, abortion will be outlawed even in states that have adopted laws protecting access to it.
Ms. Harris will raise the alarm despite Mr. Trump’s pledge to veto a national abortion ban if Congress sends him such a bill.
Ms. Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, will sound her abortion battle cry at a campaign rally in Houston alongside pop megastar Beyonce.
“And though we are in Texas tonight, for anyone watching from another state, if you think you are protected from Trump abortion bans because you live in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New York, California or any state where voters or legislators have protected reproductive freedom,” she will say, according to prepared remarks released by her campaign.
“Please know: No one is protected because a Donald Trump national ban will outlaw abortion in every single state,” she will say.
Ms. Harris will tell the crowd that freedom is “not to be given” because “it is ours, by right” and that includes the “fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body without the government telling her what to do.”
The Harris campaign said it plans to feature powerful stories from several women whose lives have been put at risk because of an abortion ban in their state. Among those featured will be a Texas woman who shared her story in a Harris campaign ad earlier this month.
In the ad, the woman, identified only as Ondrea, shows off scars and wounds she says she incurred after undergoing a six-hour emergency surgery to save her life after she was denied the necessary medical care — an abortion — when her water broke at 16 weeks, and doctors said her daughter would not survive.
Ms. Harris will also reiterate her pledge to codify Roe v. Wade if elected in November. However, she will be unlikely to keep that promise if she wins the White House and Democrats do not have a clear majority in the House and Senate, and Senate Democrats blow up the filibuster rule.
Abortion remains the top issue of Ms. Harris’ campaign. She has been hammering the issue even before she replaced President Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Democrats see abortion access as a winning message after being able to fend off a predicted “red wave” during the 2022 midterms, in part because of women angry over the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The rally will also feature Democratic U.S. Senate Colin Allred, who is in a closer-than-expected race against Republican incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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