Musical artists Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland joined Vice President Kamala Harris for a rally Friday in Houston, Texas, where they focused on the state’s stringent abortion laws and blamed former President Donald Trump for it.
Beyoncé and Ms. Rowland, part of the famous singing trio Destiny’s Child, called for Texans to vote for Ms. Harris for president.
“We are so happy to be standing here on this stage as proud country Texas women supporting and celebrating the one and only Vice President, Kamala Harris, a woman who’s been pushing for what this country really needs right now,” Beyoncé said.
“I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother, a mother who cares deeply about the world. My children and all of our children live in a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies.”
Ms. Rowland said, “We are grabbing back the pen. That pen forges a new path with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. We are grabbing back the pen to write a new American story, a story of community, of equality, strength, of kindness and of hope.”
She continued, “When I was a little girl and I pledged allegiance to the United States of America, that meant something to me. That flag meant something to me, and today that means grabbing that pen and casting my vote, as I already did two days ago, for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.”
The two women introduced Ms. Harris to the stage in front of a roaring crowd.
Ms. Harris warned that abortion will also be made illegal in states that have passed laws protecting access to it. Although Mr. Trump promised to veto a national abortion ban if Congress sent him such a bill, Ms. Harris said Mr. Trump would outlaw the procedure.
She has made abortion rights a top issue of her campaign, seeking to expand her edge with women voters.
Ms. Harris said Texans were at “ground zero in the fight for reproductive freedom.”
“We understand that what we must do,” she said. “We must organize. We must mobilize. We must energize the people.”
Ms. Harris, standing in front of a giant screen that flashed the phrases “trust women” and “vote for reproductive freedom,” told her crowd of supporters 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.”
She said that, though they were in Texas on Friday night, the threat extended across America.
“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, please know: no one is protected because a Donald Trump national ban will outlaw abortion in every single state,” she said.
The rally included women who said their lives were put at risk because of the state’s new abortion law. Among those featured at the rally was a Texas woman who shared her story in a Harris campaign ad earlier this month.
In the ad, the woman, Ondrea Cummings, has 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. Doctors said her daughter would not survive.
Ms. Cummings, in her remarks on stage, blamed Mr. Trump for her plight.
“Texas abortion bans unleashed by Donald Trump almost cost me my life and have left me with physical and emotional scars,” she said. “I’m here to advocate for the women who are unable to share their truth, for the many black and brown women whose pain is often dismissed and disregarded.”
Texas bans abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually about six weeks into pregnancy. The abortion law includes a private right of action, enabling citizens to enforce the law through civil lawsuits.
Texas also passed the Human Life Protection Act, a law that prohibits abortions from conception except if the mother faces a life-threatening physical circumstance.
The medical provider must provide the best chance for the fetus to survive unless it would present an even greater risk to the patient.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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