Harris, party faithful focus on reproductive rights as election-winning formula

CHICAGO — Mini Timmaraju, the president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, told attendees at the Democratic National Convention that “when abortion is on the ballot, we win.”

She then listed off states where voters have recently supported ballot questions supporting reproductive rights — California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont, she said.

“Voters send a message,” she bellowed. “You come for our rights, we’ll come roaring back.”

Video shown to the United Center crowd between speeches Wednesday featured clips from rallies with Vice President Kamala Harris chastising Republicans for their attempts to roll back abortion protections.

One clip that earned many convention attendees’ cheers featured an exchange between Harris and then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing in 2018.

“Can you think of any laws that give the government power to make decisions about the male body?” Harris asked as Kavanaugh struggled to respond.

Electing Harris — who Thursday officially accepted the Democratic nominee for president — in November would protect that access, Nevada U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said. Another Donald Trump presidency would destroy it.

“I don’t care whether you’re the Democrat or Republican, nonpartisan, or man or woman, this is the issue amongst many for Nevada,” Cortez Masto told the Sun.

Cortez Masto’s relationship with Harris started in the early 2010s when both were state attorneys general — Cortez Masto in Nevada; Harris in California. They later became members of the U.S. Senate.

They have a history of working together to expand reproductive rights, co-sponsoring legislation in 2019 that would have removed financial barriers to health care for low-income Americans. The Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Woman Act, which didn’t make it out of committee, called for abortion coverage through public health insurance programs, including Medicaid, Medicare and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Nevada, along with eight other states, will have ballot measures in November that could enshrine abortion as a constitutional right in their states. Nevada already has a voter-affirmed statute that guarantees a woman’s right to an abortion up to 24 weeks.

If the Nevada ballot measures passes in November, the amendment would then again appear on the 2026 general election ballot for final passage.

Reproductive care — and the potential dangers when care is not available — has been one of the focal points of the convention, including Monday evening when three women detailed their intimate experiences with reproductive healthcare.

Hadley Duvall of Kentucky recounted taking a positive pregnancy test at just 12 years old after being sexually assaulted by her stepfather.

“I can’t imagine not having a choice, but today, that is the reality for so many women and girls across the country because of Donald Trump’s abortion bans,” Duvall said.

Democrats have been hammering at their conservative opponents for their anti-abortion sentiments since the Supreme Court’s overturning in 2022 of the landmark Roe v. Wade case.

While Trump says he wouldn’t sign a federal abortion ban should he return to the White House, Democrats at the convention say that’s just posturing in the face of a tight November race.

They point to a 2023 bill sponsored by 179 Republicans in the House of Representatives prohibiting the use of federal funds for abortions or for health care coverage that would include abortions. No action has been taken on the proposal, H.R. 7.

“There’s no doubt in my mind, if (Donald Trump) were elected and presented with a federal abortion ban — which, by the way, is already drafted by my colleagues on the far right and ready to move — he would sign it,” Cortez Masto told the Sun.

The theme of Wednesday night seemed fitting, “A fight for our freedoms” focusing on abortion access.

Most states with Republican-controlled legislatures have passed abortion restrictions since the Supreme Court ruling — 14 ban abortion at every stage of pregnancy. It’s vastly different in states with a Democratic majority in the statehouse.

“Voters who support reproductive freedom, we aren’t the minority. We are the majority,” Timmaraju said. “... It is simple, do we want a president who said women should be punished for having abortions, or a president who trusts women?”