WASHINGTON (AP) — A new series of Kamala Harris campaign ads seek to highlight increasingly perilous medical care for women since the fall of Roe v. Wade by telling the story of a Texas woman who got a life-threatening infection when she couldn't get proper treatment after she miscarried and how she may no longer be able to have children.
In one ad, the woman identified only as Ondrea details how excited she was to have a girl only to find out that the baby wouldn't survive after her water broke too early. She was denied an abortion and eventually went into labor. “Immediately after her birth, I was in the worst pain of my life,” she says, as she and her husband are pictured in her living room near a framed photo of the baby's ultrasound. She then developed sepsis, a life-threatening pregnancy complication.
The ad is part of a final push by the Democratic nominee to highlight how medical care has grown increasingly unstable for pregnant woman — including for those who never intended to end a pregnancy — since three justices appointed to the Supreme Court by then-President Donald Trump helped overturned abortion rights.
Ondrea blames Trump for her situation.
“It almost cost me my life, and it will affect me for the rest of my life," she says in the ad.
In another ad targeted at men, Ondrea's husband Cesar says: "Baby crying at night? Like, I would love to to hear that every night. And now we may never ever get to be pregnant again.”
“There are rights and freedoms that we had for generations and they just got ripped away.”
Harris will campaign on reproductive health care Friday in Texas, a reliably Republican state that has one of the strictest bans in the nation and where women have repeatedly sued or spoken out about dangerously lacking medical care.
When Roe was first overturned, Democrats initially focused on limitations on access to abortion to end unwanted pregnancies. But the same medical procedures used for abortions are used to treat miscarriages. And increasingly in 14 states with strict abortion bans, women cannot get medical care until their condition has become life-threatening. In some states, doctors can face criminal charges if they provide medical care.
Democrats warn that the winnowing of rights will only continue if Trump is elected. Republican lawmakers in states across the U.S. have been rejecting Democrats ’ efforts to protect or expand access to birth control, for example.
Harris repeated her criticisms of Trump at a CNN town hall event in the Philadelphia suburbs on Wednesday, and she said that even people who consider themselves “pro-life” believe abortion restrictions have gone too far.
The vice president emphasized her desire to codify Roe v. Wade into law, which would likely be impossible without full Democratic control of Congress.
“I think we need to take a look at the filibuster, to be honest with you," she said.
Democrats are hoping the issue will motivate people to turn out in the dead-heat presidential election and help send Harris to the White House.
About 6 in 10 Americans think their state should generally allow a person to obtain a legal abortion if they don’t want to be pregnant for any reason, according to a July poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Voters in seven states, including some conservative ones, have either protected abortion rights or defeated attempts to restrict them in statewide votes over the past two years.
Trump has been inconsistent in his message to voters on abortion and reproductive rights, constantly shifting his stances or offering vague, contradictory and at times nonsensical answers to questions on an issue that has become a major vulnerability for Republicans in this year’s election.
In another ad that will air on CNN before Harris' TV town hall Wednesday night, Ondrea stands in front her bathroom mirror staring at the massive scar on her abdomen. There are photos of her in a hospital bed, her belly cut open as captions tell viewers her story. She got pregnant in 2022 but miscarried at 16 weeks when her water broke.
Ondrea is Black. Black women are more likely to suffer pre-term labor, other pregnancy complications and are also far more likely to die in childbirth in the U.S., where maternal mortality rates are increasing.
The audio, includes spliced clips of Trump talking about abortion.
“First of all, I am the one that got rid of Roe v. Wade,” Trump says.
A moment later, another interviewer asks: “Do you believe in punishment for abortion?”
“There has to be some punishment,” Trump responds.
As the viewer reads how Ondrea may no longer be able to have children after her ordeal, they hear Trump’s voice saying: “Women will be happy, confident, and free. You will no longer be thinking about abortion."
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a CNN town hall in Aston, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
ASTON, Pa. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris plans to lay out her campaign's closing argument by returning to the site near the White House where Donald Trump helped incite a mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol in January 2021 — hoping it will crystalize for voters the fight between defending democracy and sowing political chaos.
Her campaign says Harris will give a speech at the Ellipse on Tuesday — one week before Election Day — and will urge the nation to “turn the page” toward a new era and away from Trump.
The site is symbolic, since it's where Trump delivered a speech on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress was convening to certify Joe Biden's victory in the election that past November. In it, Trump lied repeatedly about widespread voter fraud that had not occurred and urged supporters to fight. Hundreds then stormed the Capitol in a deadly riot.
Word of the speech came from a senior Harris campaign official who insisted on anonymity to discuss an address that is still in development. The Harris campaign is betting that her speaking at the Ellipse can provide an opportunity for the vice president to stress that the country no longer wants to be defined by a political combativeness that Trump seems to relish.
Trump has promised to pardon those jailed for their role in the Capitol attack should he reclaim the presidency during the election Nov. 5.
Her team announced the coming Ellipse addressed before Harris attended a CNN town hall in suburban Philadelphia on Wednesday night, where she took questions from an audience of undecided voters as part of what was once envisioned as a debate with Trump. Harris had said she would participate in a CNN debate but the two sides never worked out a formal agreement. CNN said it also invited Trump to a town hall. but that it didn’t happen.
Harris told the audience that the Jan. 6 attack saw a “president of the United States defying the will of the people in a free and fair election and unleashing a violent mob who attacked the United States Capitol.”
The first audience question was from a self-described “anti-Trump Republican” who was concerned about the Jan. 6 attack.
“I believe the American people deserve better, and they deserve a president who is focused on solutions, not sitting in the Oval Office plotting every day,” Harris said.
She also said Trump is “increasingly unstable and unfit to serve.” Asked directly if she thought her opponent was a fascist, Harris responded, "Yes, I do."
Harris was asked how her presidency would be different from Biden’s given that she’s been a part of his administration for nearly four years — a question she's answered in recent weeks without naming major contrasts. This time, Harris seemed better prepared to talk about how things would be different, saying, “My administration will not be a continuation of the Biden administration” and saying she represented a “new generation of leadership on a number of issues.”
“I’m pointing out things that haven’t been done that need to be done,” the vice president said of Biden’s policies, also noting, “I’m not going to shy away from saying, ‘Hey, these are still problems that we need to fix.’” She pointed specifically to her promises to increase federal grants for small businesses and to expand government funding for home health care to people caring for their elderly parents and children simultaneously.
When it comes to Jan. 6, about 4 in 10 likely voters in a CNN poll from September said the economy was their most important issue when deciding how to vote, and about 2 in 10 said protecting democracy was. That compared to about 1 in 10 who named either immigration or abortion and reproductive rights.
Protecting democracy also seems to be more important to Democrats and Harris supporters. Roughly 4 in 10 voters who back Harris call it their top issue, compared to about 2 in 10 who say that about the economy. For Republicans and Trump supporters, about 6 in 10 name the economy as their top voting issue, followed by immigration. Only 5% of Trump supporters said protecting democracy was their top issue.
Closing arguments are important opportunities for candidates to sum up their campaigns and make a concise case for why voters should back them.
Trump's campaign suggested he'd begin framing his closing argument while addressing a rally last weekend in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Instead, the former president spent more than 10 minutes talking about the genitals of the late, legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, who was born in Latrobe.
The townhall followed Harris greeting campaign volunteers at Philadelphia's Famous 4th Street Deli — a longtime haven for elected officials where the politics is probably more famous than the pastrami. She posed for selfies, and when one man cried, “We’re gonna win,” Harris responded, “We are.”
Later she was more superstitious while addressing the larger crowd, declaring, “Knock wood, God willing, we are going to win.”
Harris eventually signed an order sheet, then grabbed a to-go bag with a pastrami sandwich on rye and a slice of German chocolate cake.
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Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report from Washington.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a CNN town hall in Aston, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, as moderator Anderson Cooper listens. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a CNN town hall in Aston, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris boards Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Erin Schaff//The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to patrons at a campaign stop at Famous 4th Street Delicatessen in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives on Air Force Two in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. Harris was greeted by from left, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker (green), Harris, Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., (black), and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., (blue). (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives on Air Force Two in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, and is greeted by from left, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker (green), Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., (black), and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., (blue). (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris leaves after speaking at the vice president's residence in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris talks to reporters aboard Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Erin Schaff//The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris talks to reporters aboard Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Erin Schaff//The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to patrons at a campaign stop at Famous 4th Street Delicatessen in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris takes a selfie with a patron at a campaign stop at Famous 4th Street Delicatessen in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, with Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, right, speaks to workers and patrons at a campaign stop at Famous 4th Street Delicatessen in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, with Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, right, signs an autograph and speaks to workers and patrons at a campaign stop at Famous 4th Street Delicatessen in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
