Harris Planning Major Speech In Texas On Abortion Rights To Coincide With New Ad

WASHINGTON ― Vice President Kamala Harris hopes to use abortion rights and former President Donald Trump’s boasts of having ushered in bans in states across the country to sway undecided voters to her side with a major speech in Texas Friday night coinciding with a new ad.

Texas was chosen because, according to her campaign, it has among the most extreme abortion bans in the country. She is to be joined at the speech by women who have become the public faces in both the national debate on the issue as well as Harris’ campaign.

Among them: Shanette Williams, the mother of Amber Nicole Thurman, who died in Georgia because of doctors’ fears of violating that state’s six-week ban; Yesenia Gamez, who has appeared in an ad about in vitro fertilization; and Amanda and Josh Zurawski, a couple who spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago about the Texas ban and their lawsuit against it.

The campaign is also releasing a new ad specifically on abortion rights that uses Trump’s own words ― “I did it” ― about his success at overturning Roe v. Wade, thereby ending a federal right to an abortion. The ad will be targeted specifically at women on both broadcast and cable programs like the “Kelly Clarkson Show,” and networks such as Hallmark, Bravo and HGTV.

Pop star Beyoncé is reportedly joining Harris at her Friday night event. Her song “Freedom” has been Harris’ campaign anthem since she moved to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed Harris in his place.

Texas is not considered to be in play in this election, with the coup-attempting former president appearing to hold a comfortable lead in the polls.