AUSTIN, Texas — Vice President Kamala Harris visited Austin Saturday with a call for Texas Democrats to turn out to the polls next month.
Harris arrived in Austin, where she was greeted by Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin), Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport before going to the Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Presidential Library to discuss reproductive rights.
After the Dobbs decision in June, Texas banned nearly all abortions – even in cases of rape or incest. The only exception to the ban is if a pregnant patient's life is in danger.
There are legal questions and pending lawsuits in the wake of the near-total ban. Some abortion funds have been put on hold, stopping pregnant patients from being able to receive abortion health care in other states.
Austin's State Rep. Donna Howard, chair of the Texas House Womens Health Caucus, set the stage for the crowd in attendance at the LBJ Presidential Library.
"Now under the total abortion ban, we are struggling to ensure Texans have the support they need to access abortion in other parts of our country," Howard said. "This is especially critical as Texans have one of the highest rates of maternal mortality, with three times the number of deaths among Black mothers."
A crowd of nearly 200 people – including college students, reproductive health advocates, President LBJ's daughter and local leaders – listened as Vice President Harris described the global impact of the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. While the event was not political, Harris said it will take political action by the people to change the policy.
"We are now in a situation where people around the world and, my greatest fear, among them autocrats, will look at their population and say, 'You want to talk about this being the standard? This is where we should go? Well, this is what the United States just did. That great democracy,'" Harris said.
That same message was echoed at Harris' next stop at the Texas Democratic Party Johnson-Jordan Reception, an annual fundraiser for the political party and the most successful fundraiser according to some leaders, with the vice president's appearance.
"And where do we think this is heading? Well, Justice Clarence Thomas said the quiet part out loud. Contraception is on the line. Marriage equality is on the line. With Republican party leaders in charge, health care is on the line. Social security is also on the line," Harris said.
Harris touted the party's win with the Inflation Reduction Act under President Joe Biden but also issued a warning that came with harsh criticism of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Her message to Texas voters was to back the man she once ran against on the campaign trial, in reference to Beto O'Rourke.
After her two appearances in Austin, Harris headed back on Air Force 2 to Washington, D.C., without taking questions from reporters. Harris left the Texas Democrats with the call to vote in the coming election in one month.
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