Kamala Harris on Trump’s Plan to Ban Abortion: ‘They Are Out of Their Minds’

CHICAGO — Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday night, becoming the first-ever Black and Asian American woman presidential nominee.

Abortion was a prominent topic at the convention, with women sharing their stories and speakers outlining what a Trump-Vance administration might do to further restrict access. Harris correctly placed the blame for the pregnancy and abortion horror stories on Donald Trump.

“Donald Trump hand-picked members of the United States Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom, and now he brags about it,” she said.

Harris said she’s traveled the country since the Dobbs ruling and heard stories from women and their partners about pregnant people miscarrying in parking lots, developing sepsis, and sometimes losing the ability to have kids because doctors fear they could face jail time for treating them.

“This is what’s happening in our country because of Donald Trump,” Harris continued. “And understand, he is not done. As a part of his agenda, he and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion, and enact a nationwide abortion ban—with or without Congress.” (That last part is a reference to Project 2025, which outlines a plan to have the Trump administration enforce a law from 1873 called the Comstock Act. The zombie law bans sending abortion-inducing drugs and devices in the mail, and could result in a federal ban.)

“And get this: He plans to create a national anti-abortion coordinator and force states to report on women’s miscarriages and abortions,” Harris said. “Simply put, they are out of their minds.” (The coordinator is proposed on page 489 of Project 2025, while the state data collection is on page 455.) “One must ask: why exactly is it that they don’t trust women? Well, we trust women.”

Watch the three-minute abortion section here:

Harris: "Donald Trump hand-picked members of SCOTUS to take away reproductive freedom, and now he brags about it … simply put, they are out of their minds. And one must ask: Why exactly is it that they don't trust women? Well we trust women." pic.twitter.com/YubawoFvLO

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 23, 2024

Harris received a very warm reception from the audience overall, including during her abortion comments. Of course, the cheers in the arena were a stark contrast with the heartbroken anti-war advocates outside. On Wednesday night, protestors from the Uncommitted Movement staged a sit-in after the group’s negotiations with the DNC to have a Palestinian-American speaker fell apart. The activists continued their protest on Thursday.

The @uncommittedmvmt sit-in outside the DNC is still ongoing as of 6pm Thursday, the final night of the convention. Rep @GregCasar spoke to the delegates—whose request to have a Palestinian-American address the convention was denied—and said he supported their efforts. pic.twitter.com/H4AAjxBSHI

— Susan Rinkunas (@SusanRinkunas) August 22, 2024

Harris needs the support of people who voted uncommitted in the primaries in order to defeat Trump and prevent these abortion plans from becoming reality.

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