Kamala Harris’ Abortion Speech Broke New Ground
The vice president talked about abortion as a normal part of life
In a speech channeling the anger of millions of American women, Vice President Kamala Harris laid into Republicans and Donald Trump today, blaming them for our post-Roe nightmare and the deaths of two Georgia women. Blasting what she called “arcane and immoral laws,” Harris called the November election not just a fight for the future of the country, but “a fight for freedom.”
But this wasn’t just any old campaign speech about abortion. Her remarks came on the heels of an event with Oprah, where Amber Nicole Thurman’s family spoke about her life and death, begging Americans to not see her a statistic. Harris speech today seemed determined to keep that promise—shining a light on who Thurman was, and why her life mattered so much.
More than that, Harris said something in her remarks that no one running for president ever has: She spoke about abortion as a normal part of a person’s life. Not a tragedy or an impossible choice, but a decision a young woman made in service of the life she wanted for herself.
“She was excited, she was working hard. She was a medical assistant. She was going to nursing school, raising her 6 year-old son. She was really proud that she had finally worked so hard that she gained the independence…that she was able to get an apartment in a gated community with a pool for her son to play in. She was so proud, and she was headed to nursing school. And her name, and we will speak her name: Amber Nicole Thurman. Amber Nicole Thurman. And she had her future all planned out. And it was her plan. You know, pause on that for a moment. She had her plan. What she wanted to do. For her son, for herself, for her future. And so when she discovered she was pregnant, she decided she wanted to have an abortion.”
This may seem like a small thing, but it’s actually quite remarkable. Too often, the abortion stories that politicians feel comfortable sharing are those that were medical necessities or the result of a tragic diagnosis. But here, Harris spoke plainly about the most common kind of abortion—one that’s done simply because a woman doesn’t want to be pregnant anymore. Because it doesn’t fit in with what she wants, or has planned for her life.
That kind of abortion is as moral and important as any other, and Harris spoke about it as such. There’s no overstating how important that is. In a moment when anti-abortion activists and legislators are creating a hierarchy of good and bad abortions, good and bad women—those deserving of care, and those who aren’t—Harris threw that standard out the window.
By refusing to play into Republicans’ noxious dichotomy—speaking with disdain about Trump and his insistence that he believes in ‘exceptions’ for women’s lives—Harris reminded Americans of something obvious that misogyny has long shrouded: The punishment for wanting to set your own course in life should not be death.
In response to Harris’ speech, Trump’s campaign insisted that the disgraced former president has “has always supported exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother.” That kind of statement has always rung hollow, but even more so today. Because Trump thinks women will accept the bare minimum—a government that allows us, maybe just maybe, to live. But as Kamala Harris’ speech made clear, we’re not willing to be ‘exceptions.’ Not anymore.
Like all of us, Amber Nicole Thurman had a plan and a life that she wanted for herself. But Georgia’s law stole both.
Amber Nicole Thurman is so not a statistic. She lives as we speak her name, reminding us that she was a rising star, a devoted mother who wanted the best for her son, had plans for a beautiful life for both of them, and would’ve made a great nurse. I am an RN. I know stardom when I see it. She sparkled. We need people like her!
Let’s take the lessons she has for us, speaking through Kamala. She mattered. She was a fully autonomous human being who made the decisions for herself, as one should do.
Let’s be determined. Let’s speak her name, use our voice, vote, use our power.
For Amber, and for the others out there who should not accept second class citizenship. Let’s stand with them, to elect someone who will act on their behalf to get rid of the vile laws that will engulf all of us if we don’t stop them with a resounding “HELL NO you don’t decide what I do with my body! I do! “, the vile laws that render decisions far removed from reality and leave women broken, sick, and dead.
No, we will not shut up. Not until the day where there are no preventable deaths and where the sidestepping from standards of care is not at risk to become normalized as we see today.
Reposting a comment I made on yesterday's blog; Jessica is spot on with her powerful observation:
"The punishment for wanting to set your own course in life should not be death."
The Guardian points out this essential: Thurman was murdered because the law is written to punish women if they take any agency in their reproductive health.
"But Georgia’s abortion ban outlawed the D&C procedure, making it a felony to perform except in cases of managing a 'spontaneous' or 'naturally occurring' miscarriage. Because Thurman had taken abortion pills, her miscarriage was illegal to treat. She suffered in a hospital bed for 20 hours, developing sepsis and beginning to experience organ failure. By the time the Georgia doctors were finally willing to treat her, it was too late."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/19/georgia-abortion-ban