Kamala Karris likes to perform at “happy fighter”From state to state, on the roads of the presidential campaign, he speaks to an often large and enthusiastic audience. But on Friday, September 20, his quick passage north of Atlanta, in Cobb County, was marked with particular gravity. Even his favorite song, Freedom Beyoncé’s speech was not broadcast. The Democratic candidate gave a personal and scathing speech on abortion, a cause that has become the guiding thread of her vice presidency since June 2022 and the Supreme Court decision that suppressed this federal right.
In front of about 300 people gathered in a performance hall, Kamala Harris denounced the “dark and immoral laws” adopted in twenty American states, prohibiting or severely restricting the practice of abortion. “It is a health crisis and Donald Trump is the architect of this crisis”she said.
For the Democratic candidate, abortion is a key issue for mobilizing women and young people, whose vote could be decisive in crucial states such as Georgia, where the polls are within the margin of error.
But it is also the issue that Kamala Harris speaks about with the greatest intensity and vigor. Her political ability consists in not allowing herself to be confined to a classic left-wing discourse, called “pro-choice,” but in approaching this issue from a broader angle: that of threatened rights – also speaking about in vitro fertilization and contraception – and that of equal access to care.
For example, 19-year-old Zaina Malembo has come to embrace this struggle. The daughter of Pentecostal pastors, she is a member of the Young Democrats at Georgia State University, where she studies public policy. “For me, abortion is a sensitive issue, because I believe in Jesus Christ and in the gift we have received, that of giving life. An abortion is a bit like inviting death into you. But I read, I learned about reproductive justice, how it came about, says Zaina Malembo, who dreams of one day becoming a member of parliament or a senator. It’s a matter of health. It’s about ensuring that every woman gets what she needs to be able to get through pregnancy and its after-effects in the best possible way. »
The “avoidable” death of Amber Nicole Thurman
In a state like Georgia, where the maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the country, this approach targets all women, particularly the most disadvantaged and African-American women. During her speech, Kamala Harris turned her back on two platforms made up entirely of women. Among the audience in front of her, men were very rare. “And these hypocrites want to start talking about ‘what is best for women and children’, the candidate said about the Republicans. Tell me, where were you? Where were you when it came to caring for American women and children? Where were you? How dare you? » Kamala Harris’s emotion and the roar in the room were all the more heartfelt because this cause, in Georgia, has a face: that of a deceased person, Amber Nicole Thurman.
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