Women Impacted by Abortion Bans Share Gut-Wrenching Stories at DNC
The Democratic National Convention is a celebration of Vice President Kamala Harris as the 2024 Democratic nominee, and while there has been plenty of adulation for the Harris-Walz campaign, the first night of the DNC was also an emotional reminder of what’s at stake in November.
On Monday, amid speeches from celebrities and some of the biggest names in Democratic politics, four everyday Americans took the stage to speak about how the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade — and the slew of state-level abortion restrictions implemented in its aftermath — have impacted their lives.
Perhaps the most gut-wrenching testimony of the night came from Hadley Duvall, a young woman from Kentucky who at age 12 became pregnant and miscarried after being sexually assaulted by her stepfather. Duvall, now 21, shared her story for the first time on Facebook in 2022 following the demise of Roe.
“At age 12 I took my first pregnancy test, and it was positive,” Duvall told the DNC audience. “That was the first time I was ever told ‘you have options.’ I can’t imagine not having a choice but today, that’s the reality for many women and girls across the country because of Trump’s abortion bans.”
“He calls it a beautiful thing,” Duvall said of Trump’s bragging of his role in overturning Roe. “What is so beautiful about a child having to carry her parent’s child?”
Vice President Harris will “fight for every woman in every girl, even those who are not fighting for her now,” Duvall added.
Following her testimony, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who featured Duvall’s story in a 2023 ad, called her “one of the bravest people I’ve ever met.”
“I’m amazed at the courage it takes to share her pain, and to share her truth,” he said.
Beshear used Duvall’s testimony as a jumping point to discuss the continued threat Republicans represent to women’s reproductive freedom.
“Trump and Vance simply don’t believe in your freedom,” he said. “Trump says people are absolutely thrilled that women had their basic rights eliminated. J.D. Vance says women should stay in violent marriages, and that pregnancies resulting from rapes are ‘simply inconvenient.”
“Their policies give rapists more rights than their victims. That’s not inconvenient, it’s just plain wrong,” Beshear added. “All women should have the freedom to make their own decisions, freedom over their own bodies, freedom about whether to pursue IVF, freedom about whether to have children at all. How we treat people transcends party lines, it goes right to the heart of who we are.”
Alongside Duvall, Kaitlyn Joshua, a Louisiana woman, recalled beginning to miscarry early in her second pregnancy, and being denied care by multiple hospitals. “Two emergency rooms sent me away,” Joshua recounted. “Because of Louisiana’s abortion ban, no one would confirm that I was miscarrying. I was in pain, bleeding so much my husband feared for my life.”
Amanda and Josh Zurawski spoke, as well, detailing the loss of their daughter Willow, a much-desired child who they were told “with 100% certainty” would not be viable at birth.
The Zurawskis lived in Texas — a state that banned abortion unless the life of the mother was at risk, and implemented a “bounty” law against doctors who provided abortion care. “We waited until Amanda was sick enough to receive standard abortion care,” Josh told the audience. “Eventually, Amanda’s temperature spiked she was shaking disoriented, and crashing. I, don’t remember what I threw into our [hospital] bag that day. Only that instead of welcoming Willow, I was hoping Amanda’s life could be saved.”
Amanda Zurwaski would go on to sue Texas over its restrictions on abortion care as part of a coalition of women whose lives had been put at risk after being denied care for their nonviable pregnancies. The case was struck down by the state Supreme Court in May, and abortion in Texas remains illegal with vague exceptions for the life of the mother.
“I was lucky. I lived,” Amanda said. “Today because of Donald Trump more than one in three women of reproductive age in America lives under an abortion ban. A second trump term would rip away even more of our rights.”
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