Latest news with #PlannedParenthoodTexasVotes
CBS News
01-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Former VP Harris supporters feeling hopeful after speech at San Francisco event
There was a roaring round of applause as the former Vice President walked on stage. In a highly anticipated first speech since losing the presidential election, Kamala Harris didn't hold back in attacking the Trump administration. "Americans deserve leaders who make their lives better and make our country stronger," said Harris. "But sadly, we have seen quite the opposite the last few months." Harris spoke with a tone of conviction and firmness. "Instead of an administration working to advance America's highest ideals, we are witnessing the wholesale abandonment of those ideals," she added. She went on to say the first few months of Trump's presidency may seem chaotic, but it's part of a carefully planned agenda. "What they are overlooking, what they have overlooked, is that fear is not the only thing that's contagious. Courage is contagious." "What we are experiencing right now is exactly what they envision for America," Harris said. "We are living in their vision for America, but this is not a vision that Americans want." Harris was the keynote speaker at the Emerge's 20th anniversary in a room mostly filled with women leaders from across the country. The organization helps Democratic women get elected into office across the country. "A lot of people have been feeling down, they've been feeling like what's the future for women," said Aimee Allison with She the People. "Our rights. Our power. Our leadership. Her very presence here is telling us it's not over yet." "The sky is the limit for her," added Shellie Hayes McMahon with Planned Parenthood Texas Votes. "Her voice and her power are not limited by the votes of Americans. She is a thought leader, thought partner and she is also the hope and promise of everything America is supposed to be." Former U.S. Representative Katie Porter was also in the audience. Just last month, she entered the race for California Governor. "People are going want to hear her giving us energy," Porter said. "Encouragement. That we can stand up to Trump and encouragement that California will continue to be successful and we can conquer our challenges." As Harris wrapped up her speech, she urged solidarity and reminded people that Americans have to come together to create change. This country is ours," Harris said. "It doesn't belong to whoever is in the White House. It belongs to you. It belongs to us. It belongs to we the people."
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Women still access abortion in Texas despite stict laws that prohibit them, per SXSW panel
AUSTIN (KXAN) – State and national abortion rights leaders took to a South By Southwest panel Sunday afternoon to discuss ways women continue to access abortions in Texas despite the state having some of the strictest laws in the country. Among the women on the panel was former Texas State Senator Wendy Davis, now a senior adviser to Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, who said pregnancy can be a dangerous condition when women do not have access to life-saving abortion care. 'We've seen that time and time again since the abortion bans have been in place in Texas,' she told KXAN. 'We know that sepsis rates have increased by 50% in our state and that our maternal mortality rates and our infant mortality rates are skyrocketing.' Even though laws that prohibit nearly all abortions have been on the books in Texas since 2022, thousands of Texans are still able to terminate pregnancies each year. 'The panel today is talking about how, in the face of abortion bans in Texas and elsewhere, people are still able to access care,' Davis said. 'People are leaving the state to get the care that they need in states that do provide it,' she said. '[Others] are able to avail themselves of telehealth medicine and get a prescription for abortion medication if they're in the weeks prior to their 13th week of pregnancy.' #WeCount, a project from the Society of Family Planning, reported that around 2,800 Texas women monthly in the first six months of 2024 acquired abortion medications, like Mifepristone, through telehealth medicine. 'Of course, there's a lawsuit that is trying to do away with abortion medication altogether,' Davis said. In January, a Texas judge ruled that three states could move ahead with another attempt to roll back federal rules and make it more challenging for people to access mifepristone in the U.S. Additionally, one bill filed in the Texas House of Representatives aims to add criminal and civil penalties for providing abortion-inducing drugs in Texas. Despite these efforts, Davis said she believes a majority support more access to abortion procedures than is allowed currently in Texas. She encouraged SXSW attendees Sunday to make their voices heard at election time. 'The only way we can change policies is to change policymakers. It's that simple,' she said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
