(NewsNation) — As the 2024 Democratic Convention kicked off in Chicago, a familiar policy point made its way into Monday’s night’s programming: Reproductive freedom.
NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas, Chris Cuomo, Chris Stirewalt and correspondent-at-large Geraldo Rivera noted bodily autonomy as a frequent talking point among DNC speakers.
Vargas said Democrats and independents alike are flocking to Vice President Kamala Harris because of her reproductive rights rhetoric; Stirewalt called it an issue with “some power to persuade, enormous power to motivate.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and former Sen. Hillary Clinton were just some of the headliners emphasizing reproductive freedom during the kickoff of the four-day event.
Beshear criticized former President Donald Trump for bragging about the overturning of Roe v. Wade, telling the crowd: “That’s why we must tear away any chance he could ever be president ever again.”
In discussion, Cuomo called reproductive rights a “grievance issue” for the Democrats, which Vargas disagreed with.
“I don’t think women in this country look at it as a grievance issue. I think women in this country look at this as you are taking something from me that is fundamental to my ability to say what happens to my own body,” she countered, explaining that the word grievance semantically dismisses the gravity of the issue.
“It’s a much more fundamental issue, I think, of outrage — deep, deep violation that I think is driving many women to polls,” she added. “And men, because this is about reproductive freedom.”
Three other speakers — Amanda Zurawski, Kaitlyn Joshua and Hadley Duvall — shared their experiences with abortion access and medical care Monday, blaming Trump for the current landscape.
“Because of Donald Trump, more than one in three women of reproductive age in America lives under an abortion ban,” Zurawski said. “A second Trump term would rip away even more of our rights.”
“No woman should experience what I endured, but too many have … our daughters deserve better. America deserves better,” Joshua added.