Doug Emhoff calls out Trump’s ‘extremist crusade’ against abortion in NC visit

The current and potentially future second spouse visited Raleigh as part of the Harris campaign’s Fighting for Reproductive Freedom tour, which aims to highlight the stark contrast between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on reproductive rights.

With the future of reproductive rights in North Carolina on the line in November, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz visited Raleigh, where they held a campaign event to highlight Kamala Harris’ support for reproductive rights, including access to fertility treatments such as In vitro fertilization (IVF).

Speakers highlighted Harris and Walz’s staunch defense of abortion rights and criticized Donald Trump’s role in appointing three anti-abortion justices to the US Supreme Court, all of whom voted in favor of ending Roe v. Wade, and with it, the constitutional right to an abortion.

Emhoff underscored the threat that Trump and his running mate JD Vance — who has said he supports a national abortion ban — pose to women and families when it comes to reproductive rights.

“Donald Trump wants to continue this extremist crusade. That’s what it is,” Emhoff said. “It’s an extremist crusade that so few of us in this country want. This is something that the vast majority of us do not want.”

Monday’s stop in Raleigh was the second leg of the Harris-Walz campaign’s “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom” bus tour in North Carolina, following an event in Asheville on Sunday. The tour will make 50 stops in key swing states to highlight the stark contrast between Harris and former President Donald Trump on reproductive rights.

North Carolina in a post-Roe America

The aftershock of the end of Roe continues to be felt across the country. Last year, the North Carolina General Assembly passed SB 20, which banned abortion at at 12 weeks, with exceptions for rape and incest up to 20 weeks, fetal anomalies up to 24 weeks, and no limitations if the life of the mother is at risk.

Governor Roy Cooper vetoed SB 20, but because the Republicans in the General Assembly have a supermajority in both the House and Senate, they overrode the veto, implementing the 12-week ban.

“I’ll never forget it…when I had 2,000 good friends show up last May to help me veto that Republican abortion ban. We sent a strong signal that day. We need to leave medicine to the doctors and the decisions to the women,” Cooper said on Monday.

In addition to the state’s 12-week ban, new audio leaked over the weekend once again shows  Republican nominee for governor, Mark Robinson, pushing for harsher restrictions.

“Do I want to continue to lower it? You better know it,” Robinson said. “I’d like to get it down to six weeks, and ultimately down to zero weeks. Amen. I’d like to push it back as far as we could and eliminate as many abortions as possible, but we can’t do it all at once.” 

Robinson has previously expressed his desire to ban abortion altogether, without exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. His Democratic opponent, current Attorney General Josh Stein, has pledged to secure abortion rights if elected.

“As your next governor, I will veto any further restrictions on reproductive freedom,” Stein said to thunderous applause in Raleigh.

How the end of Roe threatens IVF access

Latorya Beasley is an Alabama resident who understands the reality of Roe’s fall better than most. She had her first child through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and was attempting to conceive a second child through the procedure when the Alabama Supreme Court earlier this year —  as a consequence of the end of Roe —  ruled that embryos were by definition children, leading to her months-long IVF process being halted.

“Earlier this year, my dreams of growing our family were stopped dead in their tracks when I was sitting in my doctor’s office, one week away from an embryo transfer, when I learned about the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that closed clinics to stop their IVF processes. My doctor told me that despite all of our hard work, the months of preparing for this moment, we couldn’t proceed,” she shared with the crowd.

Eventually, Alabama resumed IVF services after an emergency bill was passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Kay Ivey, but the episode nonetheless underscored the reality of life in post-Roe America. Despite the uncertainty and setback, Beasley shared that she has since been able to conceive a second child.

For Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen, the issue of fertility is a deeply personal one. They tried for years to conceive a child without success.

“We were only able to start our family because we had access to fertility treatments. And even then it was a long journey,” Gwen Walz, the Minnesota First Lady, explained. “That journey was hard. But we kept going and it was worth it. Eventually, we had our daughter, and it’s no accident that we named her Hope.

“Everyone, every single person should have the freedom to build their own family, your own family, as you dream and as you choose,” Walz added. “And this is just as important: you should also have the freedom to decide not to have children at all.”