'Bodily autonomy is on the ballot:' VA Democrats focus on abortion ahead of 2024 election

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA – Bodily autonomy is on the ballot this November, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan said Wednesday, addressing a couple dozen women in Connie McGowan’s House of Photography at Stoney Point Fashion Park.

“One out of three woman in this country live in a state that has an abortion ban or extreme restrictions,” McClellan, D-Richmond, who led Wednesday’s discussion, said.

Women in the audience shared stories of their experiences with reproductive health care and what the lack of access could mean for them, their children and grandchildren. They discussed what could happen to access to reproductive health care in Virginia and across the country, should Democrats lose the General Election. They listened to McClellan and panelists – Tara Gibson, executive director of Roe Your Vote Virginia and Emily Moore – as they shared their own experiences with reproductive health care.

McClellan, a surrogate for Vice President Kamala Harris, led the town hall as a part of the Harris for President campaign’s Fight for Reproductive Freedom Week of Action. The Richmond event was one of about 16 other round tables, press conferences and rallies that took place in battleground states over the course of the week.

After 2016, Democrats are taking nothing for granted

In a press gaggle after the town hall, McClellan said the 2024 election, with Harris at the top of the ticket against former President Donald Trump, will be different than the 2016 election, when Trump won against former Sec. Hillary Clinton. That election, McClellan said, was a wakeup call.

“A lot of people did not believe that President Trump would kill Roe v. Wade and that’s exactly what happened,” she said. Democrats this year aren’t taking anything for granted, she added.

“People understand what the stakes are,” she said.

Priscilla Pride, North Chesterfield County resident, who attended Wednesday’s event, said she believes the outcome of this year’s election will be different, compared to 2016.

“The reason that it’s different is because of Donald Trump,” she said. “We know that he is not going to be a good president for this country.”

Abortion a top issue, Republicans respond

Mary Reichert, a Henrico resident and attendee of the Harris event, said that access to abortion is one of the biggest issues for her as she prepares to cast her ballot in the November election.

“Reproductive rights, it’s really about our freedom, because if they’re coming for that then they’re coming for other things too,” she said. “I have grandchildren now and I want a better country for them.”

And with Harris at the top of the ticket, she said the Democratic electorate is more energized and more hopeful than it had been.

At McLean’s Restaurant, about six miles away and hours before the Harris campaign event in Richmond, the Chair of the Republican National Convention, Michael Whatley, met with other conservatives to campaign for Trump. Whatley said he believes the 2024 election will come down to “strength versus weakness,” and “success versus failure.”

“Trump has said very clearly that this needs to be a state issue,” Whatley told reporters. Overturning Roe v. Wade and turning it back to the states was a core issue for Trump, Whatley said.

The RNC chair said issues like inflation, the economy and immigration haven’t changed in the 2024 race even if the top of the Democratic ticket has, and for that reason, he believes Virginia is still in play even after President Joe Biden bowed out of the race and cleared the field for Harris.

“We’re very excited about what we see in Virginia. This is a battleground state,” Whatley said.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: 'Bodily autonomy is on the ballot:' VA Democrats focus on abortion ahead of 2024 election