“Which side of history do you want to be on?” Former first lady of the United States Michelle Obama delivered a powerful plea for the right to abortion on Saturday. In her speech, delivered on Saturday in the pivotal state of Michigan, she directly challenged men.
• Also read: What was Roe v. Wade, which underpinned the right to abortion in the United States?
• Also read: Economy, immigration, climate, firearms: we summarize the positions of Harris and Trump
At a rally for the Democratic candidate, the former first lady urged voters to protect themselves from the “dangers” of Donald Trump’s re-election to the presidency.
She notably returned to the annulment in 2022 by the Supreme Court of the Roe c. Wade, who guaranteed the right to abortion throughout the United States.
“Do you think Donald Trump is thinking about the consequences for the millions of women who will live in medical deserts?” she asked.
Speaking directly to men, Michelle Obama stressed that women “are more than baby-making machines.”
Michelle Obama and Kamala Harris
MEGA/WENN
She painted a grim portrait of the consequences on women, but also on men, of further restricting access to abortion. According to her, this is what risks happening if Donald Trump returns to the White House.
“Are you, as men, prepared to look the women and girls you love in the eyes and tell them that you support this attack on our security? (…) If we do not win these elections, your wife, your daughter, your mother, us women, will become collateral damage of your rage,” she said.
• Also read: Donald Trump promises women that he will protect them and that they will no longer “think about abortion”
During her speech, she also criticized indifference to Trump’s “erratic behavior”, “obvious mental decline” and history as a “convicted predator of sexual abuse”, while polls show that both candidates are nose to nose in voting intentions.
A central issue
The current vice-president has made the right to abortion one of the central themes of her campaign.
On Saturday, hours before Michelle Obama’s speech, Kamala Harris went to a medical clinic to speak about women’s rights to control their bodies. Last March, she was the first vice president to visit a clinic providing abortions.
• Also read: Infant deaths jump in Texas because of anti-abortion measures
The day before, Harris held a rally focused on women’s reproductive rights in Houston, Texas. Singer Beyoncé offered her support to the Democratic candidate. In her speech, she urged Americans to “sing a new song.”
— With information from AFP, BBC and Independent
