Amanda Zurawski and Kaitlyn Joshua, two women whose medical crises were exacerbated by restrictive abortion laws, are now taking their harrowing stories on the campaign trail to support President Joe Biden. Zurawski, a 37-year-old from Texas, and Joshua, a 31-year-old from Louisiana, will be meeting with doctors, local officials, and voters in North Carolina and Wisconsin. Their powerful testimonies speak to the emerging medical dangers many women face in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Zurawski, after undergoing 18 months of fertility treatments, experienced a premature labor during her second trimester. She was informed that her baby would not survive; however, under Texas law, doctors could not intervene and provide an abortion as she was not deemed to be in sufficient medical danger. This decision led to her developing sepsis and after delivering a stillborn girl named Willow, she spent days in intensive care. Zurawski, now campaigning for Biden, expressed her disbelief, saying, “I thought I’d be coming home from that trip with a 1-year-old and be putting her down for a nap. But instead I’m doing this interview to help campaign for Biden. It’s just the complete opposite world than I ever would have seen myself in.”
Joshua’s experience in Louisiana echoes a similar sense of medical neglect. She began to bleed and experience severe pain at 11 weeks into her pregnancy and suspected a miscarriage. Despite seeking emergency care, doctors avoided confirming a miscarriage or discussing treatment options. It wasn’t until much later that a midwife confirmed the miscarriage. Joshua lamented, “Something that sounds as simple as dealing with a miscarriage can’t even be met with a true diagnosis anymore. It’s kind of wild, right? And it’s really frightening.”
Biden and the Democrats consider reproductive health to be a significant factor in the 2024 election. They attribute the Supreme Court’s conservative majority decision in 2022, which overturned abortion rights established by Roe v. Wade, to Republican Donald Trump and his judicial nominations.
About two-thirds of Americans think abortion should generally be legal, with only a small fraction in favor of a total ban, according to polls by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. This public sentiment could indeed be a significant driver for the upcoming elections.
President Joe Biden strongly criticized former President Donald Trump regarding the topic of abortion. This came after Trump made inflammatory comments accusing Democrats of “executing babies” and boasting about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade, while suggesting that states should have the authority to decide on the matter.
Trump shared a four-and-a-half-minute video on Truth Social on Monday morning. In the video, he strongly criticized Democrats with the false claim that they support legally “executing the baby” after birth. Trump also boasted about his role in ending Roe v. Wade and suggested that states should have the authority to set limits on abortion. Furthermore, he encouraged states to implement measures that would favor Republican victories in elections.
Zurawski and Joshua, feeling compelled to act after their experiences, are leveraging their personal traumas to advocate for the Biden administration. Joshua emphasized, “But I also understand and believe that the Biden and Harris administration is the only administration that could do anything remotely close to addressing the abortion bans … and then also doing a deeper dive into research and understanding women’s health in general.”
Relevant articles:
– 2 women who say abortion restrictions put them in medical peril feel compelled to campaign for Biden
– Abortion advocates campaign for Biden in upcoming election, Arkansas Online, Mon, 08 Apr 2024 09:15:00 GMT
– Trump declines to endorse a national abortion ban and says it should be left to the states – WSVN 7News, WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale, Mon, 08 Apr 2024 14:30:57 GMT
– ‘Trump Is Simply Lying’: Biden Goes OFF On Trump Over Abortion In Blistering Statement, Mediaite, Mon, 08 Apr 2024 15:09:00 GMT