Harris supported by Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland at abortion rights rally in Houston

HOUSTON — Beyoncé showed her support for Vice President Kamala Harris at an abortion rights campaign rally in Houston on Friday.

She was joined on stage by fellow Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland, who introduced Harris to the crowd.

“I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother,” Beyoncé said.

The popular “Texas Hold’em” singer had yet to formally endorse Harris before the event, but the vice president has used Beyoncé’s “Freedom” as her walkout song since the beginning of her campaign, which is often woven into her messaging.

On Friday, Beyoncé introduced Harris: “Please welcome the next President of the United States, Kamala Harris.”

Also in attendance was renowned folk singer Willie Nelson, another Texas native, who performed two songs; Texas Rep. Colin Allred, who faces Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in the Texas Senate race; and Beyoncé’s mom, Tina Knowles, who has championed Harris in the past.

Harris, who was interrupted early in her speech by apparent protesters in the crowd, focused her speech solely on abortion rights, calling Texas “the epicenter of the fight for reproductive freedom.”

While Texas appears to be an odd choice in the final stretch before the election, with both candidates targeting key battleground states, the campaign argues it was chosen because of the state’s restrictive abortion ban, which prohibits abortion in almost all circumstances. It also allows individuals to sue abortion providers and those who assist patients seeking abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.

Abortion remains a unifying issue among Democrats, who were able to stave off a “red wave” during the 2022 midterm elections by centering their messaging around it. The campaign says reproductive freedom is still a top issue among swing voters, and they see Texas as “ground zero.”

The campaign featured the stories of several women whose lives were at risk due to the abortion ban. They included Aundrea, a Texas woman who shared her story for the first time in Harris’ new ad campaign released this week. Aundrea was pregnant in the fall of 2022, but when her water broke at 16 weeks, she was told her daughter would not survive. She was not provided with the necessary medical care – an abortion, the announcement says. The ad shows the wound and scars that Ondrea said she suffered after six hours of emergency surgery, during which doctors cut her chest from chest to pelvis to save her life.

“I came forward so people could learn from my experience,” she told the crowd during the rally. “Donald Trump’s Texas abortion bans nearly cost me my life and left me with physical and emotional scars.”

Ahead of the rally, Harris said the Texas abortion ban would be the centerpiece of the event.

“This is a very important state, and we’re here to really highlight that, unfortunately, Texas’s elected leaders, many of them, have made Texas the epicenter of this fundamental fight for women’s freedom to make decisions about their own bodies. So tonight we will be discussing the consequences of this not only for women and their families, but for people across the country because of Trump’s abortion ban,” she said earlier Friday.

“And I think it is extremely important to recognize that this is not just a political debate, this is not just some theoretical concept. There has been real harm, real suffering in our country. People died,” she added.

About two hours later, former President Trump was also in Texas in Austin earlier Friday, where he spoke about immigration and then interviewed podcast influencer Joe Rogan, who has the most popular podcast in the United States.

Harris will head to Michigan on Saturday, where she will campaign for the first time with former first lady Michelle Obama after holding her first joint rally with former President Barack Obama at a get-out-the-vote rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday. .