\n<\/p>\n
Around 100 abortion storytellers anxiously sat in the Eaton hotel in Washington, DC, on Monday, waiting to hear who would be the special guest joining them to conclude the first day of a three-day summit marking the third anniversary of the Dobbs<\/em> decision<\/a>,<\/em> in which the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade,<\/em> eliminating the federal right to an abortion and decimating access to care across the country.<\/p>\n One woman in a Planned Parenthood shirt turned to the person next to her and said, \u201cIf it\u2019s Kamala, I\u2019m going to cry.\u201d Seconds later, former vice president Kamala Harris<\/strong> appeared on screen. \u201cHey everyone!\u201d she said, smiling at the roaring applause from the room.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just so glad everyone is under one roof together,\u201d she told the crowd via video. \u201cI think that the work that you are each doing is so important, is so courageous, and to have these moments where you can be in a room of people that you can actually see, to remind you that when you\u2019re out there telling your stories, that we\u2019re all in those rooms with you.\u201d<\/p>\n The summit, \u201cOur Voices, Our Stories, Our Future,\u201d was organized by Free & Just, a national reproductive-freedom organization that focuses on training and amplifying people whose lives were impacted by abortion bans, along with other reproductive access groups, and brought patients, providers, and advocates from 32 states across the country to DC for the Dobbs<\/em> anniversary. During the three-day conference, storytellers attended skills sessions on how to share what happened to them, like one focused on writing a letter to the editor that organizers would then send out to local news organizations.<\/p>\n Harris, who made abortion rights and access to reproductive care central to her 2024 campaign, didn\u2019t mention Donald Trump<\/strong> by name, but chronicled how the \u201cadministration\u201d continues to chip away at reproductive rights.<\/p>\n Since taking office, Trump signed an executive order<\/a> aimed at enforcing the Hyde Amendment, which seeks to prevent federal funds from being used to support abortion, spurring the Pentagon to rescind a policy that reimbursed military families for travel to states where abortion and other reproductive health procedures are legal. He signed<\/a> other orders granting pardons to antiabortion activists who violated a law barring people from physically blocking abortion clinics or threatening patients. And, in April, the administration \u201cpaused $27.5 million for organizations that provide family planning, contraception, cancer screenings, and sexually transmitted infection services as it investigates whether they\u2019re complying with the law,\u201d according<\/a> to the Associated Press.<\/p>\n Currently, 19 states ban abortion or restrict the procedure earlier in pregnancy than the standard set by Roe,<\/em> according<\/a> to The New York Times<\/em>\u2014though the state of abortion access across the country is still changing rapidly due to legal battles and zealous antiabortion groups and politicians. ProPublica has found<\/a> at least five women who\u2019ve died under abortion bans\u2014and advocates say that number is expected<\/a> to be significantly higher.<\/p>\n \u201cThese bans, these executive actions and funding cuts have intentionally created a health care crisis,\u201d Harris told attendees. \u201cBut,\u201d she continued, \u201cwe know that the leaders in this room are not going to stand for this.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement to Vanity Fair,<\/em> Harris said that the day the Dobbs<\/em> decision came down, when she was sitting vice president, was \u201cdevastating.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time, it became clear that young women today will have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers,\u201d she continued. \u201cBut even in the face of that loss, we keep fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTheir voices,\u201d Harris added, referring to the storytellers in DC, \u201care vital to our nation and to the ongoing fight for reproductive freedom. I\u2019m grateful for their courage, their clarity, and their commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n