Prominent Dems rally in Pittsburgh to remind voters abortion is on the ballot

Progressive Democrats, including U.S. Rep. and “Squad” member Ayanna Pressley, gathered at the South Side-based Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers headquarters on July 31 to remind voters of the importance of abortion care — and whether it remains legal in states such as Pennsylvania following the 2024 general election.

It was one of the first major local events for sitting Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign following President Joe Biden’s decision to step aside as presumptive nominee on July 21 and endorse his erstwhile running mate. All four speakers commented on the importance of abortion access in Pa., questioning whether a state-by-state approach to access following the end of Roe v. Wade would withstand a second Donald Trump presidency.

“It's our responsibility to make sure that we don't ever go back to where Donald Trump is trying to take us,” U.S. Rep. Summer Lee said.

Multiple politicians and pundits have noted that one of Harris’ main paths to the White House runs through the commonwealth, fueling speculation that current Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a staunch defender of the right to abortion care, could be tapped for Vice President.

Advocate Bri Erskine, the second speaker at the event, underscored the importance of Pa.’s role in the issue by describing how a medical condition complicating menstruation and childbirth drove her here from her home state of Tennessee.

“After … the Dobbs case, which eventually would ultimately overturn Roe, I came to Pittsburgh to visit friends and began to seriously consider whether I was still safe living in Tennessee with my condition,” Erskine told assembled voters, reporters, and organizers. “I literally fled my home of seven years to ensure that I would always be able to safely access health care during the day.”

After Erskine, Planned Parenthood Pa. Advocates board member Sydney Etheredge recounted Harris’ career as a statewide politician in California before introducing U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, who said abortion access was part of a broader discussion around equal access to healthcare and support services.

“Even in the shadows of reproductive inequality … we're going to build a country of reproductive prosperity, [where] people have opportunities and resources at every stage in their life,” Lee told the crowd.
Pressley, a self-described “bonus mom” of one, also forcefully rowed back against unearthed commentary from Republican V.P. candidate J.D. Vance, in which he criticizes childless couples and advocates for additional taxes on households without children. “You can't tell me that that's not my baby,” Pressley said.

She recounted how she learned Roe v. Wade was overturned while attending her daughter's eighth-grade graduation. "And I was sitting in the bleachers at our eighth-grade graduation [and] immediately felt with a heavy sense of dread that my daughter would be growing up in a country with fewer rights than … my mother.”

The rally took place on the same day Trump returned to the commonwealth for the first time since the assassination attempt against him in Butler. Lee said Pa. was likely to figure prominently in both the Harris and Trump campaigns’ electoral calculus — with or without Shapiro on the ticket.

Lee told a press gaggle afterward that she would support whomever Harris chooses but didn’t endorse Shapiro outright. “Whoever is on that ticket, I will be out making sure that my community is protected,” she said, adding, “We've fallen short [on the response to student protests], but history shows us that there's still time to course correct.”
Despite the foreboding subject matter, the mood, as at other recent Harris campaign events, reflected the “honeymoon phase” Democrats are experiencing since rallying behind Harris. The small crowd was effusive as a remix of Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” played, and Pressley acknowledged that both parties would need to work at keeping that enthusiasm high to succeed on Nov. 5.

“Let me just make a commitment right now,” she said. “I will be back.”