Harris to deliver address on reproductive freedom at Texas rally featuring Beyoncé

(CNN) — Vice President Kamala Harris will give a speech on reproductive freedom in Texas on Friday, according to a senior Harris campaign official.

In the closing days of the election, Harris is leaning into the issue of abortion rights as part of her broader argument against her Republican rival, placing the blame on former President Donald Trump for abortion bans in several states and amplifying stories of the people impacted by those restrictions. And Texas was chosen as the location for the rally, campaign officials said, because it’s the epicenter of abortion bans.

Friday’s rally in Houston – an event that will also feature music superstar and Houston native Beyoncé – will spotlight Amanda and Josh Zurawski, the Texas couple who led a lawsuit against the state’s abortion bans after Amanda suffered life-threatening pregnancy complications but couldn’t have an abortion in the deep-red state. Shanette Williams — the mother of Amber Nicole Thurman, who ProPublica reported died in 2022 from a treatable infection due to delays to her medical care stemming from Georgia’s restrictive abortion law — will also be in attendance.

Before her ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket, Harris was the go-to voice on abortion rights for the then-Biden campaign.

The Harris campaign released a new ad, called “He Did It,” on Friday that squarely places blame on Trump for the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade and subsequent abortion restrictions in several states. The campaign bought advertising time on local broadcast in Texas for the first time in this race to coincide with her Friday visit.

On the campaign trail, Harris has often labeled extreme measures on abortion rights being adopted across the country a “health care crisis,” and she has argued Trump is “the architect of this crisis.”

Texas has one of the strictest abortion restrictions in the country, banning the procedure at six weeks — before many people know they are pregnant — with exceptions only in the case of life endangerment for the mother. The trigger law passed in 2021 took effect after the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights in June 2022.

While in Houston, Harris will join Democratic Senate nominee Rep. Colin Allred, who seeks to oust incumbent GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, for a get-out-the-vote effort.

As part of her trip to the Lone Star State, Harris will also sit down for an interview with popular podcaster Brené Brown as she continues to participate in media engagements in an effort to reach voters where they are.

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