On Politics: Free vasectomies and an inflatable IUD: Abortion rights advocates hit the D.N.C.
Free vasectomies and an inflatable IUD: Abortion rights advocates hit the D.N.C.
The latest, with 81 days to go
While delegates are in Chicago for next week's Democratic National Convention, they will engage in the typical pageantry and traditions: They'll vote for their nominee, pose for photos with elected officials, and show off their state with cool buttons or themed hats. They will also have the option of getting a free vasectomy or a medication abortion just blocks away. A mobile health center run by Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, which serves much of Missouri and part of southern Illinois, plans to park itself near the convention and offer those services early next week to anybody who makes an appointment, delegate or not. (There is so much interest in the vasectomy appointments, I'm told, there is already a waiting list.) It's a way of showcasing how reproductive health care providers have had to get creative when operating in or near states like Missouri, which borders Illinois and has a near-total abortion ban. But it also underscores the way this convention, more than any other, is going to be a head-on display of a new, unbridled abortion politics. For years, many Democrats believed too much talk about abortion rights might drive away moderate or religious voters. Four years ago, at the Covid-dampened convention of 2020, President Biden did not utter the word abortion in his speech. Neither did Vice President Kamala Harris (although she did refer briefly to racial injustice in "reproductive and maternal health care.") But this year, after the overturning of Roe v. Wade turned abortion rights into one of Democrats' most potent political weapons, longtime supporters of abortion rights are expecting the issue — and the word itself — to be a central message. "This is one of those moments where we see the results of this marathon being fought by so many," said Representative Barbara Lee, a Democrat who co-chairs the Pro-Choice Caucus in the House. "We have a long way to go, but it's a seminal moment, it's a defining moment, and it's part of the trajectory." Drawing a contrastWhen Republicans gathered last month for their convention in Milwaukee, abortion barely came up. Former President Donald Trump, who campaigned in 2016 on appointing Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe and then bragged in 2022 when they did, did not mention the issue once in his winding speech. It was a wordless acknowledgment of how politically difficult the issue has become for his party. The bans or restrictions that Republicans have enacted in more than 20 states are broadly unpopular. Several elections have shown abortion rights supporters are eager to vote on the issue. Democrats will use the convention to frame November as the next opportunity. "There's a direct through line between what Donald Trump did and loss of access to abortion care," said Senator Tina Smith, Democrat of Minnesota, who worked for Planned Parenthood before running for office. "That's one of the reasons why people are seeing this in a kind of completely different frame than they were even just four years ago." Making the message memorableThey are doing it quite colorfully. Beyond the health center offering free vasectomies and medication abortions, another group, Americans for Contraception, will display an 18-foot-tall inflatable intrauterine device — a form of long-lasting birth control — near the United Center all week. Its name is Freeda Womb. There will be a "Hotties for Harris" party, hosted by a group of online creators and abortion rights activists, and numerous other events. And then there is the official programming. The Democratic National Committee and the Harris campaign have revealed scant detail about the schedule, but reproductive rights advocates expect the issue to be front and center throughout the week. Mini Timmaraju, the president and chief executive of Reproductive Freedom for All, one of the country's largest abortion rights advocacy groups, recalled how the 2016 convention addressed the issue somewhat briefly. "There was sort of, like, a repro hour," Timmaraju, who worked for Hillary Clinton's campaign that year, said, using an abbreviation for reproductive rights. This time, she said, abortion rights will likely run through the entire convention. "The majority of Americans are with us on this issue. It is a vote driver. And now, in this post-Dobbs era, it's become even more important," Timmaraju said. Reproductive rights activists said they expect Democrats to highlight stories of women who have been denied medical care in states with strict abortion bans. Some of those women have been featured in presidential campaign ads this year. The activists also expect that Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, will talk about IVF and other fertility treatments as part of the debate over reproductive rights. Mr. Walz has said he and his wife experienced fertility issues when starting their family. And whatever happens onstage, Dr. Colleen McNicholas, the chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, will be seeing patients inside the mobile unit (the nearby brick-and-mortar locations of Planned Parenthood Illinois will be, too). "There are going to be people traveling to Chicago from all over the country," she said, "and I think we should be doing what we can as health care providers to show what the impact of good policy and bad policy is."
What my colleagues will be watching for next weekIt's not every summer that you report on a political convention where the presumptive nominee changed just weeks before. So, with just a couple of days to go before my colleagues and I arrive in Chicago, I asked some of them what questions they'll be looking to answer there. Katie Rogers, White House correspondent: I'm really interested in how Harris talks about — or doesn't talk about — the idea that, if elected, she will be the first woman president in our country's history, which has been a huge draw for supporters I have talked to but not something the vice president has really emphasized. There seem to be more complex ideas to talk about but maybe the idea of gender will be reflected in the narrative of her life she presents or the policies she outlines. Maggie Haberman, senior political correspondent: This is the last opportunity Harris likely has to blot out the sun with media, and to showcase a party that is still bound by the desire to prevent Trump from winning, despite its internal factions. The big question to me is how the vice president frames herself in her first real opportunity to introduce herself, once again, to the public. Trump didn't use his opportunity — a nomination speech just after his assassination attempt — to portray himself in a different light. Jazmine Ulloa, reporter covering the politics of immigration: One of the major questions I have going into the D.N.C. is whether Harris will unveil a border and immigration platform. She has already sought to neutralize Republican attacks on her record on those issues, but will she go further to delineate her stances and how those will align or contrast with those under President Biden? Jim Tankersley, economic policy reporter: I'll be watching for what Harris and other Democrats say about their plans to help parents and caregivers — issues like paid leave, child care, elder care and prekindergarten. Those plans were a central feature of the Biden economic agenda, but Democrats could not pass them. Will they lean into them now, and give specific policy proposals, in an election where Senator JD Vance of Ohio has made support for parents a big theme of his vice-presidential candidacy? Julie Bosman, Chicago bureau chief: I'll be watching the performance of Larry Snelling, the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Snelling was appointed to the job last year by Mayor Brandon Johnson, a choice that was pretty universally praised by the rank and file, civic and business groups, and neighborhood organizers. So even though Snelling is heading into this week with wide support, this will still be the biggest challenge of his career. He's vowed that his officers will intervene at the first sign of violence. Can he keep both downtown and the neighborhoods of Chicago safe? Can he help Chicago police finally shed comparisons to the violent crackdown at the 1968 Democratic convention? Maya King, politics reporter covering the Southeast: I'm really interested in how the convention could mark a turning point in Black politics. Many political strategists and organizers I've spoken to in the last few weeks have told me that in Harris they see a vanguard of a new generation of Black political leadership. I wonder what shape that might start to take after her formal nomination as a presidential candidate. Reid Epstein, politics reporter covering the Harris campaign: Convention week is really a coming-out party for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Given how quickly their ticket came together and how little most of the country knows about them, I am watching to see how Democrats aim to define them and tell their story. There should be less drama than we have seen since Biden's dreadful debate performance, so aside from the presentation of the ticket, the convention figures to be … rather conventional. Read past editions of the newsletter here. If you're enjoying what you're reading, please consider recommending it to others. They can sign up here. Have feedback? Ideas for coverage? We'd love to hear from you. Email us at onpolitics@nytimes.com.
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