Cecile Richards’ Open Letter to Women: ‘Kamala Harris Gets It’

Dear women and girls of America,

These last two years have been incredibly hard. Practically overnight, women lost a right we had counted on for nearly 50 years — and an entire generation lost the freedom to make their own decisions about their lives and futures. 

If hearing the news that Roe v. Wade had been overturned left you heartbroken, scared, or furious — maybe even all three — you were in good company. There were so many protests in the months after that disastrous Supreme Court decision that some people called it “the Summer of Rage.” Women my age were gutted; no mother in the world wants her daughter to have fewer rights than she did. Young people were outraged that politicians they’d had no say in electing had unilaterally made a decision that would alter the course of their lives. 

Now, after two years of waiting, our moment is here. Together, we have the power to change the direction of this country. And we are going to do it by electing Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

When Roe v. Wade was overturned, we didn’t just sit around. We channeled our rage into action. We spread the word about organizations like Plan C, which provides abortion pills by mail in all 50 states. We donated to abortion funds working overtime to support people suddenly being forced to travel hundreds or even thousands of miles for basic health care. We organized to put abortion rights initiatives on state ballots. We helped friends, family members, and strangers find their way to compassion and care. 

And it made a difference: In almost every state that banned abortion, the number of people who got abortions went up, not down. Today, an overwhelming majority of Americans support legal abortion. In every state where abortion has been on the ballot since Roe was overturned — California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, and Vermont — abortion rights have won.

And what really broke through — what forever changed the way Americans think and talk about the issue of abortion — were stories. Women, men, doctors, medical students, doulas, faith leaders, and family members came forward to share personal stories of how abortion bans have affected their lives, their communities, and their ability to care for their patients. In Louisiana, Kaitlyn Joshua described being turned away from not one but two emergency rooms in the middle of a miscarriage. In Texas, Ryan Hamilton spoke about the horror of finding his wife bleeding and unconscious on their bathroom floor after she was denied miscarriage treatment. In Mississippi, journalist Charlotte Alter reported the story of Ashley, a 12-year-old who was sexually assaulted by a stranger in her front yard. Because Ashley’s mother could not get her to Chicago for an abortion, Ashley started seventh grade as the parent of a newborn.
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For two years, we’ve been living with this reality. Now, we have an opportunity to change it. 

Nobody sums up how we got here better than Donald Trump. In his own words: “For 54 years, they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it, and I’m proud to have done it.” If he is elected president again, make no mistake: He will sign a national abortion ban. And he’ll go even further, going after birth control and fertility treatments that so many Americans depend on to build their families. He’ll force states to monitor women’s pregnancies and abortions, and even come after no-fault divorce. (Literally — it’s right there in Project 2025, Republicans’ governing plan.)

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris has spent her entire career in public service, fighting for one thing: freedom. 

As vice president, she took on the issue of maternal mortality, and led the administration’s response to the loss of abortion rights after Roe. She became the first sitting president or vice president to visit a Planned Parenthood health center. She has spent hours listening to health care workers, pregnant people, abortion rights advocates, and people directly impacted by the crisis that Donald Trump caused. 
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As president, Harris will proudly sign a law restoring reproductive freedom nationwide. She’ll fight for affordable child care, help launch women-owned small businesses, and invest in home care options for older or disabled family members — which would radically change the lives of the (mostly) women in caregiving roles.

Simply put: Kamala Harris gets it, and she will fight for us every single day. 

There is so much at stake in this election — for women, for families, and for our democracy. Not only in the presidential race, but in down-ticket races and in the ten states where abortion is quite literally on the ballot this year. 

One day our children and grandchildren may ask us: When it was all on the line, what did you do? 

And the only acceptable answer is — everything we could. 

So with just days left in the most consequential election for reproductive freedom this country has ever seen, let’s do it all: Make calls, knock doors, and talk to our friends and family about why their vote matters. 

And then, with joy in our hearts and our heads held high, let’s cast our votes for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

I know we can do this.
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Love,

Cecile