I Already Knew Kamala Harris. In Chicago, I Got to Meet Kaitlyn Joshua.

You’re not going to the DNC to hear speeches. You’re not going to party. (Well, some people do that.) As Winston Churchill would say, it’s four days of blood, toil, tears, and sweat. (And that was before people started getting coronavirus last weekend! I’ve been spared so far.)

But when I went to the 7th Democratic National Convention in Chicago, I finally uncovered the secret. First, I wore sneakers, not even supposedly comfortable “high heels” (it was from high heels that my blisters had previously burst and bled). I wasn’t alone. This was a feminist revolution for the Democratic Party. Sneakers were everywhere!

Perhaps most importantly, I realized that the serendipitous connections that arise in these chaotic meetings make them worth attending. On Tuesday morning, I attended a breakfast celebrating the groundbreaking collaboration between Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF) and Moms Demand Action/Everytown, had a coveted interview with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, caught up with one of my best friends I hadn’t seen in over a year, and chatted with a revered source from Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign.

But what was even more exciting was that I had the good fortune to sit at a table for a while at the joint Emily’s List/PPAF/Reproductive Rights for All reception on Wednesday afternoon. (Even sneakers hurt your feet after hours of wearing them.) The people who invited me to sit had another event nearby and quickly said their goodbyes. I noticed a pregnant woman standing nearby and quickly invited her to sit. She gratefully replied, “Yes.”

she Kate CoxCox is a Texas hero who sued to get an abortion after her 19-week-old fetus was diagnosed with the almost-fatal Trisomy 18 and her obstetrician told her that forcing her to give birth would likely rob her of future fertility. She was forced to leave the state to get the abortion care she needed. Cox attended a roll call of the Texas Democratic Party on Tuesday night (another incredibly moving event of the week), where she announced her pregnancy.

“When I became pregnant, doctors told me the baby would never survive and that if I didn’t have an abortion, future pregnancies would be at risk,” Cox told the delegates. “But Trump didn’t care, and his abortion ban forced me to flee my home.”

“Today I found a way to access abortion care, I’m pregnant again,” she announced, “and my baby is due in January, just in time to see Kamala Harris be sworn in as President of the United States.”

Cox, who was sitting next to me, was accompanied by Cecil Richards, daughter of the late Texas Governor Ann Richards and former president of Planned Parenthood. Her own health issues.

Other friends joined us, and soon I was holding Liam, a sweet, squirming 11-month-old boy, the son of Caitlin Joshua, who had spoken at the convention on Monday night.

For some reason, I didn’t know Joshua’s story until then. Her tragedy occurred in 2022, when she was 11 weeks pregnant. She miscarried and went to two emergency rooms, but doctors in Louisiana were unable to perform the standard abortion treatment: removing the pregnancy tissue. States with bans or near-bans on abortion Worrying may be considered an illegal abortion.

“Abortion is banned in Louisiana so no one could confirm I had a miscarriage. I was in pain, bleeding heavily and my husband feared for my life. No woman should ever go through what I went through, but so many do,” Joshua told the crowd.

“They write to me: ‘What happened to you, happened to me.’ Some women have had miscarriages but are too scared to tell anyone, not even a doctor. Our daughters deserve better.”

Joshua is sharing her story to ensure that her 5-year-old daughter, Lauryn, and her child, Liam, born after a dangerous miscarriage, live in a better world. In fact, she has begun to work with Cecile Richards to amplify her message, which includes a call for “reproductive justice,” a cause pioneered by black women, that while abortion is an important right, so is the right to have a baby with the medical care and social support that she needs.

“It’s one thing to boldly defend abortion rights in New York City, but an entirely different experience to wage that fight from Baton Rouge, Louisiana,” Cecile Richards told me in an email. “Kate is one of the most fearless defenders of reproductive freedom I know and a voice for her generation. Of the many inspiring leaders who have emerged from their own experiences with abortion prevention, she is one of the best. She combines years of organizational skills with personal courage in a unique and dynamic way.”

Abortion rights advocates see Joshua as an important voice in the fight for reproductive freedom, but it didn’t take long for Louisiana authorities to go after her after she spoke about her experience at the Democratic National Convention. Liz Maril He issued a stern statement about X: “There is nothing in our bipartisan legislation that would prohibit emergency care for miscarriage or pregnancy emergencies. There is nothing. Absolutely not.”

“In fact, doctors are required by law to treat pregnant women who have an emergency health crisis, whether that be appendicitis or a miscarriage,” the attorney general added.

Mandy Landry, a New Orleans state Assembly member and attorney who represents reproductive health providers, strongly pushed back. “Are you really calling Kaitlyn a liar?” Landry responded. “And what about all the women like her who have come forward to say they were treated the same way when they were struggling? It’s despicable.”

Sarah Zagorski, Louisiana Right to Life communications director, echoed Murrill, saying, “Louisiana law is clear about abortion care procedures. Unfortunately, the DNC is using this tragic incident to sow confusion and opposition to pro-life legislation. Their ultimate goal is to proceed with abortion on demand for any reason up until the moment of birth.” (There is no truth in any of Zagorski’s statements.)

Other local anti-abortion groups also attacked Joshua.

When I met Joshua, she had just read the statement and was visibly upset: “Maryll was in murky waters. If she had in fact been in contact with the hospital I went to, that’s a HIPAA violation. [health privacy law] “I shared my medical records with NPR, 60 min And the campaign also made sure that my story was vetted and that they could see firsthand that I was denied care. And that’s what this is all about.

“With all 22 states having strict abortion laws, we know that even good, well-intentioned medical professionals don’t know what to do or what’s legal. I feel like they’re gaslighting us: ‘Kaitlyn clearly should have received this care! It’s legal!'”

But Joshua wanted to add something to the story: “I want to change my way of thinking. When I met you, the devil had stolen my joy. [Murrill’s] “I’ve had overwhelming support since I spoke at the Democratic National Convention,” she said, noting the abortion rights groups and political leaders who have praised her for speaking up for abortion rights. Countless patients People who urgently need care but are being denied it.

Joshua plans to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris this fall, having met her twice and particularly praised the way she has integrated abortion advocacy into her “reproductive justice” framework.

“She does a great job of connecting the dots between basic maternal health care, terrible maternal and fetal morbidity rates, and abortion bans in 22 states that ironically have the worst maternal mortality rates in the country,” Joshua says. “She knows how to move the conversation from abortion rights to Black maternal and infant mortality rates to having a family. Yes, it’s a choice, but choosing to have a family requires a lot of support.”

“As a woman of color, as a mother of two, as someone who knows people who have lost their lives in this way, this is the most powerful perspective Kamala Harris brings to the debate.”

At last week’s rally, victims of abortion bans delivered powerful messages. But I was struck by the many messages on display on the main stage over the course of four nights. We also met with victims of gun violence, Democratic veterans, labor leaders, and Coach Tim Walz’s championship high school football team. As my friend Ilyse Hogue wrote: Bulwark This week’s convention proved that Democrats are no longer ceding the white male vote to Republicans, but they did it without sacrificing their historic commitment to women’s rights. It all felt cumulative, not pitting groups against one another.

Coincidentally, the first time I attended a Democratic convention was 40 years ago, in San Francisco, in 1984. It felt historic, and it was. Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman nominated for vice president. The Rev. Jesse Jackson ran the most successful presidential campaign by a black candidate until Barack Obama 24 years later, captivating delegates with his “God Ain’t Finished With Me Yet” speech. And New York Governor Mario Cuomo delivered a stirring keynote address that was supposed to show the Democratic Party was still the party of white Catholic ethnics. But while Cuomo’s speech rang through the Moscone Center, it seemed the white Catholic ethnics couldn’t hear him. Walter Mondale and Ferraro lost every state except Minnesota (Mondale’s home state) and the District of Columbia.

It took 40 years, but it seems the Democratic Party has finally learned what to do with its diverse majority coalition. And by majority, I mean when we go to the polls.

Kaitlyn Joshua has become my favorite New Democratic leader, but there are others everyone who pays attention can respect. Harris has 68 days to introduce herself, Walz, and all these new leaders to voters. This convention is a good start for Harris.