Remarks by the Vice President at a Campaign Event in Houston, Texas

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Kelly and Beyoncé! (Applause.)

Hey, Texas! (Applause.)

Oh, it's good to be back in Texas. (Applause.)

Thank you all. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, everybody. Thank you for being here this evening.

Can we hear it for Ms. Tina Knowles? (Applause.) For Ms. Kelly? (Applause.) And Beyoncé? (Applause.)

What a warm Texas welcome. I thank you all so very much, and I thank you, and I thank my friends for reminding us of exactly what we are fighting for in this campaign. We are fighting for freedom. (Applause.) Freedom. Freedom.

And to Andrea and everyone here tonight whose lives have been impacted by these Trump abortion bans, in this moment, I thank you for sharing your stories and for your courage. It is an honor to be here with so many leaders and all of you who have taken the time out of your busy lives to be here this evening so we can, as a community of people, as people who love our country, be clear, sound strong, and stand in favor of the freedom of every woman to make decisions about her

own body. (Applause.)

I also want to thank the members of Congress who are here, including Colin Allred. (Applause.) I'm counting on you to send him to the United States Senate so we can get right to work. (Applause.)

And to all the elected officials and community leaders, I thank you all. I thank you.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.) See you later. See you later.

AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: It's okay.

AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: See —

AUDIENCE: We're not going back! We're not going back! We're not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: We're not going back.

And we have — and we have a lot of work to do. And we have a lot of work to do, and we will not get distracted. (Applause.) We will not get distracted.

So, listen, Texas, we have 11 days left in one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime. Voting has already started, and we know this will be a tight race until the very end.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Okay. So, here's the thing. Here — hey, g- — okay, so we got work to do. We got work to do. We got work to do. And I love that there is so much enthusiasm, but let's talk about the work we've got to do — (applause) — okay — because we've got 11 days to see this through. And we will win. (Applause.) We will win. We will win.

And we will win — and we will win because we know and understand what is at stake. We are 11 days out from an election that will decide the future of America, including the freedom of every woman to make decisions about her own body and her reproductive freedom. (Applause.)

And everyone here tonight is here because we are about fighting for our future and not letting some people take us back. (Applause.) Because we are not going back. We are not going back.

AUDIENCE: We're not going back! We're not going back! We're not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: We are not going back.

AUDIENCE: We're not going back! We're not going back! We're not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And in America, we know freedom is not to be given. It is not to be bestowed. It is ours by right, and we are prepared to fight for it — (applause) — because we understand the stakes.

And moving forward, we understand that what we must do, Texas, is right here, you, who are ground zero in the fight for reproductive freedom, we must be loud. We must organize. We must mobilize. We must energize the people. (Applause.)

Because you all know, Texas is home to one of the most restrictive abortion bans in our country.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: In Texas, abortion is banned from the moment of conception.

AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: You know what? You know what? Just send them to that small rally down the street. (Applause.) It'll be fine. Some people don't have a great sense of direction, but that's okay. We'll show them the way. We'll show them the way.

Come on.

Because we know what's at stake, and we will not be silenced. We know what's happening here in Texas. Doctors and nurses could go to prison for life simply for providing reproductive care. Think about that. Life in prison for health care providers for doing what they think is in their patients' best interest.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: You know what? The beauty of our campaign is we're fighting for democracy. (Applause.)

And what we know here in Texas is that there are some who would distract from the fact that Texas has a law now that offers a cash bounty for turning in someone who merely helps a friend or family member get the care they need.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

In Texas, the law provides for prison for life for health care providers for doing what they believe is in the best interest of their patient. In some counties in Texas, there — they have passed travel bans to prevent women from going to other states to receive care. These are the stakes.

And we know how we got here. When Donald Trump was president, he hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade. And as he intended, they did.

And now, more than 20 states have a Trump abortion ban. Now, one in three American women lives in a state with a Trump abortion ban, including Texas and every state in the South except for Virginia. And many of these bans are causing care to be denied until a woman is at death's door. Many have no exceptions even for rape and incest, which is immoral.

And let us agree, one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body. (Applause.) Not the government.

If she chooses, she will talk with her priest, her pastor, her rabbi, her imam, but not the government and some people up in the state legislature — (applause) — telling her what's in her best interest when she knows what's in her own best interest.

And let us recognize: These same people — check this out — these same people who have argued that these Trump abortion bans are in the best interest of women and children, do look at their records. They tend to be in states with the highest rate of maternal mortality in the country.

For decades, these extremist leaders who have neglected prenatal care, maternity care, and postpartum care and who now, after continuously failing to support women and children, claim to care about women and children. Well, I have a question for them: Where you been? Where you been? (Applause.) Where you been when it comes to prioritizing care for women and children? Where have you been when it comes to helping pregnant women and new mothers? Where have you been when it comes to affordable child care? (Applause.)

And do note, many of these same extremist leaders have also refused to extend the Child Tax Credit, which lifted half of America's children out of poverty; they, who have blocked proposals to lower child care costs for working parents; they who have tried to cut WIC and SNAP for low-income mothers and their children. The hypocrisy abounds.

And here's what else is happening: These bans are driving doctors out of states like Texas, Idaho, Georgia, and North Carolina, leaving women who are already living in maternity care deserts — meaning there is no maternity care anywhere near them — leaving them with even fewer options. And since Trump abortion bans, fewer medical students are choosing to specialize in women's health.

Over these past two years, the impact of Trump abortion bans has been devastating. We see the horrific reality that women and families face every single day, and the stories are vivid. They are difficult to hear. They are difficult to tell.

For example, here in Texas — can we roll the tape?

(A video is played.)

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: From his own mouth, "a great thing." There is nothing great about what happened to women like Kate Cox, who was heartbroken to learn her much-wanted pregnancy was not viable; heartbroken when her doctors told her if she remained pregnant, she would be risking her own life or her ability to have children in the future. But the attorney general of Texas —

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: — threatened — threatened if Kate's doctors helped terminate her pregnancy, they would be criminally prosecuted. So, Kate was forced to flee the state to get the care she needed.

In Louisiana, Kaitlyn Joshua was turned away from not one but two emergency rooms while miscarrying. She was bleeding. She was in pain. But because of a Trump abortion ban, doctors would not treat her, because if they did, they would have faced 15 years in prison. And so, Kal- — Kaitlyn had to go home, where she went through the pain of a miscarriage for more than a month and trying — the whole time — to hide her pain from her four-year-old daughter. We know that women have died because of Trump abortion bans.

Here today is Shanette Williams, the mother of Amber Nicole Thurman, a vibrant — (applause) — we must speak her name, Amber Nicole Thurman. (Applause.) I promised her mother I would speak her name. A vibrant 28-year-old mother of a 6-year-old son who died a preventable death because of Georgia's abortion ban. Now, Shanette and her family are courageously sharing Amber's story to make sure we all remember her as more than a statistic so that we remember Amber was a daughter, a sister, a mother, and that she was loved and that she should be alive today. (Applause.)

And listen, we're all here because we know the reality is, for every story we hear about — about the suffering because of a Trump abortion ban, there are so many stories we've never heard, an untold number of women and the people who love them, who are silently suffering — women who are being made to feel as though they did something wrong, as though they are criminals, as though they are alone. And to those women, I say — and I think I speak on behalf of all of us: We see you, and we are here with you. (Applause.)

Texas, what is happening across this state and our country is a health care crisis, and Donald Trump is the architect of it. He brags about overturning Roe v. Wade. In his own words, quote, "I did it, and I'm proud to have done it." That's what he says.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And one has to ask: Proud that women are dying? Proud that doctors and nurses could be thrown in prison for life for administering lifesaving care? Proud that young women in America today have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers?

How dare he? Donald Trump — (applause) — Donald Trump even said everyone wanted Roe v. Wade to be overturned.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, a woman in Ohio was arrested and charged after having a miscarriage, so was a woman in South Carolina. They didn't want this.

Hadley Duval, who became pregnant after being raped by her stepfather when she was 12 years old, she didn't want this.

Ryan Hamilton, who is here tonight — his wife was denied treatment at the hospital for a miscarriage. They got home; he found her bleeding and unconscious. He dressed her, put her in a car, packed up their nine-month-old child and drove to a different emergency room, where doctors told them she could have died. Ryan didn't want this. Let's be clear.

And the men across America — this needs to be said — men across America do not want to see their daughters and wives and sisters and mothers put at risk because their rights have been taken. (Applause.) I see the men here, and I thank you.

The men of America don't want this.

AUDIENCE: No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And now, the attorney general of Texas is suing the United States government —

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: — so that Texas prosecutors can get — check this out — so that Texas prosecutors can get their hands on private medical records of women who leave the state to get care.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Now, I'd ask everybody here, please do see the irony. Okay? Listen to this.

On the one hand, Donald Trump won't let anyone see his medical records. (Laughter and applause.) I gave up mine.

And on the other hand, they want to get their hands on your medical records.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Simply put, they are out of their mind. (Applause.)

In just four years as president, Donald Trump was able to erase half a century of hard-fought progress for women, and now he wants to go even further.

He will force all 50 states to track and report on women's miscarriages and abortions and go after access to contraception and IVF treatment. It's right there in his Project 2025. Google it.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And let us be clear: If Donald Trump wins again, he will ban abortion nationwide.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And though we are in Texas tonight, I say it to the folks who might be watching from home — for anyone watching from another state, know this: If you think you are protected from Trump abortion bans because you live in Michigan or Pennsylvania or Nevada or New York or California or any state where voters or legislators have protected reproductive freedom, please know no one is protected if there is a Trump national abortion ban, and it will outlaw abortion in every single state.

Understand that. And he can do it with or without an act of Congress.

All that to say: Elections matter. (Applause.) Elections matter.

If Donald Trump is president again, he will likely get to appoint at least one additional Supreme Court justice.

Remember who we appointed? Call her Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Applause.)

But if he were — if he were reelected, he'd probably get to appoint one, if not two, members to the United States Supreme Court, at which point Donald Trump will have packed the court with five out of nine justices on that court who will sit —

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: — but think about that — who will sit for lifetime appointments, shaping your lives and the lives of generations to come. And that is among the many critical contrasts in this election.

Look, Donald Trump doesn't trust women, but I do. We trust women. And we understand what's at stake. (Applause.)

And with Colin Allred in the United States Senate, when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, I will proudly sign it into law as president of the United States. (Applause.) Proudly. Proudly.

So, to all the friends here, let us remember: Momentum is on our side.

I know sometimes in Texas, folks are like, "Is it worth it? Is it — does it make a difference?" Yes, it does. You are making a difference. And momentum is on our side. (Applause.) You are making a difference.

Since Roe was overturned, every time reproductive freedom has been on the ballot, from Kansas to California to Kentucky, in Michigan, Montana, Vermont, and Ohio, the people of America have voted for freedom every time it's been on the ballot. (Applause.)

And often, they have voted by overwhelming margins from so-called red to so-called blue states, proving this is not a partisan issue.

Because Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs understand the decision of whether, when, and how to build a family is one of the most consequential decisions anyone can make, and we are fighting for an America where no matter who you are, where you live, you can make decisions about your own body for yourself. (Applause.)

So, moving forward, all of this is to say, reproductive freedom is on the ballot in this presidential election. And in 10 states around the country — including Arizona, Florida, and Nevada, and with the work of everyone here, freedom will win. Freedom will win. (Applause.)

And so, I want to take a moment to speak in particular to all the young leaders here and across America. Do we have anybody here from Gen-Z? (Applause.) Where are you at? Where are you at? (Applause.)

I'm counting on you, because the thing I love about you is you are impatient for change. (Applause.) You know it ain't right that you may have fewer rights than your mother or your grandmother. You know it is not theoretical. You know it is not political. It is your lived experience.

And I see you, and I see your power. (Applause.) I see your power. And I know so many of you are voting for the first time. Can I see a raise of hands? (Applause.)

Can we applaud our leaders who are voting for the first time? (Applause.)

All right. We heard it for our young leaders. That's right.

So, listen to everyone here, we know freedom has never come easy. Never come easy. There has been no moment of our progress as a country that did not come about without a fight. Let's all be clear about that. And we are in the midst of a movement, and everyone here is a leader in that movement.

So, we do this, then, remembering those who came before us, those who struggled and sacrificed for our freedoms, who found fellowship and even joy in one another in the fight. They found strength and hope in fighting for our ideals, and that is what we are doing. That is what we are doing, because we know weeping may endure for a night — (applause) — but joy cometh in the morning. (Applause.)

So, Texas, Election Day is in 11 days. (Applause.) Early voting has already begun. (Applause.) So, now it is time to start making your plan. Go to IWillVote.com to get all the information you need.

And it is not only the presidency that is on the ballot. There are many important races, including Colin Allred running for Senate — (applause) — who, we must note, his opponent supported a national abortion ban six times —

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: — an opponent who said he does not support exceptions, even for victims of rape and incest.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, let's remember, Texas: Your vote is your voice, and your voice is your power. (Applause.)

So, today, I ask you: Are you ready to make your voices heard? (Applause.)

Do we trust women? (Applause.)

Do we believe in reproductive freedom? (Applause.)

Do we believe in the promise of America? (Applause.)

And are we ready to fight for it? (Applause.)

And when we fight —

AUDIENCE: We win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: — we win.

God bless you. And God bless America. (Applause.)