Vice Presidential Pool Reports of October 5, 2022

VP local print pool # 1

Greetings from New Britain, Connecticut on October 5, 2022.

VP Harris landed at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks at 11:11 a.m. Wednesday.

Her greeters at the airport, as per VP office, were :

- U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT-05)
- Governor Ned Lamont (D-Connecticut) and his wife Ann Lamont
- Major General Francis Evon Adjutant General and Commander of the Connecticut National Guard
- Colonel Stephen R. Gwinn 103d Airlift Wing – Wing Commander
- Staff Sergeant Grace E. Seddon Connection Air National Guard Airman of the Year for 2022

VP Harris will be hosting a discussion at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain on abortion. She will appear on stage at a small, 350-seat theatre with U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes and Alexis McGill Johnson, President of Planned Parenthood. Chairs have been arranged on the stage, and the crowd is slowly filing in.

VP Harris local print pool #2

Before the main event, the Central Connecticut State University president Zulma Toro started speaking on the stage in the Torp Theatre at about 12:45 p.m.

The Pre - program participants, as per the VP office, were :

- President Zulma Toro, Central Connecticut State University
- Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut
- Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Secretary Cardona, Department of Education

"I did get a chance to teach here for many years,'' Lamont said in opening remarks on the CCSU stage before the program began. "I had just gotten elected, and President Trump was defunding Planned Parenthood. ... We desperately need Planned Parenthood. ... And then that Dobbs decision. That was like a bolt. My wife was in tears. ... If Texas is trying to prosecute our doctors, prosecute our patients, not here in Connecticut.''

Cardona, a well-known figure in Connecticut as the former state education commissioner, told the crowd that he graduated from CCSU.

In the 100 days since the Dobbs decision on abortion by the U.S. Supreme Court, Cardona said that women are "being denied necessary prescriptions. This is unacceptable.''

He added, "This is 2022, not 1822. ... We will fully enforce Title IX. ... To be committed to student success must mean we are committed to student health.''

Harris, Hayes, and McGill Johnson have not yet taken the stage.

VP Harris local print pool #3

Participants in the moderated conversation in New Britain are below:

- Vice President Kamala Harris
- Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (D-CT-05)
- Alexis McGill Johnson, President of Planned Parenthood

Rep. Hayes will introduce Vice President Harris before the moderated conversation begins. The conversation will be live-streamed at Whitehouse.gov/live

As per the VP's office below:

The Vice President's Work on Reproductive Rights

The Vice President has brought together leaders from across the nation who are on the frontlines fighting to protect a woman's right to make her own reproductive health decisions. Just yesterday, the Vice President convened the second meeting of the Task Force on Reproductive Health Care Access. Since May, she has held more than 20 convenings about the fight to protect reproductive rights. She has met with 150+ state legislators from 18 states to discuss protecting reproductive rights. The Vice President has also convened health care providers, constitutional law experts, faith leaders, state attorneys general, disability rights leaders, higher education leaders, students, and advocates.

VP Harris local print pool #4

During the three-way conversation on abortion that began at about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, Harris answered a series of questions that were posed by Hayes and Alexis McGill Johnson, the president of Planned Parenthood

McGill Johnson said to Harris : "You have traveled the country since the Dobbs decision. ... You have been leading.''

Speaking to the crowd of about 350 and looking at Hayes, Harris said, "Please send her back to Congress.''

Harris said the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Dobbs case "took a constitutional right from the people of America, the women of America. ... We all had to fight.''

Citing a concurring opinion written by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Harris said the nation's highest court could be looking at the same-sex marriage ruling in the future.

"They will come for everyone else, and then they will come for you,'' Harris said.

Harris noted that President Joe Biden signed two executive orders regarding abortion on multiple aspects, including the constitutional right to travel.
"There's going to be litigation. ... There's going to be the need for organizing,'' Harris said, making one of her common references to Venn diagrams with interlocking circles.
"No one should be made to fight alone, especially when you're fighting for fundamental rights.''
"On the rape and incest piece ... when I was a prosecutor, I specialized in child sexual assault,'' Harris said. "It's immoral. And a national law will handle that.''

Noting that she has spoken to at least 100 world leaders, including presidents, prime ministers, and kings, Harris said the world is watching the United States.
"When you're a role model, people watch what you do to see if it matches what you say,'' Harris said.

"The fight for civil rights must be fought and won with each generation,'' she said. "When I look around this room, I know we're up for this fight.''

Hayes raised the issue of Black maternal health, saying that Black women are three times more likely to die than white women during childbirth.
"There's more work to be done,'' Harris said.

McGill Johnson asked about the Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, on the role of men on the issue.
"It is the woman's choice, not theirs,'' Harris said. "It is about fundamental rights and right to privacy.''
"Ella, our daughter, will have fewer rights than my mother-in-law,'' Harris said, comparing a 23-year-old and an 81-year-old.

Responding to a question from the audience that was read by Hayes, Harris said, "The first point I will make is you are not alone. ... We have nothing to be ashamed about. ... You're not alone, so let's organize. Let's do what we can in the next 34 days. This is not a political event, but it's a fact that it is 34 days from the election.''

In a statement that drew some of the most applause of the day, Harris said, "One does not have to abandon their faith or their beliefs to agree that the government should not be making that decision for her.''

Harris then exited the stage at 1:49 p.m. Wednesday.

VP Harris local print pool #5 - update

Quotes can be checked against the transcript, and this quote is from near the end of the event.

"This is not a political event, but it is a fact that in 34 days there is a midterm coming up,'' Harris told the crowd. "The facts must be spoken.''