HOUSTON (AP) — Kamala Harris and Beyoncé lit up a Houston rally on Friday with a double-barreled argument against Donald Trump; the superstar told the Democratic nominee’s largest crowd yet that “it’s time to sing a new song,” as Harris warned. Her GOP rival was determined to further erode women’s rights.

The rally was held in reliably Republican Texas to highlight the mounting medical consequences of the state’s strict abortion ban, but the point of the message was to focus on Harris’s support for Roe v. It was to register in political battleground states where he hoped the fallout from the Wade case would escalate. will encourage voters to support his presidential bid.

“To all the men and women in this room and watching across the country, we need you,” Beyoncé said in a rare political appearance. The megastar’s speech was arrogant, cheerful and optimistic; It reflected the seriousness of the issue and the message Harris wanted to convey.

“I stand here as a mother, a mother who cares deeply about the world in which my children and all our children live,” Beyoncé said. “A world where we have the freedom to control our bodies and are not divided.”

Harris walked out to huge applause. He told the crowd that Trump erased half a century of hard-fought progress when he appointed the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe and sparked a spiraling health crisis.

He listed the downstream effects he has seen from various bans. Women who never intend to terminate their pregnancies face devastating complications when they cannot receive care. They have fewer options, and fewer medical students choose to specialize in women’s health.

“To anyone watching from another state, if you think you’re protected from Trump’s abortion bans because you live in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New York, California, or any state where voters or legislators protect reproductive freedom, please know this: No One Is Protected,” warned Harris. “Because Donald Trump’s national ban will ban abortion in every state.”

“All this to say, elections matter,” he said.

Although Trump has said he would veto a national abortion ban, he has been inconsistent in his message to voters on abortion and reproductive rights. He has repeatedly changed his stance and provided vague, contradictory and at times inane answers to questions on an issue that has become a major vulnerability for Republicans in this year’s election.

Trump was also in Texas on Friday, where he predicted he would set a record for the number of people deported from the United States if he wins the election. He recorded a podcast with Joe Rogan before heading to a rally in Traverse City, Michigan, and took the stage three hours late.

Harris was joined at the rally by women who nearly died from sepsis and other pregnancy complications because they couldn’t get proper medical care. Some were already campaigning for Harris, and others told their harrowing stories in campaign ads that tried to show how the issue had morphed into something much bigger than the right to end an unwanted pregnancy.

As abortion has been restricted in Texas, the state’s infant mortality rate has increased, more babies have died from birth defects, and maternal deaths have increased.

Crowds waited for hours wearing flashing red, white and blue LED bracelets as “trust women” and “freedom” flashed on large screens between demonstrations.

“Sometimes they forget about us because we’re a Republican state,” said Rhonda Johnson, who has lived in Houston for 19 years. “But I’m glad he’s here.”

Reproductive rights, economics and LGBTQ issues were the main reasons for Yannick Djomatchoua’s decision to support Harris and wait in line for hours to see her. “It’s very personal,” she said, adding that she knows friends who have had to make difficult decisions because of the state’s abortion restrictions.

Harris’ campaign has taken Beyoncé’s 2016 song “Freedom” as an anthem, and the message dovetails with the vice president’s emphasis on reproductive freedom. Beyoncé was joined by her mother, Tina Knowles, and former bandmate Kelly Rowland, who talked about Harris’ historic candidacy and her dream of a more united nation.

“Our voices sing a chorus of unity,” Beyoncé said. “They’re singing a song of honor and opportunity, are you ready?”

Harris was joined by country legend Willie Nelson, who performed some of his biggest hits, including “On the Road Again.”

“Hey, how are you?” Nelson, 91, asked the crowd. “Are we ready to say, Mr. President?”

In the 14 states where abortion is strictly banned, women cannot receive medical care until their condition becomes life-threatening. In some states, doctors may face criminal charges if they provide medical care.

Democrats warn that the gains in rights and freedoms will only continue if Trump is elected. For example, Republican lawmakers in states across the U.S. are rejecting Democratic efforts to protect or expand access to birth control.

“Freedom should not be given in America. This should not be granted. It’s ours. Right. “And that includes a woman’s fundamental freedom to make decisions about her own body and not let the government tell her what to do,” Harris said.

There is some evidence to suggest that abortion rights could drive women to the polls, as it did in the 2022 midterm elections. Voters in seven states, including some conservatives, have either protected abortion rights or defeated attempts to restrict those rights in statewide ballot measures in the past two years.

Nearly 6 in 10 Americans think their state should allow legal abortion for a person who doesn’t want to get pregnant for any reason, according to a July poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Democrats also hope Harris’ visit will provide support for Rep. Colin Allred, who is making a long-shot bid to unseat Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Allred said Friday that if you vote to repeal a woman’s constitutional right, as Cruz did, you should lose your job.

Texas epitomizes the post-Roe landscape. The strict abortion ban prohibits doctors from performing abortions after heart activity is detected, which can happen six weeks or earlier.

As a result, women are increasingly subjected to poor medical care. This is partly because doctors cannot intervene unless a woman is facing a life-threatening condition or is suffering from “significant impairment of essential body functions.”

“Texas’ abortion bans put in place by Donald Trump nearly cost me my life and left me with physical and emotional scars,” said Ondrea Cummings, who lost her baby at 16 weeks and nearly died of sepsis because she failed to provide care quickly enough. .

“I never thought I would have this kind of personal experience. “If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.”

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It has long been reported from Washington.