MARQUETTE — The Fighting for Reproductive Freedom bus tour, which is traveling through swing states during the presidential campaign in support of Vice President Kamala Harris, visited Marquette Monday afternoon.

Speakers included State House 109th District Rep. Jenn Hill, D-Marquette, along with reproductive rights advocate Amanda Zurawski and civil rights advocate Maya Harris, who is Harris’ sister. Hill spoke first at the event.

“One of the absolute reasons I ran, of course, was for abortion access.” Hill said.

“We are a rural district where there are not many health clinics. As you know we are the only facility in the whole 15 counties of the Upper Peninsula is here, in Marquette. We have to drive hours for care.”

“For the last two years, we have made real progress in Michigan. We came together and passed a constitutional amendment that guaranteed abortion access. That was built by all of us.”

Hill then introduced the Texas-born Zurawski who explained her battles with abortion laws and how it nearly caused her death in a late-term miscarriage.

“The first trimester was smooth sailing but suddenly at 18 weeks, I suffered catastrophic complications,” said Zurawski. “My cervix had dilated prematurely and there was no way to safely remove the baby. So we learned with 100 percent certainty that we were going to lose our baby girl. We were devastated. What I needed at that point was an abortion, so that I could safely, and with dignity, begin the healing process both physically and emotionally. Unfortunately, my story took place in post-Roe (Roe v Wade) Texas. And the near total abortion ban had gone into effect just two days before my water broke.”

Zurawski, in March 2023 with the help of the Center for Reproductive Rights and seven original plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas, in hopes to get the state to clarify the “medical emergency'” exceptions under its abortion ban. But on May 31, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in this case, refusing to clarify the exceptions to the state’s abortion bans. The court rejected claims brought by 20 women who were denied abortions despite dire pregnancy complications.

“So for me, it took three days and a near-death crash into septic shock before my doctor could provide the health care I so desperately needed,” Zurawski said.

Zurawski went on to highlight Maya Harris, calling her a champion of reproductive freedom. She went on to highlight how the Harris- Tim Walz campaign values states overlooked by the Trump-Vance campaign.

“I don’t know, but I am going to let the fact checkers figure this out, but I am told that we may be the only campaign right now that has come this far north,” said Maya Harris. “For Kamala, we need to reach all corners of this country, because this is about all of us. Frankly, whether you vote for her or not she is going to be the best president that you’ll ever see, but we need to be provident and we need all the votes so that is also why I’m here.”

Maya Harris explained that she had a hard time trying to find a way to relate with the people of Marquette when it came to giving her speech — whether she should explain herself as a policy writer, lawyer, civil rights advocate or a grandmother.

“You know when I was coming here I thought to myself that I could talk to you as a policy advocate and a veteran of campaigns, I was a senior policy advisor on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign,” she said. “Or I could talk to you as a lawyer and a civil rights advocate, as someone who was the head of the (American Civil Liberties Union) in California. Or could talk to you as a mom of a daughter and a grandma, which is what they call me, grandma of two little girls who I want to have the freedom and choices that they deserve. But today I am here as a sister.”

After emphasizing her expertise, Maya Harris brought examples of how the Trump-Vance campaign is a campaign that cannot be trusted, as well as the hypocrisies in the campaign’s words and actions, to showcase how a Trump victory in November may do harm to families as a whole.

“On the other side there is Donald Trump and JD Vance, so I was at the debate in Philadelphia when Trump refused to say he’d veto a national abortion ban,” she said. “He doubled down on his pride on being singularly responsible for overturning Roe. He then said he was a leader in fertilization. Yet just a couple of weeks ago there was a bill in the Senate to protect (in vitro fertalization) and his hand-picked running mate JD Vance did not show up to support it. So Trump and JD Vance have made very clear where they stand on these issues; don’t be confused, and, and make no mistake that the Trump abortion ban doesn’t just make it harder to access abortion as we know from Amanda, from Amber, from so many stories across the country they make it more dangerous to give birth. This is not about family, this is not about children, our fight is about families, our fight is about children, but that is not what they’re about when it comes to reproductive freedom. Trump and Vance do not trust women, and they cannot be trusted.”

The Fighting for Reproductive Freedom bus will continue to travel through swing states, while continuing its focus on the Midwest in the days to come.