Update:
This story on Vice President Kamala Harris' Dallas visit originally was published July 10, 2024. We're bringing the story back as President Joe Biden announced he won't seek reelection.
Vice President Kamala Harris announces initiative targeting maternal mortality
Harris made the announcement during the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority’s national convention in Dallas. Her visit comes at a tenuous time for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.
Vice President Kamala Harris announced a new White House proposal targeting the U.S.’s high maternal mortality rate during a speech to her sorority sisters in Dallas on Wednesday.
The policy would create baseline standards for maternal health services at hospitals. Some of these standards include mandating annual staff training on maternal health practices, according to a news release from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“Nearly every hospital in our country will soon be required to provide new mothers with delivery rooms that are fully stocked with life-saving medical equipment,” Harris said of the proposal during her speech to Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority members.
Harris was the keynote speaker for the sorority’s national convention, which was hosted at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. AKA is the oldest Greek-lettered sorority founded by college-educated Black women.
Maternal mortality rates in the U.S. exceed those of other high-income countries, a 2024 Commonwealth Fund report found. Harris said the mortality rate for Black women in the U.S. is three times higher than for white women as she spoke Wednesday to thousands of AKA members.
Her visit to Dallas comes at a tenuous time for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign. Following a halting debate performance in late June, Harris has been considered a potential replacement candidate at the top of the Democratic ticket.
A small but growing number of elected democrats have been publicly urging Biden to drop out of the race, including U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin. During a Wednesday appearance on MSNBC, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., extolled Biden’s accomplishments and called him a “great president.” But she stopped short of urging him to stay in the race, instead saying it’s up to Biden to make that decision and adding “time is running short.”
But Harris — and her boss — have repeatedly said that Biden will stay in the race. Before coming to Dallas, she campaigned for Biden in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
In her address on Wednesday, Harris mentioned Biden by name three times. She also discussed the administration’s achievements related to health care affordability and insulin pricing. Since 2022, Harris has led a White House initiative to address the maternal health crisis.
But she spoke most forcefully about reproductive rights and efforts in Republican-led Southern states to limit abortion access.
“We have worked too hard and fought too long to see our daughters grow up in a world with fewer rights than our mothers,” Harris said, referencing the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade.
“When Congress passes the law that restores the reproductive freedoms of Roe, our President, Joe Biden, will sign it,” she added.
The White House said Harris’ keynote speech was a part of her “Summer of Engagement” speaker series, in which she will engage with “key constituencies,” but speaking at AKA events has become a bit of a tradition for Harris. As the sorority’s most politically powerful member, she also gave the keynote address at the 2022 convention in Orlando.
“From the moment we met, she welcomed me with warmth, grace, love and a sincere desire for collaboration and commitment to progress for all people,” said Danette Anthony Reed, president and CEO of AKA.
The vice president has been a member of the sorority since 1986 and has frequently referenced the organization throughout her political career. And in keeping with AKA tradition, Harris wore a pearl necklace on Wednesday, a symbol of the sorority for decades.
Harris also referenced former President Donald Trump at length Wednesday and said he would “terminate the United States Constitution” and sign a national abortion ban into law if elected to a second term as president. Trump has said he will not ban abortion nationwide if elected.
“This is the most existential, consequential and important election of our lifetimes,” Harris told attendees Wednesday. She then recited a widely known AKA chat in conjunction with attendees.
“This is a serious matter,” Harris said as the crowd joined in.
Photos: Vice President Kamala Harris addresses the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority national convention in Dallas
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