At a Biden-Harris campaign rally for reproductive rights in Oakland County, Michigan, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff urged action and involvement to protect and reinstate reproductive freedoms.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Senator Debbie Stabenow!
00:09That shit...
00:13It's so good to be back in Michigan.
00:16I feel like I may have to get a bedroom here.
00:19I've been here a lot, but it's always great to be back.
00:22And I remember in 2020 campaigning with your great senator.
00:26Can we just give it up for her?
00:29She's done so much for all of us.
00:34And what about Misha Collins?
00:40So, Misha, you were great. Thank you, Caitlin and Dr.
00:45So, Misha gets it.
00:48We were at an event together in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago.
00:5230 or so men talking about this very issue.
00:57Closed press, just having a conversation.
01:00And it was a deep conversation about how this issue, the Supreme Court,
01:06Donald Trump's Supreme Court, ripping away a fundamental right
01:12that had been on the books for 50 years from not only the women of our country,
01:18but all of us.
01:20It was so appalling.
01:22The discussions that we had as men, halos, fathers, you name it, it was deep.
01:28And so as we were leaving the event, we started catching up
01:31and getting to know each other more.
01:33I said, hey, I'm going to be on the road talking about this.
01:36Will you join me in Michigan in a couple of weeks
01:39on the second anniversary of this egregious decision?
01:42And he said, I'm going to drop everything.
01:45Flew in, just got here an hour or so ago to be here for all of us.
01:49Misha, thank you so much.
01:52Thank you.
01:53Thank you.
01:54Thank you.
01:55Thank you.
01:56Thank you.
01:57Thank you.
01:58Thank you.
01:59I thought people wanted my selfie walking around.
02:01I don't know.
02:03And Caitlin, we did an event earlier today.
02:06Her story is a story of thousands upon thousands upon thousands of women.
02:13She is just an example of the barbarism.
02:17It's just unconscionable.
02:20The attack on people, on their health,
02:24literally waiting to die before they can get treatment.
02:28And this is every single day of Donald Trump's created crisis,
02:33every single day all over the country.
02:36And as the senator said, the best way to prevent it from going further
02:43is to reelect Joe Biden and my wife Kamala Harris.
02:49Because let me tell you something.
02:51Let me tell you something.
02:53We're going to win this election.
02:55And we are going to win Michigan.
02:58And we're going to make sure Donald Trump does not get anywhere near that White House ever again.
03:10And we have to win.
03:12We have no choice but to win this election.
03:16This is a complete binary election.
03:19On one hand, you have incompetence, chaos,
03:24someone who does not give a you-know-what about the people of the United States.
03:29And he's proved it.
03:30Remember when he said in 2016 that he wanted women to be punished for getting abortion?
03:36He came through on that promise, didn't he?
03:38And remember he said he wanted to overturn Roe v. Wade
03:41by appointing Supreme Court justices who would do just that?
03:45Well, he did that too.
03:47And so rest assured, and God forbid he gets back to the White House,
03:52it's going to be even worse because they're organized, they have a plan,
03:57they've got these certain states behind them,
04:00and they have just duplicitous people in Congress willing to do his bidding just to be around power.
04:07Did you see him going back to the Capitol a couple weeks ago?
04:10Wasn't that disgusting?
04:12The guy who literally tried to overturn a free and fair election that he lost.
04:17We beat him like a drum.
04:21And those very same members of Congress who were scurrying, running in fear on January 6th
04:28were all standing around him like this.
04:31It made me sick.
04:33It should make every American sick.
04:35That's not who we are as a country.
04:37It's anti-democratic.
04:39It is anti-who we are as a people.
04:42Dobbs, I didn't want to call it an anniversary.
04:46Because that connotes something to celebrate.
04:49This is not something to celebrate.
04:51This is something to fight against.
04:54And I'll never forget where I was two years ago.
04:58I got a call from my wife, the vice president, who was on Air Force Two,
05:05traveling somewhere.
05:07And I got a call.
05:09And she said something to the effect of anger and rage in her voice.
05:14Dougie, they actually did it.
05:17And we knew. Remember there was a leaked version of the opinion?
05:20So we kind of knew this was coming.
05:22But to hear it, and to see it, and to feel it from the United States Supreme Court,
05:30the court of Thurgood and Ruth Bader Ginsburg took this right away.
05:36So I just knew then that she was going to go out and do what she's been doing the last two years,
05:40which is fighting and leading and pushing back on this.
05:43But I also got a very rare text from my daughter right after, 23 at that time, 25 now.
05:59She basically said, I wrote it down, I'm angry, and I don't want to stand by silently.
06:09It's time to fight.
06:11It's time to speak out.
06:13And Dad, we need to do something about this.
06:15But then, shortly thereafter, I heard from my then 81, now 83-year-old mother, Barbara.
06:26And think about that.
06:2881 years old, 50 some odd years ago.
06:31So in her 20s, in the 60s and 70s, she was out there fighting.
06:37Fighting for equal rights.
06:39Fighting for abortion rights.
06:41Fighting for equal pay.
06:43All the things that we thought were going in the right direction.
06:47So my mother was appalled.
06:49And she said, how is it going to be possible that Ella is going to have less rights than me?
06:55Think about that.
06:57And also said, and honey, you need to do something about this.
07:02So I have been doing that for the last two years.
07:07Not just because of those phone calls.
07:10And not just because I have a daughter.
07:12When I hear that from somebody, it's just, come on.
07:15I do it because it's the right thing to do.
07:18Because women should not be treated as less than.
07:23Women must have the same exact rights that men do.
07:27And this is a way that's taking rights away.
07:31And I also have a son who's 29 years old.
07:38Just got married a few months ago.
07:40Was thinking about starting a family.
07:43And his wife is from Arkansas and Texas.
07:46So think about, ooh, do we want to move back home?
07:49No, not if you want to start a family and not be subject to a six-week abortion ban.
07:55That in some instances criminalizes the act and also makes it a crime for the doctors.
08:01Think about that.
08:03So this is not an issue that I talk about just because I have a daughter.
08:07It's because it's the right thing to do.
08:09This is an issue that all of us need to care about.
08:12Men included.
08:13So I've been traveling around the country talking about this issue with men.
08:18And have had many guys come out and talk to me about it and tell their stories.
08:24And then when you mention Justice Thomas' concurring opinion in Dobbs, that should scare everyone.
08:33Because Roe v. Wade and a long line of fundamental rights were based on this case called Griswold.
08:40Yes, I'm a lawyer and I teach law part-time.
08:43Right to privacy.
08:46Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Dobbs decision saying that somehow this Griswold right of privacy didn't apply.
08:54And Justice Thomas said, ooh, what else can we look at that's based on that?
08:59Gay marriage.
09:01What you can do in your bedroom.
09:03Contraception.
09:05Think about it.
09:06They're not hiding the ball here.
09:08This was in the concurring opinion.
09:11And so you see what's happening in these states.
09:14They're trying to do just that.
09:16And please, do not believe Donald Trump when he says, oh, I'm not in favor of a national.
09:23He is.
09:24He ran on it.
09:25Look at the Supreme Court that he appointed.
09:28And when he says, just throw it back to the states, you have these egregious stories that we just heard from Kaitlin.
09:34You heard the senator talk about what's happening in Idaho.
09:38This is happening all over the country.
09:40That will continue to happen.
09:42So rest assured, even though in Michigan I come from California, don't get comfortable.
09:48Do not get comfortable.
09:50Because if we do not win this election, they are coming for your freedom right here in Michigan, California, and New York.
09:58Rest assured.
10:02Don't let it happen.
10:04You are not without power.
10:07They are trying to make you feel like you have no power.
10:10They're making it so much, they're throwing so much at you.
10:15And I see every head shaking.
10:17Don't let them do that.
10:19It's four months.
10:21We can do anything for four months.
10:24Four months to save our country.
10:26Four months to protect your freedom.
10:28Right?
10:30Now I'm seeing some smiles.
10:33So this is also, like I mentioned, so many issues are at play.
10:39It's an issue for all of us.
10:41It's an issue for our economy.
10:43You hear these stories of these millions of women who live in places with these absolute bans.
10:49And they say, oh, well, you can just travel.
10:51Well, a lot of these states, they're tracking you with technology.
10:54They're making it illegal to travel.
10:56They're criminalizing doctors if they do.
11:00And if you're able to get out, do you have the money to get out?
11:03Can you take work off?
11:05You may already have children, because many women who seek this care, guess what, are already mothers.
11:10And so you've got this whole trope that, oh, just leave it to the states, and if you need to travel, you can't.
11:17Uh-uh.
11:18That's not true.
11:19So it's also unfair economically.
11:22It's just got to change.
11:24So how do we do it?
11:26Debbie said it.
11:27We have to re-elect Joe and Kamala.
11:29And not just because of this.
11:35It's because they deserve re-election.
11:38They've done a great job.
11:39I can't tell you how proud I am of Joe and Kamala.
11:43I get to work there.
11:44I get to see it every day, traveling this country to see all the great work that they've done, not just protecting our freedom, but just doing all these things.
11:54And all that goes away.
11:55So think about whatever you care about, whatever that issue is above and beyond your freedoms.
12:01If you want to breathe clean air, that's at risk.
12:04If you want to be free from gun violence, that's at risk.
12:08All of that is at risk.
12:12So that's why I've been saying, the President, the Vice President, the First Lady, we are not going to rest.
12:17We are barely going to sleep.
12:19We are going to do these next four months with joy and with pride because we love our country.
12:26We are patriots just like you.
12:28This country is worth fighting for.
12:31So let's fight for it.
12:33Thank you.