The Three Women Who Thrust Abortion Into Spotlight at DNC

Three women affected by restrictive abortion laws in the United States spoke at the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, sharing their personal stories as part of the party’s effort to capitalize on the ongoing anger over the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Amanda Zurawski, Kaitlyn Joshua and Hadley Duvall, all involved in the Democratic campaign, took the stage on Monday to share their personal stories. All three speakers have emerged as key surrogates for the Democratic Party, campaigning in support of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Their testimonials, which have already featured in campaign ads, White House meetings, and political events, were given a key primetime speaking slot ahead of President Biden’s keynote speech. Here’s what we know about them.
Of the three women, Amanda Zurawski is the most well-known. She gained national attention after suing the state of Texas over its abortion ban and was later invited to attend President Biden’s State of the Union address in February 2023.
Zurawski was 18 weeks pregnant when she faced severe pregnancy complications. Despite the fetus’s non-viability and the serious risk to her health, doctors, constrained by Texas’s strict post-Roe abortion law, refused to terminate the pregnancy. This delay led to Zurawski developing sepsis, bringing her to the brink of death.
“It felt like I was being sentenced to death,” Zurawski said in an interview earlier this year, reflecting on her harrowing experience.
She subsequently became a plaintiff in the first patient-led legal challenge against state abortion restrictions following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe. Although her lawsuit ultimately did not succeed, it propelled her into the spotlight as a vocal advocate for abortion rights. Her experience was also featured in an April campaign ad supporting President Biden’s re-election bid.
A young mother from Louisiana, Kaitlyn Joshua faced significant challenges when seeking an abortion after a severe fetal anomaly was detected.
Eleven weeks into her pregnancy, Joshua began to miscarry. But she struggled to get care after two emergency rooms turned her away. Louisiana’s restrictive laws meant she had to travel out of state for care.
“I had to make the heartbreaking decision to leave home and my support system behind, all because of laws that disregarded my health and my baby’s fate,” Joshua said in a recent interview with MSNBC.
Louisian has several abortion bans in place; the strictest only allows abortion if the woman’s life is at risk or if abortion is needed to avert “serious, permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ.”
In a separate campaign ad, cut when Biden was still the nominee, she expressed her frustration over being denied the medical care she needed in a state where abortion is banned, stating that it was “a direct result of Donald Trump overturning Roe v. Wade.”
Hadley Duvall, 22, became a prominent abortion rights advocate in Kentucky after sharing her personal story in a campaign ad for Governor Andy Beshear during his successful re-election bid.
Duvall, who became pregnant at 12 when she was raped by her stepfather, faced significant physical and emotional suffering under Kentucky’s strict abortion laws. These laws forced her to carry the pregnancy longer than medically advisable, leading to a miscarriage. She has since spoken out against the state’s narrow exceptions, using her experience to highlight the severe impact of these regulations.
“No one should have to endure what I did. This isn’t just about access to healthcare; it’s about dignity and respect for women,” Duvall emphasized in an interview leading up to the convention.
Duvall has become a vocal critic of such regulations, advocating for women’s rights to make decisions about their own bodies. Last month, before Biden ended his re-election bid, his campaign released an ad in which Duvall recounted her story: “The idea of politicians forcing me to give birth to my rapist’s baby is unconscionable.”
In June, a month before Biden ended his reelection bid, Duvall joined Harris for an interview marking the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe.
“She will fight for every woman and every girl, even those who are not fighting for her,” Duvall said on Monday night.
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