Fighting for Reproductive Freedom Bus Tour visits Ann Arbor

The Harris-Walz campaign’s Fighting for Reproductive Freedom bus tour made a stop outside Rackham Graduate School Monday afternoon, where it was greeted by about 200 University of Michigan students and community members. The tour started on Sept. 3 in Palm Beach, Fla., and is planning to stop in all 50 states with a rotating group of speakers. 

Monday’s speakers included “Parks and Recreation” actor Adam Scott, Michigan State Representative Carrie Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor), Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II and State Senator Sue Shink (D-Ann Arbor).

Scott spoke about how his personal experiences have shaped his advocacy for reproductive freedoms.

“I’m an actor, but I’m also a father, a husband and a brother, and I stand for reproductive rights,” Scott said. “Today, in our country, women and girls have fewer rights than the generation before them. The damage from the Trump abortion bans has been absolutely catastrophic for women, for families and for doctors forced to make an impossible choice between providing care and risking jail time.” 

The overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 ended the federal constitutional right to abortion in the United States, subsequently making abortion illegal in 14 states and restricted in 11. 

Scott warned of the danger of Project 2025, a comprehensive policy plan laid out by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Among its many proposals for a second Trump term, the plan lays out a framework for expanding surveillance of abortion procedures and eliminating government support for them.

“Trump and JD Vance want to go further than (the overturning of Roe v. Wade) with Project 2025,” Scott said. “They want to ban abortion nationwide. It’s not the America that I know, it’s not the kind of country that will provide the future that I want for my children. That’s why I’m using my voice and my vote to support a proven champion for women’s rights, Vice President (Kamala) Harris.”

Shink spoke to the audience about what the future could hold for women if Trump were to win the presidential race, warning of a loss of protection for Michigan women.

“The stakes of this election could not be higher,” Shink said. “If Donald Trump wins, women in Michigan could see the protections that we fought so hard to enshrine in our state constitution ripped away.” 

In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Scott said it is essential for voters to show up to the polls in the upcoming election. 

“This is by far the most important presidential election of any of our lifetimes,” Scott said. “We’ve seen what Donald Trump is capable of. His next presidency would be like the last one, except without the constraints, which would be catastrophic and going backwards.”

LSA freshman Morgan Morris attended the event and said in an interview with The Daily that the discussion of abortion rights is important to her because it aligns with the values she grew up in. 

“I’ve always been brought up in a family of Democrats, and I think it’s more important now than ever,” Morris said. “Reproductive freedom affects everyone, whether you’re a man or a woman. It’s really important that we all come together and talk about it.” 

Morris told The Daily she believes that it is crucial that students cast their votes and have difficult conversations about reproductive issues. 

“Less than 50% of young people who are eligible to vote actually do,” Morris said. “So I think it’s very important to mobilize and come out, especially on a campus like the University of Michigan, it’s important to get together and talk about it.”

Gilchrist told a story about his experience voting for the first time as a student at the University to the crowd Monday.

“I cast my first ballot for president in Markley,” Gilchrist said. “I voted for the president on this campus in a close election. I had the experience of being so excited and so confident that what I was doing was going to change the country, but we lost. The reason I share that story is because the reason we’re going to win this election is that every student on this campus will make sure that everyone else on campus knows how they need to vote in this election to make Kamala Harris our next president.”

The event ended with speakers from the event talking to the audience and sharing their experiences with reproductive rights. Shink said in an interview with The Daily what she would say to women living in other states where abortion is banned or heavily restricted. 

“Keep fighting,” Shink said. “We’re fighting for you. We need you to keep fighting too. It’s important for us to stand up for the government staying out of our bedrooms and our personal lives. And when Kamala Harris is elected, she’s going to support reproductive freedom.”

Daily Staff Reporter Abby Harris can be reached at abigailx@umich.edu. 

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