U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a wounded veteran of the Iraq War and a mother, took a strong stance against former President Trump, labeling him a “five-time draft-dodging coward.” She criticized his “anti-woman crusade,” asserting that it jeopardizes the rights of Americans to build their families.
During her speech at the Democratic National Convention, Duckworth shared her decade-long battle with infertility and emphasized that her daughters would not be here without access to reproductive healthcare and in-vitro fertilization. She warned that Trump’s agenda and that of the Republicans extend beyond abortion bans, predicting they would target IVF next.
Duckworth pointed to a recent ruling by an Alabama state court, which defined embryos as children, as evidence of this threat. Despite that, the state’s legislature subsequently enacted a law to protect IVF procedures.
“My struggle with infertility was more painful than any wound I earned on the battlefield,” she stated. “So, how dare a convicted felon like Donald Trump treat women seeking healthcare like they’re the ones breaking the law?”
Duckworth also criticized Trump for his role in shifting the Supreme Court to the right, particularly through the appointment of three justices during his presidency, which led to the overturning of the constitutional right to abortion.
She concluded with a heartfelt message: “It’s simple: Every American deserves the right to be called ‘mommy’ or ‘daddy’ without being treated like a criminal.”