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DNC 2024 Day 4 live updates: Harris says she will 'fight for America's future'

Harris set her agenda in a rousing speech at the DNC.

Last Updated: August 22, 2024, 11:29 PM EDT

The moment that millions around the country have been waiting for took place Thursday at the Democratic National Convention as Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the nomination for the presidency.

Harris took the stage to a roaring standing ovation and soon set her agenda in a rousing speech.

Whether it was immigration, reproductive rights or foreign security, the vice president showcased a sharp contrast in policies to former President Donald Trump.

Harris's speech was preceded by a who's who of leaders from both sides of the aisle who all made the case that she is the best person to be the nation's leader.

    11:29 PM EDT

    Excitement, but some disappointment

    Harris jazzed up the crowd, but some attendees were sad about one notable no show.

    “I’m so sad about Beyonce,” one attendee said.

    11:28 PM EDT

    Fact-checking Harris’ abortion attacks on Trump

    Harris said, “As a part of his agenda, [Trump] and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion, and enact a nationwide abortion ban, with or without Congress. And get this … He plans to create a national anti-abortion coordinator and force states to report on women's miscarriages and abortions.”

    Most of the language in Harris’ claim stems from the policies in Project 2025. But it’s not all accurate. Project 2025 doesn’t call to ban abortion nationwide, though its recommendations could curtail some contraceptives and limit abortion access. In addition, what’s known about Trump’s abortion agenda doesn't line up with either Harris’ description or Project 2025’s wish list.

    Project 2025 suggests that the Department of Health and Human Services Department should "return to being known as the Department of Life by explicitly rejecting the notion that abortion is health care."

    The manual recommends that the Food and Drug Administration reverse its 2000 approval of mifepristone, the first pill taken in a two-drug regimen for a medication abortion, which is the most common form of abortion in the U.S. — accounting for around 63% of abortions in 2023. (In June, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a legal challenge to mifepristone’s FDA approval over procedural grounds.)

    If mifepristone were to remain approved, Project 2025 recommends new rules, such as cutting limits on its use from 10 weeks into pregnancy to seven and requiring that it be provided to patients in person — part of the group’s efforts to limit access to the drug by mail. It also calls for the Justice Department to enforce the 1873 Comstock Act, which bans the mailing of "obscene" materials, with respect to mifepristone. Abortion access supporters fear that a strict interpretation of the law could go further to ban mailing the materials used in procedural abortions, such as surgical instruments and equipment.

    The plan proposes withholding federal money from states that don’t report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention how many abortions take place within their borders; would prohibit abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood, from receiving Medicaid funds; and calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that the training of medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, omits abortion training.

    The document says some forms of emergency contraception — particularly Ella, a pill that can be taken within five days of unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy — should be excluded from no-cost coverage. The Affordable Care Act requires most private health insurers to cover recommended preventive services, which involves a range of birth control methods, including emergency contraception.

    As for how this all aligns with Trump's views, the former president recently said states should decide abortion regulations and that he wouldn’t block access to contraceptives. He said during his June 27 debate with Biden that he wouldn’t ban mifepristone after the Supreme Court "approved" it. But the court rejected the lawsuit based on standing, not the case’s merits. He has not weighed in on the Comstock Act or said whether he supports it being used to block abortion medication, or other kinds of abortions.

    —PolitiFact’s Samantha Putterman and Aaron Sharockman

    11:17 PM EDT

    100,000 balloons drop on crowd

    Some 100,000 red, white and blue balloons are falling in the arena while Beyonce's "Freedom" plays as the final night of the DNC wraps up.

    In preparation, volunteers and convention staff began inflating them on Wednesday, a convention official said.

    Red, white and blue balloons fell in the arena as the Democratic National Convention wrapped up in Chicago.
    Red, white and blue balloons fell in the arena as the Democratic National Convention wrapped up in Chicago.

    11:17 PM EDT

    Harris has a fine line to walk on Israel-Hamas

    This speech was the first time Harris has spoken at such length to address the Israel-Hamas war and crisis in Gaza. She has to walk a fine line to balance American foreign policy interests in supporting Israel with the serious concerns many of her party's voters have about the conflict's impacts on individuals in Gaza. Protests have continued throughout the DNC to include the voice of Palestinians on stage, and "Uncommitted" movement voters have been pushing the Democrats to take a harder line on Israel.

    — 538's Monica Potts

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