Opinion: Gen Z must elect Kamala Harris to protect reproductive freedom

The 2024 elections present an existential question to Americans: what kind of country do we want to be? As a young person standing on the edge of what could be one of the most consequential elections of my lifetime, I’ve been reflecting on what this election means to me and so many other young people who are confronting the kind of country and culture we want to build, especially as someone who cares deeply about abortion rights and reproductive freedom. 

For myself and so many of my peers who were children when Donald Trump was first elected in 2016 and now are able to vote for the first time, it cannot be understated how monumental this moment is. 

After watching Trump take office and set the stage for attacks against not just our reproductive rights and freedom, but against immigrants, people of color, and even the economic mobility of young people like myself, being able to vote for Kamala Harris makes me feel like I finally have a voice—not just as a young woman, but as an older sister and a daughter. 

Growing up in an immigrant and Latine household, I don’t remember my family talking much about politics or voting. Being from a working-class family, my mother and grandfather were focused on putting food on the table and taking care of us. It wasn’t until former President Barack Obama was elected that I remember them discussing politics. I noticed a shift in how they viewed the world — it looked like hope. 

Twelve years later, I am proud to be able to vote for a woman of color who makes me feel seen, heard, and strong. I’ve always been a strong protector of my family, and this year, my younger sister, my mother, and I will all go out together to vote for a woman who will ensure we don’t go back.

Let’s face it: Trump and J.D. Vance’s extreme views on reproductive rights, women’s autonomy, and LGBTQ+ issues, amongst so many others, are a direct threat to the progress we’ve made and the livelihoods of so many loved members of our families, friends, and communities. 

Personally, I want to live in a country where I know that not only is my right to make my own health care decisions protected, but that those decisions are respected and kept private, not monitored and prosecuted by politicians who have zero experience with reproductive health care.  

In contrast, Vice President Harris has consistently demonstrated an unwavering commitment to protecting reproductive rights and ensuring that every person has the freedom to make their own health care decisions. 

As a young woman and a student who is working towards a career as a lawyer in nonprofit and women’s health care spaces, something that stands out to me about Kamala Harris is when she highlighted the glaring absence of laws governing the male body compared to the numerous regulations imposed on women’s bodies during the confirmation hearings for then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, a question that seemed to stump him.

While Kavanaugh went on to help overturn Roe v. Wade, and with it, 50 years of legal precedent, Harris’ strength, grace, and intelligence while pointing out injustice is something that I see as absolutely necessary in the kind of leadership we need in a post-Roe world. 

As someone whose first presidential election is this one, it is abundantly clear that as young people our future, our rights, and our values are on the line. This November, let’s make a decisive stand. Let’s choose progress over regression, unity over division, and hope over fear. Let’s elect Kamala Harris and ensure that our future remains bright and full of promise.