Doug Emhoff to hold event urging men to advocate for abortion rights

Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff will convene a panel in Atlanta on Tuesday focused on the role men can play in advocating for more access to abortion rights, according to sources familiar with the plans.

The event, timed to mark the five-year anniversary of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signing Georgia’s six-week ban on most abortions into law, is expected to feature health care providers, reproductive rights activists, local leaders and students.

Emhoff plans to stress the importance of men supporting abortion rights and using their voices to push to expand women’s ability to get the procedure, the sources said. The audience is expected to be made up primarily of men and will include some students from Morehouse College.

The panel will be held in collaboration with Men4Choice, a group that organizes and trains men to fight for abortion access and mobilizes them to encourage other men to support their cause, the sources said. Men4Choice has also organized engagements with the second gentleman across the country, including in Florida, Arizona and North Carolina.

On Tuesday, Emhoff, who has accompanied Vice President Kamala Harris during some of the more than 80 events she has held on reproductive freedom since Roe v. Wade was overturned, will aim to send a message to men that they must help push back against state abortion restrictions and support candidates who will expand abortion access, the sources said.

The panelists for the event include Carol McDonald, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast; Davante Jennings, a state organizer for Unite Reproductive and Gender Equity; and Shawana Moore, a women’s health nurse practitioner.

The event will also feature Cecil Price III, a Morehouse University student and member of Men4Choice who is working to organize other men to become more active in the abortion rights movement.

As part of the day, Khadeen Ellis, a television host and actor, will also speak about her pregnancy and motherhood experiences and the particular challenges Black women face during childbirth.

The sources said before the event, Emhoff will also meet with Black small-business owners and visit a local business, where he will seek to call attention to a new tour the vice president recently kicked off aimed at highlighting the need to create economic opportunities.

Abortion has become a top issue this election year, with both President Joe Biden and Harris often attacking former President Donald Trump and Republicans on the topic. Harris, who has emerged as one of the administration’s most prominent voices on abortion, has held abortion-related events in at least 20 states, including a speech she gave in Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday just as that state’s new six-week ban on most abortions went into effect.