Democrats on Monday evening will spotlight the stories of women placed in medical peril because of state abortion bans, part of an effort by the party to capitalize on the lasting anger over the Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade.
All three women who are scheduled to speak on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago have become prominent supporters of the party’s ticket on the campaign trail, offering their deeply personal testimonials in campaign ads, White House meetings and political events.
One of the women, Amanda Zurawski of Texas, nearly died after going into premature labor at 18 weeks of pregnancy. The sepsis she developed as a result of her medical care affected her ability to have children. She later became a plaintiff in the first patient-led legal challenge to state abortion restrictions after the Supreme Court, with three justices nominated by former President Donald J. Trump, overturned Roe.
Ms. Zurawksi was a guest of President Biden’s at his State of the Union address in March and was featured in an emotional campaign ad, in which she sobbed about the loss of the baby she and her husband had wanted to name Willow.
Kaitlyn Joshua, another of the speakers, was turned away from two Louisiana hospitals while bleeding and in severe pain during a miscarriage. In a separate campaign spot, she said her inability to get the medical help she needed in a state where abortion is banned was “a direct result of Donald Trump overturning Roe v. Wade.”
And Hadley Duvall of Kentucky, the third woman, talked about her experience being raped as a child by her stepfather in a pivotal campaign ad for Gov. Andy Beshear last year. Last month, the Biden campaign, before the president decided to end his re-election bid and support Vice President Kamala Harris, released a searing spot in which Ms. Duvall recounted how the years of sexual abuse resulted in a pregnancy when she was 12 years old. She miscarried but has said “the idea of politicians forcing me to give birth to my rapist’s baby is unconscionable.”
“Girls like me across the country are suffering. Their futures are being ripped away,” she said in the ad. “Trump and JD Vance don’t care about women. They don’t care about girls in this situation.”
Ms. Duvall said the opportunity to tell her story from the convention stage was “incredibly meaningful” for women and their families across the country.
“What happened to us is not unique, tragically,” she said. “We are giving voice to countless women and families who have been hurt by Donald Trump’s MAGA abortion bans and we are all fighting back.”
Mr. Trump has said he is “proudly the person responsible” for overturning Roe v. Wade and has suggested that, if elected, he would allow states to prosecute women who violate abortion restrictions. He has also said he believes abortion policy should be left to the states, which would allow restrictions to continue in Republican-controlled areas.
Democrats believe that such personal stories connect deeply with voters, helping the party reach beyond their liberal base by emphasizing the real-life impacts of abortion bans. Aides to Mr. Beshear have said that the ad featuring Ms. Duvall had the biggest impact among older men living in more rural and conservative parts of the state.
Democrats plan to make abortion rights a consistent theme of their four-night event, underscoring how the issue has emerged as a central pillar of the party’s campaigns.
A number of elected officials, including Mr. Beshear, plan to focus on the topic during the speeches. Convention planners have also given speaking slots to Mini Timmaraju, the head of Reproductive Freedom for All, and both Alexis McGill Johnson, the current president of Planned Parenthood, and Cecile Richards, the former head of the organization.