Michelle Obama gets to the point and warns about what a Trump presidency would mean for women's health

At her first stop of the 2024 campaign, former first lady Michelle Obama delivered an urgent message to men, arguing that the vote could have life-and-death consequences for the women they love.

“I ask all of you from the bottom of my heart to take our lives seriously,” she said at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

The former first lady praised Harris' credentials and called for turnout and engagement in her speech. But she emotionally devoted much time to arguing that if former President Donald Trump, who spent Saturday campaigning in Michigan and Pennsylvania, were reelected, it would have devastating consequences for the future of women's health.

“For the men who love us, let me just try to paint a picture of what it will feel like if America, the richest nation on earth, continues to deprive its women of basic services, and how that affects every single woman will impact your life. ” Obama said.

Obama argued that a woman affected by the guidelines “could be in legal jeopardy if she needs a pill from abroad or abroad, or if she has to travel across state lines because the local clinic is closed.”

“Your daughter may be too scared to call the doctor if she bleeds during an unexpected pregnancy. “Your niece could be the one who miscarries in her bathtub after the hospital turns her away,” she continued.

“And that doesn’t just affect women, but also you and your sons,” she said, suggesting that both men and women would suffer “the devastating consequences of teenage pregnancy.”

Going beyond abortion, Obama noted that women's increasingly limited access to health care could also have serious implications for miscarriage treatment, cancer screenings and access to medical professionals.

“Your wife or your mother could be the ones at higher risk of dying from undiagnosed cervical cancer because they don't have access to regular gynecological care,” she said.

“And then there is the tragic but very real possibility that, in the worst case scenario, you will be the one holding flowers at the funeral,” she later added. “Maybe you’re the one who has to raise your kids alone.”

Her speech comes at a time when polls indicate a wide gender gap in Americans' support for Harris and Trump. An October NBC News poll found that women supported Harris by a 14-point margin, while men supported Trump by a 16-point margin. Polls from several major media outlets also showed that Harris and Trump are in an extremely close race.

Obama also addressed voters who were considering not voting in protest or voting for Trump or a third-party candidate, arguing that “as women, we become collateral damage to your anger.”

“As men, are you ready to look the women and children you love in the eyes and tell them that you supported this attack on our security?” she asked.

Harris, speaking after Obama, made similar comments, arguing that men saw the women they loved “at risk because their rights were being taken away.” Before speaking in Michigan on Saturday, Harris held an event in Texas on Friday, mobilizing her supporters in the red state against what she called a “health crisis” caused by Trump.

“The men of America don’t want this. Women have died because of these bans,” Harris said Saturday in Michigan. “How could anyone say they wanted that? And you heard me say: While I believe Donald Trump is a dubious man, the consequences if he ever becomes president again are brutally serious, brutally serious.”

When reached for comment, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Trump “has long consistently supported the rights of states to make abortion decisions.” She emphasized that he would not sign a federal abortion ban and said that Trump “also supports universal access to contraception and IVF.”

Trump's stance on reproductive rights has evolved over the years. While he once supported abortion rights, he now acknowledges his role in overturning Roe v. Wade after appointing three justices to the Supreme Court who voted with the majority. Trump says he supports the right of states to decide the legality of abortion procedures within their own borders, and he has said he would not sign a federal ban.

While Obama highlighted potential dangers to women, Trump conjured up grim images of crime at his rallies on Saturday, criticized Beyoncé's campaign with Harris and touted his foreign policy experience while claiming that Harris “wanted” war.

“She would love military service. She just wants war. The reason I can't get along with her is because she wanted to invade every damn country she could think of,” Trump said in Novi, Michigan, without evidence.

Trump also gathered at State College in Pennsylvania and his speeches picked up on his typical themes. The former president argued that “we are on the verge of World War III” by portraying migrants as coming from “jails and prisons, lunatic asylums and mental institutions,” and insulted Harris as a “grossly incompetent person.”

Meanwhile in Michigan, Obama claimed that some people “hold Kamala to a higher standard than her opponent.”

“We expect her to be intelligent, articulate, to have clear policies, to never show too much anger and to continually prove that she belongs,” she said. “But we don’t expect anything from Trump. No understanding of politics, no ability to put together a coherent argument, no honesty, no decency, no morals.”

And she suggested that Harris could suffer in the election if Americans aren't “ready for this moment.”

“I realize that the question is not whether Kamala is ready for this moment, because she has shown in every way that she is ready,” she said. “The real question is: Are we as a country ready for this moment?”

According to a Harris campaign official, more than 7,000 people attended the rally. Most people in the room stood throughout Obama's 40-minute speech, frequently cheering and emphasizing their comments.