Democrats gathering in Chicago were greeted with a giant inflatable intrauterine device, trucks offering free vasectomies, condoms condemning Project 2025 and several speakers focused on using the issue of abortion to persuade Americans to vote blue.

Messaging about abortion is playing a key role in much of the programming at the Democratic National Convention this week, and it particularly resonates with young people, women of color and women in general — including Republicans, said Jodi Hicks, chief executive officer and president of Planned Parenthood California.

“It’s absolutely top of mind for folks. It’s a motivating issue, more importantly,” Hicks said. “That ability to be able to be the full person that you want to be, have rights to have a family how you want — that’s not partisan.”

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, abortion has become one of Democrats’ top motivating issues. It is widely credited with helping many Democrats win in the 2022 midterm elections.

Although Republican Party leaders may have cheered the end of Roe, they have split over their next steps on the issue. Some conservatives have pushed for a nationwide abortion ban, while others — including former President Trump — have acknowledged the political challenges that come with such a strong stance. Trump has advocated leaving the issues to the states, although he also previously expressed support for a national ban after certain points in a woman’s pregnancy.

Last month, the party scrapped language from previous platforms opposing abortion. Though the platform says, “We proudly stand for families and Life,” it also called for the matter to be decided by the states. This policy shift has been criticized by many conservatives.

On the Democratic side, strategists and party leaders are hoping that reproductive rights will again turn voters out in November, especially with a woman leading the ticket. Even before she became the nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris commanded the campaign’s abortion message in a way that President Biden couldn’t. Harris hammered home the message, particularly in battleground states such as Arizona, where a constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion access is on the state’s ballot.

“This issue is larger than what we can put on a single ballot measure,” said Arizona state Sen. Eva Burch, who serves as a delegate. “We have to have pro-choice candidates in positions of power, in order to protect these fundamental rights.”

In March, a video of Burch giving an emotional speech in the Arizona Legislature about her need to terminate an unviable pregnancy went viral. Weeks later, Arizona underwent a tumultuous battle over an 1864 abortion ban that was ultimately repealed.

Democratic pollster Celinda Lake described a “sea change” in polling of attitudes about abortion since Roe was overturned.

“Every state in the country is about 10 points more pro-abortion than it was,” Lake said, adding that more than 6 in 10 Americans support abortion rights and about three-quarters oppose a national abortion ban. “Abortion has arrived as an issue. It makes a difference. It motivates voters,” she said.

The issue also been highlighted in the convention programming. The inflatable IUD, dubbed “Freeda Womb,” greeted visitors near the United Center.

The Voters for Tomorrow organization handed out free condoms emblazoned with the phrase “F— Project 2025,” a reference to policy proposals prepared by the Heritage Foundation. And a Planned Parenthood mobile clinic offering “free vasectomies, medication abortion, and emergency contraception” was stationed near the DNC festivities.

Laws passed in conservative states have restricted access to abortion, sometimes by making it allowable only if the woman’s life is at risk. Some states refuse to make exceptions for rape or incest. Such provisions are being targeted by Democrats.

Monday night’s DNC programming spotlighted the issue in a campaign ad featuring Josh and Amanda Zurawski. The Texas couple had been awaiting a baby girl but lost her due to pregnancy complications. Amanda nearly lost her life awaiting healthcare — which she said was delayed because of the state’s abortion ban.

“Instead of welcoming Willow, I was hoping Amanda’s life could be saved,” Josh Zurawski said on the DNC stage. “I’m here tonight because the fight for reproductive rights isn’t just a woman’s fight. This is about fighting for our families — and as Kamala Harris says — our future.”

The evening also featured two other women — Kaitlyn Joshua and Hadley Duvall — who described their experiences with terminating pregnancies. Joshua, a Louisiana mother, said that two emergency rooms turned her away while she was experiencing a miscarriage, and that she feared for her own life.

Duvall, a self-described “all-American girl,” said she needed an abortion at age 12, after surviving a rape by her stepfather.

“I can’t imagine not having a choice,” Duvall said. “But today, that’s the reality for many women and girls across the country because of Donald Trump’s abortion bans.”

The convention hall grew quiet as Duvall, Joshua and the Zurawskis spoke. Many delegates appeared to be holding back tears.

At a Feminist Majority meeting Monday, women gathered in a ballroom of a historic Chicago hotel to talk about the upcoming election and the prospects for passage of an Equal Rights Amendment over crust-less tea sandwiches and pastries. Attendees were offered a free one-year subscription to Ms. Magazine, whose fall issue is titled “Vote As If Your Life Depends On It.”

Lisa Ann Walter, an actor who stars in “Abbott Elementary,” introduced herself as “a postmenopausal woman,” to applause.

“Thank you. Me and my nonhormones thank you,” she responded. “And as such, I have a few thoughts about the upcoming election. I’m thrilled to be here away from my postmenopausal life. Sadly, it’s not being a grandmother slash babysitter, or, as I like to call it, a grand nanny for a few reasons. One, I am busy repping teachers and making people laugh on the No. 1 network. And two, my four kids are too selfish to give me babies so I can fulfill my postmenopausal social duties, as prescribed by JD Vance.”

Walter, 61, said she had a miscarriage between the birth of each of her four children.

“People don’t understand that women go through it a lot. In fact, in the old days before there was help, you could die, you could hemorrhage and die. It happened often,” she said.

The final miscarriage occurred when she was on location for an acting job. She thought she had entered menopause but learned she was about eight weeks pregnant.

“I was scared,” she said. “I was pregnant and losing the child, and it was dangerous. I needed a D & C [abortion]. And had I been in a state today where you could be charged with second-degree manslaughter if they decided that you were having an abortion, or if they just let me sit in the parking lot until I bled out, I could have very well died.”

She urged the group to talk to young people about the stakes in this election for reproductive rights. According to recent polling from Emily’s List, an organization promoting women in politics, hearing Harris’ message on abortion made 77% of persuadable young women more likely to vote for her.

“Tell them, I recognize that you might have an issue that you’re concerned about. But just remember, if you don’t vote this ticket, not only might [you not] ever get a choice again to protect your own interests, but you will actually put yourself in physical danger,” Walter said.

CHICAGO – As day two of the Democratic National Convention gets underway Tuesday in blue state Illinois’ largest city, former President Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, will be in nearby battleground states.

It is part of the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee’s plan to offer a full week of counter-programming to the Democrats’ national nominating convention.

“Donald Trump is barnstorming all across the country over the course of this next week,” RNC Chair Michael Whatley emphasized in a Sunday interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”

“We are going to be out directly talking to every American family across the country the way that only Donald Trump can. And we are absolutely asking for their votes. We’re asking for their support,” Whatley highlighted.

KAMALA HARRIS PROPOSES ROLL BACK OF KEY PORTION OF TRUMP’S 2017 TAX CUTS

The move is partially to try and blunt the momentum of Vice President Kamala Harris heading into the Democrats’ convention. Harris has been riding a wave of energy and enthusiasm – both in polling and in fundraising – since replacing President Biden at the top of the Democrats’ 2024 ticket four weeks ago.

However, it also appears to be another move to try and put pressure on Harris for not holding a news conference or a major interview since Biden bowed out and backed his vice president.

HARRIS AND TRUMP HOLD DUELING RALLIES IN THE BIGGEST OF THE BATTLEGROUNDS

“At the DNC, Kamala Harris will hide behind celebrities because everyday families know that she has been an absolute disaster for our nation, and real Americans are worse off now than four years ago,” Trump campaign co-chairs Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita charged in a statement on the eve of the convention.

They argued that the vice president “has failed to answer media questions for 28 days because she can’t explain away her record of supporting policies that cause inflation, bans on private health insurance, destroying American energy, and higher taxes.”

As Fox News first reported last week, both Trump and Vance are on the campaign trail during the Democrats’ convention, headlining “messaging events” in the states that will likely decide the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

Additionally, as a Trump adviser revealed last week, “a whole cadre of people” – including top surrogates – will also be making the GOP’s case throughout the week.

Trump’s schedule is packed with more events than he has done in months.

Republican presidential nominee former President Trump speaks at a campaign event at Precision Components Group on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024 in York, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

On Monday, he was in York, Pennsylvania, taking aim at Harris over the economy, while Vance was also talking about pocketbook issues during a stop in Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania, with 19 electoral votes up for grabs, is the largest prize among the crucial swing states.

At his event at a factory in York, Trump reiterated his pledge to cut taxes if he returns to the White House.

“Our plan will massively cut taxes,” Trump said. “I gave you the best tax cut in history.”

TRUMP RUNNING MATE VANCE AIMS TO TURN BLUE WALL STATES RED

Harris campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chikita took aim at Trump, charging that “Americans should be clear on what he will do: He will raise costs on middle class families by $3,900 a year. He will ship American jobs overseas. He will cut Social Security and Medicare and repeal the Affordable Care Act — just like he tried to do last time he was in the White House.”

On Tuesday, Trump will be in Michigan while Vance spotlights the issue of crime during a news conference in southeastern Wisconsin, close to the Democrats’ convention in Chicago.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance speaks to reporters on Friday, Aug. 16 in Milwaukee. (Pool/Fox News)

On Thursday, Trump will visit the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona while Vance highlights the issue of immigration during a stop in Georgia. On Friday, the former president stumps in Arizona and Nevada on his “no tax on tips” pledge.

“As they meet Americans where they are in battleground states across the country, President Trump and Senator Vance will remind voters that under their leadership, we can end inflation, protect our communities from violent criminals, secure the border, and Make America Great Again,” LaCivita and Wiles said.

On Monday, as the convention kicked off, top Trump allies in the Senate – Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin – were also making the case for the former president and slammed Harris and Walz at a news conference in downtown Chicago’s Trump International Hotel and Tower. 

Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, a top House ally of Trump, fills the role on Tuesday, and the campaign plans Wednesday and Thursday news conferences as well. 

The Biden campaign counter-programmed with news conferences that included top surrogates in Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention last month.

Meanwhile, Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will travel Tuesday from Chicago to nearby Milwaukee to headline a rally in the key Midwestern battleground.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, second gentleman Doug Emhoff (left), and Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz attend Day one of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Aug. 19, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

In years past, it was traditional for a presidential candidate to lie low while the other party held its national nominating convention. 

However, last month, as the Republicans held their convention in Milwaukee, Biden briefly campaigned in the key swing state of Nevada before cutting his trip short after catching COVID.

Days later, Biden’s blockbuster announcement that he was ending his re-election campaign following his disastrous late June debate performance against Trump upended the 2024 election.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

The Democratic National Convention started off with hope, hype and smaller protests than some feared — and a surprise appearance from Kamala Harris, looking very demure, very mindful.

(That’s a TikTok thing, if you don’t know.)

The snark level, meantime, was sky-high as cheeky partisans projected onto Trump Tower — which loomed over downtown like a middle finger extended at Democrats — a set of taunting slogans along the lines of: “Trump-Vance ‘Weird As Hell.’ ”

That’s trolling on a 92-story scale.

There were a great many speeches and a great number of entertainers, representing Democratic constituencies from Hollywood to Nashville. (Yes, there are still some Southern Democrats.)

But, of course, Monday night belonged to Joe Biden, the president who reluctantly walked away from his reelection campaign and showed up just long enough to endorse Harris before making his poignant exit — long after much of the country had gone to bed.

Columnists Mark Z. Barabak and Anita Chabria laid off the deep-dish pizza so they could devote all their energies to the convention and came away with these thoughts:

Barabak: He came, he spoke and he showed why Democrats were glad to bid their party leader a heartfelt — but nevertheless relieved — farewell.

Biden has never been a great orator. His strength was knowing how to work the levers in Washington, and for just about 45 minutes Monday night the president outlined all he’d managed to accomplish in his lone term.

Simply stated, he said: “We’re building a better America.”

Biden, too, was mindful, making a point of wrapping Harris in the mantle of his successes. (And the last 3½ years have been filled with nothing but an unbroken series of triumphs, to hear the president tell it, but, hey, it’s a convention speech.)

After he cited legislation bringing down the costs of some prescription drugs, the crowd chanted, “Thank you, Joe!”

“Thank you, Kamala, too!” he interjected.

The emotions were genuine.

Biden was greeted with a lusty ovation lasting more than 4½ minutes, by far the longest of the night. He pulled a white hanky from his breast pocket and dabbed away a tear after a prolonged embrace from his daughter, Ashley, who delivered a loving introduction.

It was moving to hear Biden discuss the long arc of his career — from too young to serve in the Senate (he was 29 when first elected and turned the required age of 30 shortly before being sworn in) to being too old to serve another term as president, as he finally acknowledged.

It was also a reminder of why Democrats collectively looked to November’s election with heart-in-their-throats anxiety — and that was even before Biden’s crashingly awful debate performance.

On Monday night he appeared every bit his 81 years. He was stiff, occasionally stumbling over his words. His waxen face was frozen in a perpetual scowl. He shouted out his words, not at all the joyful warrior of Harris-Walz fashion, but more like a cranky old man shooing kids off his lawn.

The contrast with Harris, who bounded onstage afterward to embrace Biden and join him in the traditional arms-raised tableau, couldn’t have been more stark.

There was speculation that convention programmers purposely pushed the president’s appearance out of television’s prime time on the East Coast and, by the time he finished, in the Central time zone. Of course, they denied it; the program ran long because speakers were just so darned popular, people wouldn’t stop cheering and clapping, party officials said.

What did you think about Biden’s speech?

Chabria: The emotions were genuine, as you say, but I think they were also complex.

Nancy Pelosi had tears in her eyes, though many claim she was a key architect of Biden’s exit. When Harris went onstage she told Biden — not for the cameras — that she loved him.

Ashley Biden brought up the spirit of her departed brother, Beau, and at the end, Biden walked offstage with a young grandson, named in that son’s honor.

When the crowd chanted “Thank you, Joe,” Biden seemed resigned, but also a bit defiant with the long list of accomplishments he touted — reminding us how much he’s done that seems forgotten in the scrum of the election.

Until a few weeks ago, this was a proud and stubborn man who believed not only that he was the best person for the presidency, but believed we thought so, too. So Monday night — as much as it was billed as a gratitude-driven sendoff — was also a forced retirement for a guy who does know more about government and governance than half of Congress combined.

My takeaway is that for all his flaws, and we all have them, this is a man of duty and honor.

Biden quoted a line from the song “American Anthem” to sum up why he made the choice to step away from power: “What shall our legacy be, what will our children say? Let me know in my heart when my days are through, America, America, I gave my best to you,” he said.

And there’s no doubt he gave his best, for decades.

But, as Hillary Clinton said in an earlier speech, change is afoot. And that change doesn’t include Biden.

Barabak: It was a forward-looking Clinton appearance, yes. But the might-have-been vibe was strong when the former first lady and secretary of State took the stage.

The ovation lasted nearly a minute and a half, as Clinton repeatedly started and stopped over the prolonged clapping and cheers.

She acknowledged the outgoing incumbent — “first, let’s salute President Biden” — then dwelled at length on the history-making nature of Harris’ candidacy.

“Something is happening in America,” said Clinton, who was the first woman to win a major party’s presidential nomination. “Something we’ve waited for and dreamed of for a long time.”

More than 66 million Americans voted for her in 2016, Clinton noted, poking more than 66 million small holes in the glass ceiling that’s kept a woman from the Oval Office.

She then tore with relish into the man who beat her — not in the popular vote but narrowly in the electoral college.

“Kamala Harris” — a former district attorney and California’s attorney general— “prosecuted murderers and drug traffickers. Donald Trump fell asleep at his own trial,” Clinton gibed. “And when he woke up, he made his own kind of history” as the first ex-president convicted of a felony.

“Lock him up!” the crowd chanted, and Clinton smiled.

Anita, you were taken with one of the non-celebrity speakers, weren’t you?

Chabria: I really felt what April Varrett said, and what she represented.

Varrett, the first Black woman to lead the Service Employees International Union, came out of California as the former head of SEIU Local 2015, the state’s largest local union representing long-term care workers.

Its rank-and-file consists of many Black and brown women, a number of whom are immigrants struggling with poverty in an industry as necessary as it is underfunded. Varrett promised to create a labor movement that is “younger, darker, hipper, fresher, sneaker-wearing.”

That is a powerful vision that is already happening in both labor and politics. I think in a little-noticed way, this convention is all about immigration and communities of color — the immigrants who fuel our economy, fight for their communities and now are claiming political power in a way that terrifies conservatives to the point they demonize them.

Comparing the crowd at the Republican National Convention to the one in Chicago is startling. It really feels like two different Americas, and a crossroads election where we decide which one we believe in.

I was also struck by the everyday Americans who spoke about abortion access. Hadley Duvall, a Kentuckian who was raped and impregnated by her stepfather when she was 12, floored the room with a single question.

Trump calls abortion bans a “beautiful thing,” she said. “What is so beautiful about a child having to carry her parent’s child?”

What else stood out to you?

Barabak: How several of the night’s speakers, in addition to Clinton, leaned into the historic nature of Harris’ nomination as the first Black woman and first Asian American to lead a major party presidential ticket.

That was a major theme in 2020, when Harris first ran for president, and it seemed at times that campaign was more about her hopes of making history than what voters had on their minds.

But there’s no denying the precedent-shattering nature of Harris’ nomination, and it was celebrated with the right amount of balance and perspective.

The vice president was placed in a long line of pioneering women who helped tear down race and gender barriers, among them Diane Nash, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, Coretta Scott King and Shirley Chisholm.

“We must all understand that Black history is American history,” said Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP. “And in this historic moment, we will write the next chapter together.”

That remains to be seen, depending on what happens in November. But there is no doubt the moment inscribed in Chicago stands apart from all that have preceded.