Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance at an abortion rally in Los Angeles on Saturday, a day after the Supreme Court issued an administrative stay regarding restrictions on mifepristone, the drug used in about half of all abortions nationwide. 

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito granted a five-day pause on Friday after the Department of Justice requested the court intervene following a ruling by Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, which paused FDA approval of the abortion drug. In her remarks, Harris urged rallygoers to “stand up and fight,” describing the situation as a “critical moment” in U.S. history. 

“When you attack the rights of women in America, you are attacking America,” Harris told the crowd of a few hundred people. “We have seen attacks on voting rights, attacks on fundamental rights to love and marry the people that you love, attacks on the ability of people to be themselves and be proud of who they are.” 

Harris warned against pro-life voices, who she says “attack fundamental rights,” claiming that they “by extension, attack our democracy.” The vice president also criticized the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, saying the justices “took a constitutional right that has been recognized from the people of America.”