CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) As her running mate, Ghazala Hashmi, spoke about enduring the loss of twins during pregnancy and then having another miscarriage, Democratic nominee for governor Abigail Spanberger stood behind her on the stage, bearing the same struck expression as many in the crowd.

Hashmi, a state senator running for lieutenant governor, had only talked about the intensely painful and private ordeals a handful of times publicly, she said, and she had not told Spanberger she would be discussing it Tuesday night during their campaign stop in Charlottesville.

But with Spanberger, Hashmi and attorney general nominee Jay Jones appearing alongside officials from Planned Parenthood on the three-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, reversing the abortion protections of Roe v. Wade, Hashmi thought it was an appropriate moment to share.

“I think it hits home because so many of us have experienced tragedies like these,” Hashmi said after the event. “These are personal stories which we shouldn’t have to share publicly and which we shouldn’t have to ask the permission of politicians to be making personal decisions for our lives and our families.”

Nearly an hour after Hashmi’s rally remarks, Spanberger still seemed moved by what her ticket-mate had shared on stage.

“This is the first time that I’ve heard that story from her,” Spanberger said. “It was pretty brave of her and courageous of her to share that story and it’s one more reason why I’m proud to have her as a ticket-mate, because I know she brings an earnest dedication to protecting people throughout the Commonwealth.”

About 300 supporters packed Eastwood Farm and Winery’s tasting room for the event, part of the “Span Virginia” bus tour the candidates kicked off Saturday in Richmond.

Facing a Republican ticket including nominee for governor Winsome Earle-Sears, John Reid (lieutenant governor) and Jason Miyares (the incumbent attorney general), all of whom oppose abortion rights, the Democrats made that the centerpiece of Tuesday’s rally.

Hashmi wasn’t the only woman to share her story of enduring a miscarriage. Celeste Garrett spoke about her experience and her fear of what could have been if her doctors had been restricted when making medical decisions that saved her life.

“That’s why I speak up,” Garrett said. “Because no one should have to fight for access to basic, lifesaving health care.”

Jones criticized Miyares for his anti-abortion stance.

“We need an attorney general who is going to protect a woman’s right to choose,” Jones said.

Other speakers included candidates for delegate positions Phil Hernandez (Norfolk’s 94th district) and Lily Franklin (Roanoke and Montgomery Counties’ 41st), president of Planned Parenthood Alexis McGill Johnson and Jamie Lockheart, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, all of whom hammered and the significance of November’s election as Democrats work to enshrine a women’s right to choose into the Commonwealth’s constitution.

It was Hashmi’s openness that appeared to have the deepest impact on the capacity crowd.

“I think it was extraordinary that, here she is a candidate for lieutenant governor in Virginia, and that she shared something so deeply personal and that it is the perspective that she carries with her,” Spanberger said. “I’m grateful that she chose to share that story because certainly it is, sadly, an all-too-common story.”