In her first stop on the 2024 campaign trail, former first lady Michelle Obama delivered an urgent message to men, arguing that the election could have life-or-death consequences for the women they love.

“I’m asking you from the core of my being 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 urged turnout and engagement in her speech. But she spent an emotional time arguing that there would be dire consequences for the future of women’s health if former President Donald Trump were re-elected.

“For the men who love us, let me try to paint a picture of what it will feel like if America, the richest nation on earth, continues to withdraw basic care from its women, and how it will affect every woman in your life. Obama said.

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

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

“And this will not only affect women, it will affect you and your sons,” she said, suggesting that both men and women would suffer from the “devastating consequences of teenage pregnancy.”

Obama expanded beyond abortion, suggesting that women’s increasingly limited access to types of health care could also have serious ramifications for miscarriage care, cancer screening and access to medical professionals.

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

“And then there’s the tragic but very real possibility that, at worst, you’ll be the one holding flowers at the funeral,” she later added. “You might be the one raising your kids alone.”

Her speech comes as polls show a wide gender gap in Americans’ support for Harris and Trump. A NBC News poll from October found that women support Harris by a 14-point margin, while men support Trump by a 16-point margin. Polls from several major outlets also showed Harris and Trump locked in an extremely tight race.

Obama also addressed voters who were considering no voting or voting for Trump or a third-party candidate in protest, arguing that “we as women will become collateral damage to your anger.”

“Are you, as men, prepared to look the women and children you love in the eye and tell them you supported this attack on our safety?” she asked.

NBC News has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

Trump’s attitude on the reproduction rights it has has evolved over the years. Although he once supported abortion rights, he now takes credit for his role in overturning Roe v. Wade after appointing three justices to the Supreme Court who voted with the majority. Trump says he supports states’ rights to decide the legality of abortion procedures within their own borders and said he would not sign a federal ban.

Obama too claimed that some people “hold Kamala to a higher standard than her opponent”.

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

And she hinted that Harris could suffer electorally if Americans are not “ready for this moment.”

“It’s clear to me that the question is not whether Kamala is ready for this moment, because by every measure she has shown that she is,” she said. “The real question is: As a country, are we ready for this moment?”

More than 7,000 people attended the rally, according to a Harris campaign official. Most people in the room stood throughout Obama’s 40-minute speech, frequently breaking into cheers and pointing out her comments.