WEBVTT - Planned Parenthood's War Against Healthcare Workers Part 1 0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:07.240 Welcome to it could happen here a podcast about things 0:00:07.280 --> 0:00:09.799 falling apart and how to put them back together again. Now, 0:00:10.200 --> 0:00:12.680 a thing that has fallen apart that we have talked 0:00:12.680 --> 0:00:15.400 about at length before is the protection of the right 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:18.360 to abortions, previously enshrined in Roe v. Wade and no 0:00:18.480 --> 0:00:22.480 longer enshrined in that. And we've come at this from 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:25.920 a number of angles, but one angle that we've neglected 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:29.520 so far is is the labor angle. Um. And Okay, 0:00:29.560 --> 0:00:33.000 So for reproductive autonomy to exist, right, you need healthcare, 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:38.080 and healthcare, especiallyunder capitalism, requires labor. And and that labor 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:41.800 isn't done by you know, abstract organizations. It's done by 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:44.560 workers who are facing not only sort of the mall 0:00:44.600 --> 0:00:46.320 of the death of row, but the in transient and 0:00:46.360 --> 0:00:49.519 often the belligerency of the room bosses. And here to 0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:54.440 talk with us about that is Crystal Grabowski and Elizabeth 0:00:54.520 --> 0:01:01.280 Vella Nuevo from the wonderfully named UEI Local six nine six, um, 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:04.480 And I'm gonna I'm going to read a pseudo legal 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:06.840 disclaimer here, which is that they are not representing Planned 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:08.840 parent who they do work at Planned Parenthood. They are 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:13.280 not representing Planned parenthood. They're they're representing themselves as individuals 0:01:15.760 --> 0:01:19.400 and our local union, yes, proud members of Local six 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:25.400 nine six, impeccably named union, purposefully named right. Well, they 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:28.920 were like, you have to choose a a number that 0:01:28.920 --> 0:01:31.200 starts with six, and then we just looked at each 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:34.199 other and we had that moment where it's like yes, 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:37.640 and then we can add another one and it'll be 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:45.000 a good time, fun little threesome. He'll be safe. That's good. 0:01:45.640 --> 0:01:49.480 So sorry, round one of pro union propaganda joining you 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:52.640 did and YouTube can be in in union Local sixty 0:01:52.720 --> 0:01:55.760 nine or what if they told you the number can 0:01:55.800 --> 0:01:59.920 start with four, like you know, yeah, boom. There's just 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:02.520 so many options. I'm sure there's other fun numbers that 0:02:02.920 --> 0:02:06.000 besides those, but you have the entire world in front 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:08.399 of you. Yeah, we could have done six, you could 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:11.240 do like boom. Can you imagine if we did six six? 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:19.560 We could not. We had that choice and we went 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:24.280 with six nine six. Sexual Health Organization is to prove 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:28.720 that workers will always make the right decision. This is 0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:33.320 the power of the union. We can evaluate these decisions 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:40.760 when when it's important and do the right there. So yeah, 0:02:40.800 --> 0:02:42.880 thank thank you, thank you, to you so much for 0:02:42.880 --> 0:02:45.080 for coming on the show. Thank you for having us. 0:02:45.080 --> 0:02:48.679 We're both super excited. Yeah, thanks for tighting us a 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:55.120 slowly abortion workers So I'm gonna I'm gonna dispute heavily 0:02:55.280 --> 0:02:59.320 with the term slowly, like y'all are the people who 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:07.040 make all of this possible. So yeah, yeah, And and 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:09.320 now now having said all of this, I'm about I'm 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:12.200 going to ask you a very depression question, which we have. 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:14.119 We've asked a lot of the people who've talked about 0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:18.760 abortion access, uh like who work in abortion access stuff, 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:20.440 this question, But I think you two had a very 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:23.280 different experience of it. Um. What was it like on 0:03:23.320 --> 0:03:28.720 the day when Roe died? Do you want to go first, Crystal? Um? Yeah. 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:31.560 I've talked about this a lot because I'm getting asked 0:03:31.560 --> 0:03:37.000 a lot, and it's I'm happy to talk about it, um, 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:39.520 which is I'm actually like, it's been hard to listen 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:41.760 to other people talk about it because then I start 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:44.160 getting in my fields. But like when I'm talking about 0:03:44.200 --> 0:03:47.000 and I'm kind of like just processing it, it's probably 0:03:47.040 --> 0:03:51.240 healthy for me, somebody would say. But it was incredibly traumatic, 0:03:51.280 --> 0:03:54.920 and it's been incredibly traumatic. Um, since the fall of 0:03:54.960 --> 0:04:00.600 Ruby Wade and the Dobs decision. And I'm saying this, well, like, well, 0:04:00.680 --> 0:04:03.480 knowing that we all knew it was coming, it was 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:07.640 it was a given, and it wasn't surprising. And there's 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:10.840 just something about knowing that it's been coming for months 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:13.480 and years that like just it just did nothing to 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:17.920 actually inform you, like what would it be like? Um, 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:20.320 But it was like a It was like a tidal 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:23.640 wave crashing and just like sweeping you away. And we're 0:04:23.640 --> 0:04:27.680 still swept away. Um. The only language that I can 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:31.000 find that's appropriate is like natural disaster language, and I 0:04:31.040 --> 0:04:32.760 just I keep repeating it and saying, like it's like 0:04:32.760 --> 0:04:36.120 a hurricane, It's like a tidal way. But that is 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:39.960 the those are the words that are most fitting to me, 0:04:40.200 --> 0:04:42.640 like emotionally and just in terms of like the violence 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:47.640 and the that is that you that people are experiencing. Um, 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:53.000 and just the emotional and mental and bodily harm is 0:04:53.040 --> 0:04:57.760 equitable to a natural disaster. Yeah. And I think during 0:04:57.760 --> 0:05:00.840 one of our debriefs, during a particular really difficult day, 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:05.479 this was pretty um Row. We were talking about how 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:08.520 sometimes it's really hard for us when we can see 0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:11.680 these things coming and yet there's nothing we can really 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:13.760 do about it. And I know that we talked about 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:16.839 how it felt like we were just tied to a 0:05:16.920 --> 0:05:20.200 train track, watching and waiting for that train to just 0:05:20.320 --> 0:05:22.000 come and hit us, and then when it did, it 0:05:22.120 --> 0:05:25.520 was just it just knocked I think the wind out 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:28.240 of all of us. Um, I think we all cried 0:05:28.600 --> 0:05:32.720 for sure, that we all cried, and um, and I'm 0:05:32.720 --> 0:05:36.720 not even like I don't know, like I feel like 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:39.240 I am. I'm emotional and I am a crier, but 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:42.480 a whole I didn't think that I would sob immediately 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:45.680 the second I saw the news. And then I always 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:47.240 knew we were going to get a lot more calls 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:50.440 because um, Elizabeth and I also answered phones in the 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:52.800 abortion clinic, and I was like, Okay, we're gonna get 0:05:52.839 --> 0:05:55.800 way more calls. But like, you don't know what that 0:05:56.000 --> 0:05:58.159 feels like or looks like or sounds like, like, what 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:01.080 is it I feel like to have a hundred people 0:06:01.120 --> 0:06:04.840 calling you pretty much at the same time? What does 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:08.719 that look like? Now? I know, and it's traumatic and 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:12.360 it's awful, and um, it's a natural disaster, but it's 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:15.159 a man made disaster. Actually it's not a natural disaster. 0:06:15.240 --> 0:06:19.400 We've there are people who have inflicted this upon us. Um, 0:06:19.440 --> 0:06:22.520 and now we know what it feels like, and it's 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:25.280 sucking awful. I should have asked if I was allowed 0:06:25.279 --> 0:06:27.800 to swear. Oh yeah, I swear all the time, okay, 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:30.400 because like I've been on podcast before where they were like, oh, 0:06:30.440 --> 0:06:34.320 we gotta edit that out, which, well, it's a fucking nightmare. Yeah, 0:06:34.800 --> 0:06:37.240 we work in healthcare. I think we swear more than 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:41.440 the average lay man because they keep saying something out. Yeah, 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:44.400 there's so much more to say, like yeah, please, I 0:06:44.400 --> 0:06:46.920 don't even know where to go from there. It's just yeah, 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:50.240 it's like a never ending nightmare because like the calls 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:54.080 started and then it's just like just just person after 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:59.280 person after person. They driving driving two hours, three hours, 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:02.720 four hours, five hours, coming from states that are like 0:07:03.320 --> 0:07:06.200 three states away, coming from like states in the South, 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:13.000 people taking planes and um, people staying in hotels and 0:07:13.040 --> 0:07:15.320 we've had people pay like hundreds of dollars for an 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:21.400 uber MHM and UM. And then just like bringing in 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:24.840 the labor angle to as like unionized abortion workers, who 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:27.400 you know, we have been vocal and we've been rallying 0:07:27.480 --> 0:07:30.960 and making our demands like publicly known, but we are 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:36.880 doing this while under staffed, like skeletal crew staffing. We 0:07:36.920 --> 0:07:40.960 didn't have enough staff before row Fell and the Doobs decision, 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:46.200 and now we just it's bare bones and it's like 0:07:46.280 --> 0:07:48.920 we are so we're taking on this title wave, this 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:55.640 like man made title wave while just giving every last 0:07:55.640 --> 0:08:01.600 ounce of our energy. Yeah um, and doing multiple roles 0:08:01.640 --> 0:08:03.800 at once. Yeah. I don't know if you are able 0:08:03.800 --> 0:08:05.640 to tell from the fact that Crystal and I both 0:08:05.720 --> 0:08:09.160 work directly in the clinic, but we also answer calls. Um. 0:08:09.160 --> 0:08:14.240 When we signed up for our job, Um, we knew 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:16.560 that we would be doing multiple things around the clinic, 0:08:16.760 --> 0:08:23.360 and it's just it's funny, um to not really know 0:08:23.440 --> 0:08:26.200 what that means until you start doing it. So one 0:08:26.280 --> 0:08:29.320 day you'll be holding a patient's hand while they're having 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:32.040 this procedure done, like giving them a little baggy in 0:08:32.080 --> 0:08:35.240 case they feel sick. Um, you'll be talking to them 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:38.600 on the phone. So some there are days where I 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:41.120 will meet people who I've spoken to on the phone 0:08:41.120 --> 0:08:44.920 when they called to book their appointment, and it just 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:48.360 hits me like a tidal wave because I'm like, that's 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:53.680 the person, Like, that's this person specifically, I remember because 0:08:53.760 --> 0:08:56.840 I remember hearing the sound of their voice, and every 0:08:56.840 --> 0:08:59.920 single time they call in they are sobbing. This is 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:04.320 a horrifying moment for them. This is a moment where 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:06.960 they feel like trapped, They feel like they can't share 0:09:06.960 --> 0:09:10.160 with their family, with their friends. Um. Depending on what 0:09:10.320 --> 0:09:13.360 state they're from and the legalities of that state, they 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:15.960 are even afraid to make these phone calls. Like some 0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:17.960 of the first things that patients say to us when 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:20.360 they call it is in my is this okay? Like? 0:09:20.400 --> 0:09:23.440 Am I allowed to call you? Um? Emanuela to talk 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:26.400 to you? Of my allowed to book an appointment? Um? 0:09:26.440 --> 0:09:32.080 What's going to happen next for me? Yeah? Because we're 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:35.280 not lawyers, because we everything is so fluid right now, 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:38.719 we don't have answers to give them. Um we can 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:41.640 just say, well, you're coming to Pennsylvania and it's stillegal 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:47.559 in Pennsylvania. So um. And then just to like paint 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:51.440 the picture a little more too about like both the 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:57.680 skeletal staffing and the emotional turnoil and the emotional weight 0:09:57.720 --> 0:10:03.000 of it. Um. So, the jobs decision happened on June, 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:07.000 which was a Friday, and we're in Pennsylvania, and that 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:10.559 evening of the evening of June a trigger man went 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:15.760 into effect in in Ohio. It was a it's a 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:18.640 fetal heartbeat bill, which is a deceptive language because it's 0:10:18.640 --> 0:10:22.000 not actually a heartbeat but um, but it's a it's 0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:25.720 technically a fetal heartbeat bill. And so people after six 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:28.920 weeks um could no longer access abortion services or once 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:33.040 any sort of like electrical impulse was detected, and everyone 0:10:33.160 --> 0:10:36.760 had their appointments canceled. So we were actually at a protest, 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:38.959 like the staff was like at a protest that evening, 0:10:39.559 --> 0:10:42.920 um with our with our doctors, our abortion providing doctors, 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:45.760 and the news came out like yeah, shout out to them, 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:49.560 we love them, um, And we got the news that 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:52.440 Ohio had just did this, and we were just like, 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:56.520 oh my god, tomorrow because we knew the second our 0:10:56.559 --> 0:10:59.559 call center and our phone lines opened, everyone whose appointment 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:01.600 was canceled gonna be calling us. And then we pull 0:11:01.720 --> 0:11:03.319 up the staff schedule and we're like standing in the 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:05.760 middle of the street at a protest. We pull up 0:11:05.760 --> 0:11:08.400 the staff schedule and we're like, oh my god, there 0:11:08.520 --> 0:11:13.440 is one person schedule to answer phones right now, and 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:16.120 it is an older woman who's been doing this since 0:11:16.160 --> 0:11:19.559 like the seventies or eighties and it's like we cannot 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:22.800 like and we were like all as a union, like, um, 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:24.319 we turn to each other and we're like, oh my god, 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:28.520 this is the situation. We cannot leave her alone. Um, 0:11:28.679 --> 0:11:31.080 we've already worked our five days, we already worked our 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:34.679 already five hours, but we are going to call ourselves 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:37.000 into work. And like we just we were like we've 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:39.319 notified our managers, like we're gonna come into work and 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:43.680 we're gonna help too, answer the phones for these canceled 0:11:43.720 --> 0:11:45.800 Ohio patients. Like that was a decision that we made 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:48.720 to work those extra that that extra time on our 0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:52.400 weekend off because it was a Saturday. But this ties 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:56.800 into what Elizabeth was saying, where, Um, when you hear 0:11:56.840 --> 0:11:58.319 the person on the phone and then they come to you, 0:11:58.600 --> 0:12:01.200 and like it's very emotional because like you're doing your 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:03.520 best as a health care worker to get them the 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:05.520 health service that you have been trained to provide and 0:12:05.520 --> 0:12:09.520 that you know is very important. So knowing that we 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:13.920 were understaffed, um, knowing that we're not making that much money, 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:17.640 and then just being like I have to go in 0:12:17.800 --> 0:12:20.960 and be there. I can't leave my coworker alone because 0:12:21.000 --> 0:12:24.520 I love my coworker and we can't, and like, somebody 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:27.040 has to be there for these these patients when they're calling. 0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:30.439 And if it's not going to be the employer and 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:32.920 the bosses, then it's going to be you. And and 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:36.440 then we we all just we did that, and then 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:39.120 um there was another clinic day. We a lot of 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:42.240 us arranged to come in for an extra work day 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:44.240 because we were like, we have we have to be 0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:49.320 there for these patients. Um, so we're really giving all 0:12:49.360 --> 0:12:55.600 of our energy, and it's exhausting and traumatizing. I can't 0:12:55.600 --> 0:12:59.720 I feel like I can't say that enough. But and 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:03.800 we need more staff, we need better wages, we need 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:07.880 better working conditions because it's so it's like at the 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:09.600 end of some of these days, it's like, how am 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:12.160 I going to keep doing this? My body hurts, my 0:13:12.240 --> 0:13:16.200 brain hurts. I started having like issues with my memory 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:19.599 where like I couldn't remember anything because my brain just 0:13:19.679 --> 0:13:22.319 gave up on retaining information. And I'm like, I think 0:13:22.360 --> 0:13:27.000 this is like a trauma response, like yeah, I'm overwhelmed 0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:39.559 system shock. I think this is one of the things 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:43.560 you get with working for NGOs, which is that like 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:46.000 we're doing something like this is like there is work 0:13:46.040 --> 0:13:49.760 that needs to be done, but you know, the employers 0:13:49.880 --> 0:13:52.680 not giving you the resources that is necessary to do 0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:54.360 it right. You have one person on a call line 0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:57.000 like the day after a fetal heartbeat bill goes goes 0:13:57.040 --> 0:14:00.319 into effect and and it's I don't know. It seems 0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:02.880 like one of the one of the things that's that 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:06.760 that these NGOs do is they were you know, they 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.240 make they make a mistake or they do something deliberately 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:11.600 because they don't want to pay people and then they 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:13.199 don't want to pay another more people, and they make 0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:15.679 you go deal with it because you know it has 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:18.880 to get done because these people need you and that 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:23.160 has to do it. Yeah, and that's so cross, it's disgusting. 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:28.080 So for me, I like to equate it as kind 0:14:28.120 --> 0:14:31.400 of like being emotionally gasolt because the whole point of healthcare, 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:34.080 and I've said this to other people in different healthcare 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:36.560 roles that I've worked before, because as we know, health 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:38.960 care is chronically understaffed, like there are so many like 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:45.440 nursing shortages and things. UM is that healthcare is designed 0:14:45.560 --> 0:14:48.760 to draw people who want to help. You have these 0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:53.560 like very strong moral and emotional beliefs, UM, and we 0:14:53.640 --> 0:14:56.240 are paid to care like it is our job to 0:14:56.560 --> 0:15:00.720 care UM. And that is how they can get all 0:15:00.760 --> 0:15:03.040 of these things out of us, is because it's very 0:15:03.080 --> 0:15:07.440 easy to feel emotionally manipulated when somebody's like, well somebody 0:15:07.600 --> 0:15:11.760 has to be there for this patient, this person, UM, 0:15:12.040 --> 0:15:17.040 this like thing that can't wait UM and so a 0:15:17.080 --> 0:15:19.600 lot of us UM. Even like I said before, I 0:15:19.640 --> 0:15:22.400 worked here. At like different positions that I've held, I've 0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:26.040 been like, I will take an extra shift because somebody 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:29.720 has to do it. And I love my job so much. 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:32.520 I love working in healthcare. It's something I've been very 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.840 passionate about since I was a small child. UM. So 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:39.600 I for years would burn myself out and be like, 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:42.960 I'll take the extra shift at a different position. UM. 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:45.000 When I used to work at a care UM. I 0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:47.760 worked at an intermediate care facility for adults with intellectual 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:51.680 physical disabilities UM for a couple of years, and I 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:55.360 remember routinely working sixteen hour shifts like day in and 0:15:55.440 --> 0:15:57.680 day out. I think there was like six seven days 0:15:57.680 --> 0:16:00.520 a week of just doubles where I would work sixteen 0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:03.920 hour shifts. I don't think I like slept or aid 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:07.720 or did anything UM. And then at one point, I 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:11.840 was so burnt out that I just couldn't do it anymore. 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:13.880 And I started to get frustrated with the people that 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:16.400 I worked with and like the patients that I cared about. 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:20.240 And this one particular day, I like, I noticed myself 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:24.520 getting incredibly annoyed with everything that was like happening, like sounds, 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:31.080 patients like just being themselves, Like I didn't, you know, 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:35.640 take it out on anything or anyone. I just noticed 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:38.320 myself getting like slightly more irritated, and then I was like, 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:42.360 this is not sustainable. I can't keep doing this UM. 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:48.240 And I compared this recent change posted the Doobs Decision 0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:50.240 to what it was like when I also used to 0:16:50.280 --> 0:16:54.720 work for distributing medical equipment to hospices. UM. It felt 0:16:54.760 --> 0:17:02.560 like every single moment was an emergency that I just 0:17:03.640 --> 0:17:08.240 did not have the resources to be able to UM 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:11.960 help with. Because on one end of the line, you 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:16.280 have somebody that is having this emergency, and then on 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:18.560 the other end of the line, there's another person pulling 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:22.840 you because they're also having an emergency, and so you 0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:27.160 have to kind of weigh which one of these patients 0:17:27.200 --> 0:17:30.600 like needs you the most right now, and which one 0:17:30.600 --> 0:17:35.080 of those can you reasonably help. It's like that psychology 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:39.240 psychology puzzle where they're like, um, if you move the 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:44.199 thing on the try, Yeah, the trolley problem where like 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:47.760 one of these people will die or seven people will die, 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:51.480 and you have to decide which one of those you're 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:55.680 gonna pull. Yeah, there's only so much that we can 0:17:55.720 --> 0:18:02.160 give as healthcare workers, as abortion workers, as reproductive health workers. UM, 0:18:02.200 --> 0:18:04.520 there's only so many hours in a day. And as 0:18:04.600 --> 0:18:09.280 much as we want to keep giving, for us to 0:18:09.400 --> 0:18:11.439 keep pouring out of an empty cup, it's just not 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:14.159 sustainable for ourselves. Like I know, many of us have 0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:18.240 lost sleep, many of us have stopped like being able 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:21.280 to focus on anything outside of work because as soon 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:23.280 as like you turn on the news or you open 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:26.399 the phone or you like open up Twitter, there's more 0:18:26.520 --> 0:18:30.680 and more and more information because everything is consistently changing 0:18:30.720 --> 0:18:35.480 all of the time. And like, um, Western Virginia is 0:18:35.520 --> 0:18:43.479 currently having like there, um yeah, so that's new. And 0:18:43.520 --> 0:18:46.760 we had a couple of calls come in from UM 0:18:46.920 --> 0:18:51.640 and we had Kentucky. Yeah, so that was new. UM. 0:18:51.680 --> 0:18:55.200 And we're just starting to like really have a good 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:58.680 pattern of resources for patients coming in from like Ohio, 0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:03.360 UM and now we're like, okay, well what about Kentucky. 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:07.120 So we just like we feel like there's just one 0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:09.560 like hole in the dam that we put our finger 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:12.639 on and then another one shows up that at some 0:19:12.800 --> 0:19:18.280 point we just have to know that we've done our best, um, 0:19:18.359 --> 0:19:21.200 and then it's okay to take a second to rest 0:19:21.760 --> 0:19:26.199 um and do you know, go home and maybe like 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:35.000 watch TV or listen to a podcast. Yeah, not about abortion. Yeah, 0:19:35.280 --> 0:19:38.560 forget about abortion for two seconds, and because we will 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:42.119 inevitably have to do it again tomorrow. This reminds me 0:19:42.200 --> 0:19:45.760 a lot of Um, I did an interview like I 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:47.680 don't actually it'll be a couple of weeks, I guess 0:19:47.680 --> 0:19:51.280 by when this comes out. With some organizers who were 0:19:51.320 --> 0:19:55.160 like trying to do like relief and aid for the migrants. 0:19:55.119 --> 0:19:57.520 You're getting bus to d C from Texas, I think 0:19:57.720 --> 0:19:59.400 you talk to and it was like they were talking 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:01.080 about exactly the same thing where it's like we have 0:20:01.119 --> 0:20:02.639 to do this, we have to do this because otherwise 0:20:02.640 --> 0:20:04.679 no one's gonna help these people. But like at a 0:20:04.680 --> 0:20:07.280 certain point it's like everyone has COVID, like we just 0:20:07.440 --> 0:20:10.840 can't and it I don't know, it's I think it's 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:14.320 especially frustrating that this is happening because like those people 0:20:14.359 --> 0:20:15.879 were just like they have no resources, right, it's just 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:17.439 a bunch of people who could drink vitual aly thing, 0:20:17.440 --> 0:20:20.919 but like this is planned parenthood. Like they have resources 0:20:21.000 --> 0:20:23.000 and they're not they're not doing this, and they're they're 0:20:23.040 --> 0:20:26.080 doing this. I talked to a nurse who's a friend 0:20:26.119 --> 0:20:28.640 of mine a long time ago on this show, and 0:20:29.400 --> 0:20:31.320 he talked, you know, he was in nurseting COVID. He's 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:34.879 gotten COVID twice I think, and like, you know, he 0:20:34.960 --> 0:20:37.840 was talking about how like, yeah, he he said to 0:20:37.880 --> 0:20:39.560 be like thing I've always remember, it was like I've 0:20:39.560 --> 0:20:41.960 seen people die because I've seen people die because of 0:20:41.960 --> 0:20:45.640 staffing decisions, and it's like it's this it's this moral 0:20:45.680 --> 0:20:49.239 blackmail thing where it's like, in order to expect this 0:20:49.280 --> 0:20:51.119 thing needs to be done, we're not going to actually 0:20:51.160 --> 0:20:54.080 supervisee you with enough resources to do it, and we're 0:20:54.080 --> 0:20:56.720 going to make you responsible for the consequences of our actions. 0:20:57.880 --> 0:21:04.680 And yeah, it's grotesque. Yeah something that um really it's 0:21:04.720 --> 0:21:06.640 just kind of like part of the trauma for the workers. 0:21:06.800 --> 0:21:08.520 And I'm honestly for the patients and for everyone in 0:21:08.600 --> 0:21:13.760 our communities because this impact literally everyone is um just 0:21:13.880 --> 0:21:17.720 like turning, Like we do turn people away because pregnancy 0:21:17.800 --> 0:21:21.399 is a time sensitive issue and you know, you have 0:21:21.560 --> 0:21:23.399 to get in in a certain number of weeks in 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:25.560 order to get you know, the type of procedure that 0:21:25.640 --> 0:21:27.360 you want, in order to get a procedure at all. 0:21:28.119 --> 0:21:31.240 And these are people that are often parents, the majority 0:21:31.240 --> 0:21:34.320 of people who have abortions or parents, um, and they 0:21:34.359 --> 0:21:36.359 have children, and they have jobs or they don't have 0:21:36.440 --> 0:21:39.359 like PTO, and they live four hours away. So it's like, 0:21:39.480 --> 0:21:42.159 how am I going to get to this appointment? So 0:21:42.320 --> 0:21:46.040 there's so many people that we have to refer, so 0:21:46.560 --> 0:21:52.280 it's it's so much on your soul to be on 0:21:52.400 --> 0:21:56.240 the phones and you speak to mother after mother, like 0:21:56.320 --> 0:22:00.280 a single mother or somebody who lost a partner or 0:22:01.000 --> 0:22:04.160 they are you know, um, they got evicted, and you're 0:22:04.280 --> 0:22:10.440 referring them to Detroit, which isn't also four or five 0:22:10.480 --> 0:22:13.920 hours away, and just to refer people to say I 0:22:14.040 --> 0:22:17.040 can't help you, try calling this place. And to do 0:22:17.160 --> 0:22:19.520 that like multiple times in a row every day, and 0:22:19.600 --> 0:22:21.879 then you're like you're working seven hour days. It is 0:22:21.960 --> 0:22:24.960 really soul crushing because it feels like and like you 0:22:25.119 --> 0:22:27.760 tell yourself like it's my you know, we don't have 0:22:27.840 --> 0:22:30.639 the resources, we don't have the staff, we weren't prepared 0:22:30.680 --> 0:22:34.360 for this crisis. It's not on me. But it's very 0:22:34.520 --> 0:22:39.040 hard not to feel awful when you are turning people 0:22:39.080 --> 0:22:41.480 away because you don't I don't know any I've probably 0:22:41.560 --> 0:22:44.800 turned like probably over a hundred people away on the 0:22:44.840 --> 0:22:47.320 phones and told them who to call. I don't know 0:22:47.440 --> 0:22:49.119 if they reach those places. I don't know if they 0:22:49.200 --> 0:22:51.520 called those places. For all I know, they continue to 0:22:51.600 --> 0:22:55.200 hire risk pregnancy, and they might suffer health consequences or 0:22:55.520 --> 0:22:57.240 things that debilitate them for the rest of their life, 0:22:57.520 --> 0:22:59.639 things that make the children's lives worse. And I have 0:22:59.720 --> 0:23:03.520 no have knowing. So it's just very traumatic to constantly 0:23:03.520 --> 0:23:04.960 be hanging up on the phone with people and just 0:23:05.040 --> 0:23:10.640 like sending them into like just a desert. I think 0:23:10.720 --> 0:23:13.119 the hardest part two is that these phone calls aren't 0:23:13.160 --> 0:23:15.920 like two seconds long. They're not two minutes when we 0:23:16.520 --> 0:23:20.520 tell when we answer the phones. Abortion appointments take about 0:23:20.520 --> 0:23:23.960 fifteen to twenty minutes to schedule, So this is a 0:23:24.000 --> 0:23:27.159 half an hour that you are getting to know an individual. 0:23:27.280 --> 0:23:30.560 A person. They tell you everything about their lives. They 0:23:30.600 --> 0:23:33.399 tell you exactly what they're feeling, what they're afraid of, 0:23:33.480 --> 0:23:37.119 what they're going through with their families, like um, what 0:23:37.200 --> 0:23:40.199