WEBVTT - Reproductive Health on the Frontlines 0:00:11.760 --> 0:00:14.280 Good morning, peeps, and welcome to wige F Daily. We 0:00:14.480 --> 0:00:19.320 meet your girl, Danielle Moody. Recording from the Rhode Island Bunker. 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:22.440 I am bundled up because it is damp and cold 0:00:22.480 --> 0:00:27.200 as I record this, friends, I'm really excited to bring 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:34.159 to you today an episode with Joanna Jojoe Sweat. She 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:39.040 is a retired former marine and it is an advocate 0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:47.160 for women's reproductive rights and health as it pertains to military. 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:54.040 In this interview, I became so enlightened by the issues 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:58.360 that obviously we have been fighting for in the United States, 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:03.520 as it pertains to the overturning of Rob Wade, access 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:09.840 to healthcare, and that meaning all forms of reproductive healthcare. 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:14.200 And I will tell you, as I told Joanna, it 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:17.360 did not occur to me that as we are marching, 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:21.560 as we are fighting and working on legislation to try 0:01:21.640 --> 0:01:28.600 and secure a pathway to reproductive health for women, it 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:30.920 didn't occur to me what women in the military are 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:39.520 facing and how egregious their treatment is. Joanna will illuminate 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:43.400 the fact that women who are active in the military 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:48.560 have to pay for their own feminine hygiene products that 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:53.800 if you were to let's say fall ill because of 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:59.600 you know, broken bones, or you had let's say appendicitis, 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:03.880 or or some cause of bodily harm due to war. 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:08.399 You're treated right on the base, right and then you're 0:02:08.560 --> 0:02:13.480 sent to a top notch hospital. If in fact you 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:19.519 need an abortion, you have to pay for that yourself 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:22.600 and find a way to get that care if in 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:26.480 fact you're in a country that does not provide access 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:32.560 to abortion. We talk and touch upon the issues of 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:37.120 rape within the military, which we know that Senator Krisen 0:02:37.160 --> 0:02:39.600 and Gillibrand this has been something that she has been 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:44.320 advocating and championing for quite some time, which is the 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:51.240 order in which women have to report cases of sexual 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:57.200 violence and then are doing so to people who they 0:02:57.280 --> 0:02:59.600 report to. Do you know what I'm saying, Like, so, 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:02.919 there is no safe space, There is no safe space, 0:03:02.919 --> 0:03:05.920 and there's no protection for women in any forms of 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:09.560 care that they may need, whether it is requiring an abortion, 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:13.760 whether it is proper reproductive healthcare as it pertains to 0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:18.000 birth control pills, feminine hygiene products, any of these things. 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:23.400 These women are out fighting for America liberty and democracy, 0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:27.120 and we can even cover their basic fucking needs. So 0:03:27.320 --> 0:03:31.600 this interview was very illuminating and shocking to me. I'll 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:33.840 ask Joanna at the end of the interview, what is 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:38.800 it that people who are not active military can do 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:44.800 in order to advocate on behalf of our women's service members, 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:52.200 and she'll provide that answer. Folks. I'm very excited to 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:57.680 be joined on woke F Daily today by Joanna Jojo Sweat, 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:02.240 who is a Marine Corps of veteran, an advocate and activist, 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:05.720 an organizer, and is the co founder of Arizona That's 0:04:05.760 --> 0:04:11.600 Forward and it is the national organizing director for Common Defense. Joanna, 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:15.480 I read your peace an NBC think that you wrote 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:21.280 last year after the overturning of Roe V. Wade, and 0:04:21.360 --> 0:04:24.560 I got to tell you that I was so appreciative 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:29.040 for it because I had not thought about because I 0:04:29.080 --> 0:04:33.720 am not I don't have family that are active military. 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:37.240 I've never been in the military myself. And when we 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:41.599 think about what the repercussions are for the overturning of 0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:45.640 Roe V. Wade, for just the treatment of you know, 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:51.120 of women and reproductive health in this country, I never 0:04:51.200 --> 0:04:55.360 thought about the impacts of women in the military, and 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:58.440 you know, just to read your piece and just I 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:00.640 want to lift up a couple of points for folks, 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:06.520 that women have to pay for their own sanitary products, 0:05:06.560 --> 0:05:10.599 their own feminine hygiene products, which I just think is outrageous. 0:05:11.360 --> 0:05:13.760 The fact that you know you could be out, as 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:16.600 you would mentioned in in your piece, in the field 0:05:16.839 --> 0:05:21.880 for hours upon hours without the ability to be able 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:26.400 to again care for your your mentional cycle in any 0:05:26.400 --> 0:05:31.320 type of way. And the fact that you know you 0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:35.920 have access to one type of birth control pill, and 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:39.840 what if that doesn't work for you? Right, So, I 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:42.840 wanted to give you an opportunity to talk, you know, 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:49.160 in more detail about what women in the military have 0:05:49.320 --> 0:05:54.880 faced and are facing, and how this heinous Supreme Court 0:05:54.920 --> 0:06:00.200 decision that came down last year affects you all who 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:04.560 are doing the Lord's work and trying to defend our 0:06:04.640 --> 0:06:08.240 country and our democracy and our freedom that you clearly 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:17.159 don't have. Absolutely. I was floored when the Supreme Court 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:23.040 came down with that decision, and I didn't know what 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:27.160 else to do. Right, You know, you yell online, you 0:06:27.240 --> 0:06:34.760 can just get really angry and frustrated and feel stuck. 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:39.279 And for me, writing has always been cathartic. I'd like 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:43.720 to call myself a writer. I'm attempting attempting at least, 0:06:44.680 --> 0:06:47.719 And so sitting down to write that article, I wanted 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:52.480 to think about things from my past from when I served, 0:06:52.920 --> 0:06:56.880 how that affects the women that are serving now, and 0:06:57.000 --> 0:07:00.560 even the women who are in transition, who are exiting 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:03.799 from the service and going back to the civilian world. 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:09.640 And why I'm so worried about them. It's because we 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:14.240 are already a population that is treated less than right. 0:07:14.840 --> 0:07:19.000 We came into the military in full force because they 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:23.240 needed us. It was essential for us to be as 0:07:23.280 --> 0:07:27.840 a country having the military readiness that we needed and 0:07:28.000 --> 0:07:32.440 not having enough folks volunteering and so opening up the 0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:36.280 rents to women. Back when I joined in the nineties, 0:07:36.320 --> 0:07:39.200 they opened up a lot of the support of combat 0:07:39.360 --> 0:07:45.280 role jobs for women that hadn't ordinarily been previously allowed 0:07:45.320 --> 0:07:48.280 to serve in. So like somebody like me, I came 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:52.600 in in communications. I was a radio operator, and there 0:07:52.600 --> 0:07:54.840 were a lot of units before that I couldn't go to, 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:59.800 and that slowly changed over time where you're deploying and 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:02.920 being used as a radio operator, even with an all 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:07.640 male unit that's going out to do whatever mission that is. 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:12.880 And so sitting down to write that article, It made 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:19.080 me realize how how even more tragic yes decision is 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:24.920 because it compromises our military readiness. It compromises the women 0:08:25.360 --> 0:08:29.280 who have made the sacrifice sign that blank check to 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:31.800 the United States and said that I will serve this 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:38.720 country and that first engagement and the service, you really 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:44.360 understand like that you're just a body that belongs to 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:47.080 the service. Right, so when you go to boot camp, 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:52.400 you get inoculated with all your immunizations, right, oh yeah, yeah, 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:56.240 it happens in the service to include your COVID back. Yes, 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:02.079 and that's been happening since the beginning of time. And 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:04.200 then on top of that, for women, we go through 0:09:04.520 --> 0:09:07.680 where they're just they hand out the birth control pills 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:12.560 while you're at recruit training for you know, thirteen some 0:09:12.640 --> 0:09:18.160 weeks not engaging in sexual activity. But it's almost like 0:09:18.360 --> 0:09:23.640 conditioning your body a to not get pregnant, and then 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:26.840 just in case you have access to get pregnant, you 0:09:26.840 --> 0:09:30.320 don't get pregnant. But it just to me, creates this 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:36.280 cycle that you know, your body doesn't belong to you, 0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:38.680 it belongs to us, and whatever we want to put 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:40.800 in it is what we're going to put in it. Now. 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:45.360 Once you leave recruit training. You have access to services, 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:49.160 a primary care doctor and whatnot. But generally you're going 0:09:49.240 --> 0:09:51.679 to get like an ied, you're going to get a 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:56.199 pill option, and there's some other ones I think that 0:09:56.320 --> 0:09:59.240 they've come out with that they've given but then decided 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:03.720 not to provide anymore because of the complications. And so 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:10.000 that administering of your birth control doesn't include a lot 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:16.600 of conversation about how you want to impact your reproductive 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:20.040 health long term. Right, So maybe you don't want to 0:10:20.080 --> 0:10:23.480 have babies now while you're in the service, but if 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:25.960 you're going to have babies later, your service is going 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:29.080 to affect that. Right. I'm a Vietnam or a child. 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:33.960 I have health conditions derived from my father who served 0:10:34.640 --> 0:10:38.600 in Vietnam and was exposed to agent Orange. So it 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:42.320 just doesn't start with me entering this service, right, But 0:10:42.480 --> 0:10:47.240 nobody has that conversation about my previous health conditions, my 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:51.719 current health issues, and potentially what the feature would look 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:53.680 like for me if I want to have a child. 0:10:54.160 --> 0:10:58.480 And so that's a very haphazard process you're going through. 0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:04.079 Like the naval hospitals, it doesn't come with great bedside manner. 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:08.320 You know, your primary care physician almost feels like somebody 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:12.319 who is also a supervisor over you because they're an officer, 0:11:12.480 --> 0:11:17.000 they have that authority. You're enlisted, and so it's very 0:11:17.040 --> 0:11:21.640 difficult to have that conversation. And my sisters and friends 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:25.959 who still serve in the service, you know, get excited 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:29.760 when they get a primary care provider that actually looks 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:34.960 like them or is from their same culture, right because 0:11:35.240 --> 0:11:38.720 we know, especially as black women, we don't get the 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:43.679 same care from providers as it is. So that's definitely 0:11:43.720 --> 0:11:47.600 going to translate in the service as well. And I 0:11:47.640 --> 0:11:49.839 can give you an example of kind of like the 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:53.640 rhetoric that you get in the service is that one 0:11:53.679 --> 0:11:58.199 of my best girlfriends who's still serving, Black woman and 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:03.880 intelligence amazing marine, just made a Facebook post about how 0:12:03.960 --> 0:12:09.160 excited she was to get a black PCM, a primary 0:12:09.200 --> 0:12:12.080 care manager that was in the Navy that was assigned 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:14.480 to her as her doctor that she could talk to 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:17.720 about her mental health, her reproduction health, all the fact 0:12:18.320 --> 0:12:20.720 and her And she was so excited because that first 0:12:20.840 --> 0:12:23.160 visit with the doctor, the doctor had looked at her 0:12:23.240 --> 0:12:27.120 whole file and was like, honey, let's talk about these 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:29.760 things that have been that I can see you have 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:35.200 been going through that we need to address and the 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:38.880 empowerment she felt from that experience, and then to share 0:12:38.920 --> 0:12:42.080 it in a white male marine came on there and 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:46.040 just wrote if I would have said the same thing, 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:49.840 I would have been ran at it hell. And it's like, hey, 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:52.760 you don't ever have to say that same thing, right, 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:56.120 because there are white doctors everywhere everywhere, that's the norm, 0:12:56.320 --> 0:12:59.480 like ninety nine percent of the medical staff out there. 0:12:59.559 --> 0:13:03.800 That is your doctor, your surgeon is gonna be white. 0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:08.520 So it's like people don't even take the time to 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:13.320 think before speaking. And if that's coming from one person 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:18.560 who serves, he got that rhetoric right, And so that's 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:22.120 a cultural thing. So we have a real problem. And 0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:27.960 so dropping Roe v. Wade and those protections the women 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:31.360 in our service who are being raped such you know, 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:38.240 suchially he's assaulted or not wanting to carry a baby 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:41.720 to term because of their financial situation. You don't make 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:46.000 a lot of money serving. I've joined the service married 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:49.280 with a child and we suffered, thinking that it was 0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:52.120 going to change the trajectory of our life, but it 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:56.280 did not. And again I had two babies while serving, 0:13:56.720 --> 0:14:00.600 and it was a very transactional experience I went in 0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:03.800 to give birth, I gave birth, and they sent me 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:07.640 on my way. There was none of this amazing care. 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:11.440 And I have that experience to gauge in on because 0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:17.160 as a dependent daughter of an airman at the time, 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:19.960 when I had a baby as a teenager at my 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:25.360 senior year, I got access to try care benefits and 0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:29.080 that was a phenomenal experience where like I got to 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:31.520 say at the hospital for three days post birth. I 0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:34.120 know they don't do that anymore because they just don't know. 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:36.600 They do not like, oh, women be given birth, they 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:42.400 can just go home, and those things matter to deal with, 0:14:42.480 --> 0:14:46.360 like postpartum depression. And then on top of that, you 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:49.720 when I was in I only got six weeks maternity leave. 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:54.720 And after I had my third baby, after six weeks 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:58.160 and I was trying to breastpeed my son, I got 0:14:58.200 --> 0:15:04.040 sent to a training exercise and so there Joan, let 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:06.560 me let me because I haven't heard two questions that 0:15:06.600 --> 0:15:09.960 I want to that I want to ask one in 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:13.000 the beginning, when you're talking about the birth control pill, 0:15:13.920 --> 0:15:17.760 is that a choice or women are just given it 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:21.040 and you have to take it like that is part 0:15:21.160 --> 0:15:25.720 of your regular care, Like it's not a choice of 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:33.840 whether or not to take the pill. Um. It is 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:36.960 you do have the choice, okay, but they issue it 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:40.960 to you, right, And so when they issue it to you, 0:15:41.040 --> 0:15:43.800 it almost just becomes like this becomes a part of 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:48.680 your process. And when you're in recruit training, you're pretty terrified. 0:15:49.080 --> 0:15:52.760 So like the sanitary napkins and it goes to community 0:15:52.840 --> 0:15:56.400 property and then a recruit carries it around. You don't 0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:59.320 even have direct access to it, and then you have 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:02.400 to ask for mission from your drill instructor to make 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:05.800 a head call to use the restroom to attend to that, 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:08.680 and then you're like counted down. You get real real quick. 0:16:09.320 --> 0:16:15.200 And so the stress helps minimize that experience. UM, but 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:20.120 that that's the model of life you're living, you know, 0:16:20.360 --> 0:16:23.800 and it's it doesn't feel good, you know, you don't 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:27.920 feel clean, you don't it's just not sanitary overall. Has 0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:31.440 there been any I mean, obviously you have since um 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:37.840 retired from service and are now an advocate, what kind 0:16:37.840 --> 0:16:43.760 of pushes have there been to create a more holistic 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:50.520 and humanized experience since you since you began for for 0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:54.680 for women in the military. You know, I think a 0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:59.880 lot of the legislation that tried to get past regard 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:05.880 adjudication of the criminal activity that happen in service, specifically 0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:16.840 to military sexual trauma, is that that conversation opened up 0:17:17.800 --> 0:17:23.280 avenues for the military to obviously have to address these issues. 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:26.240 So what I do know from my friends that are 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:31.080 still serving, that they are levels of working groups that 0:17:31.119 --> 0:17:37.359 are happening things specific to women and their hairstyles, women 0:17:37.400 --> 0:17:41.960 of color and natural hairstyles. So we're seeing an evolution 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:45.920 of change that's happening in the service. And I will 0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:50.440 say that those changes usually it's like that direct reflection 0:17:50.480 --> 0:17:53.440 of what needs to be happening in our society, because 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:57.639 the military is a microcosm of our American society, the 0:17:57.680 --> 0:18:01.439 true diversity of it, and so what's happening inside the 0:18:01.480 --> 0:18:06.240 military is definitely happening in our greater world. And whatever's 0:18:06.240 --> 0:18:10.600 happening in our greater world impacts every serviceman, and I 0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:13.240 think people need to hear that more because they think 0:18:13.280 --> 0:18:15.800 that like we're a carve out and then where there's 0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:19.600 separate society that's not affected by what's going on, but 0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:22.919 we're very much affected. Our families are affected, and we 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:26.640 also have to return back to those communities. And so 0:18:26.680 --> 0:18:31.240 if we don't have adequate resources access to universal healthcare, 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:34.879 that's why we have so many veterans that fall in 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:39.359 this transition nightmare, right, And so it is they are 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:43.840 making changes to make those processes better. And I will 0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:47.800 say the VA and the Secretary of the VA and 0:18:48.080 --> 0:18:53.280 Chairman Mark Takano, who's a representative from California, has been 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:59.840 extremely vested in protecting women, especially in that transition space. 0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:02.520 And I was a part of a roundtable group that 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:06.199 made a decision that if you are a veteran and 0:19:06.240 --> 0:19:09.280 you have access to be a healthcare and you're picking 0:19:09.359 --> 0:19:13.639 up birth control or any prescriptions, you can literally ask 0:19:13.760 --> 0:19:16.320 for a Plan B and they'll just give it to you. 0:19:17.119 --> 0:19:20.800 And so that's how you're trying to mitigate things and 0:19:20.840 --> 0:19:23.840 then also create safe places for women who are on 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:27.919 active duty to access those things. Because as it is 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:31.440 right now, if a woman on active duty needs to 0:19:31.560 --> 0:19:36.320 terminate a pregnancy for whatever reason, she has to source 0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:40.440 that and pay for that herself, and then she has 0:19:40.520 --> 0:19:44.080 to take leave. She doesn't get like a medical shit 0:19:44.160 --> 0:19:48.160 of leave unless then she reports it to the doctor 0:19:48.160 --> 0:19:52.840 and staff on posts. But then that just becomes like 0:19:53.000 --> 0:19:57.240 this very you know, everybody's privy to what I was 0:19:57.280 --> 0:19:59.399 going to say, I was I was going to ask you. 0:19:59.480 --> 0:20:03.400 So it doesn't seem as if when you are a 0:20:03.440 --> 0:20:10.440 service member that there is confidentiality in your in your healthcare. 0:20:10.560 --> 0:20:15.879 So if tell me what happens, then if you are 0:20:16.080 --> 0:20:23.520 stationed in a country that doesn't have abortion access, you 0:20:23.640 --> 0:20:29.360 would have to make arrangements to take leave, to buy 0:20:29.440 --> 0:20:33.840 a plane ticket, yeah, and fly somewhere to take that services. 0:20:34.640 --> 0:20:39.600 And that's probably not logical because the timing right, we 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:44.480 don't time these things. And so if you're not scheduled, 0:20:44.520 --> 0:20:48.200 if you're in a deployment overseas, generally you're there for 0:20:48.760 --> 0:20:51.800 a year at a minimum or and if you're there 0:20:51.800 --> 0:20:53.680 a year at a minimum, at the six month mark, 0:20:53.800 --> 0:20:56.560 you might get some leave to go home to visit. 0:20:57.720 --> 0:20:59.880 If you're there more than a year, you might get 0:21:00.160 --> 0:21:03.159 thirty day league block. But what if that's not the 0:21:03.680 --> 0:21:08.760 block of time that you need to be to get 0:21:08.800 --> 0:21:11.760 those services. And that's why when you get ready to 0:21:11.880 --> 0:21:16.119 deploy or go abroad, they have the do you want 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:18.680 to get birth control issued to you so that that's 0:21:18.720 --> 0:21:21.760 something that you don't have to worry about because once 0:21:21.800 --> 0:21:23.720 you get there. You know, if this happens to you, 0:21:23.880 --> 0:21:25.639 we have to send you back. And if we have 0:21:25.760 --> 0:21:32.200 to send you back, then there could be administrative adjudication 0:21:32.880 --> 0:21:36.600 and punishment assessed to you, even though this is a 0:21:36.680 --> 0:21:39.119 medical condition. So let me ask you, because I want 0:21:39.160 --> 0:21:44.439 people to really understand here. If you were to hurt 0:21:45.760 --> 0:21:48.919 any other part of your body, right like if there 0:21:49.040 --> 0:21:54.720 was harm done, you broke bones, you had appendicitis, these 0:21:54.920 --> 0:22:00.399 things would be taken care of on the base. They 0:22:00.440 --> 0:22:03.520 would be taken care of immediately, and then you would 0:22:03.520 --> 0:22:08.040 be sent somewhere for the whatever. Like when you're in 0:22:08.160 --> 0:22:11.679 Iraq and Afghanistan, if you get injured, you get triage 0:22:12.000 --> 0:22:14.920 you know there however they can and then stabilize you, 0:22:15.040 --> 0:22:16.840 and then you're going to go to somewhere that has 0:22:17.080 --> 0:22:20.040 you know, first rag medical care like Hams for Germany 0:22:20.400 --> 0:22:22.440 or something of that nature. So you are going to 0:22:22.520 --> 0:22:27.359 get airlifted or sent somewhere to be treated. Definitely not 0:22:27.560 --> 0:22:33.120 the same protocol for pregnancy or issues of that nature. Wow. 0:22:33.240 --> 0:22:35.720 And then for a woman to even report a rape 0:22:36.280 --> 0:22:40.520 becomes a very traumatic process and a lot of people 0:22:40.600 --> 0:22:47.680 don't want to even report that. Oh Joanna, this is 0:22:47.920 --> 0:22:53.200 really like it I my my, My heart like breaks 0:22:53.400 --> 0:22:56.760 just at hearing examples because I know that there are 0:22:56.840 --> 0:23:00.679 so many real women that are attached to the examples 0:23:01.040 --> 0:23:07.719 that you're providing. What is it that people non service 0:23:07.880 --> 0:23:12.879 members can do in order to be a source of 0:23:13.040 --> 0:23:16.239 help to advocate? What could the listeners do that are 0:23:16.280 --> 0:23:21.360 taking in this story right now and feeling just shocked 0:23:21.680 --> 0:23:26.600 and disgusted by what you're sharing. Yeah, I mean the 0:23:27.119 --> 0:23:32.440 important thing is for people to understand and realize that 0:23:33.240 --> 0:23:37.399 we have the power. And I think so many of 0:23:37.560 --> 0:23:41.159 us have been conditioned to believe that we don't have 0:23:41.440 --> 0:23:45.200 enough collective people power to fight back against these systems. 0:23:45.960 --> 0:23:50.480 But we do know. We've seen a lot of things 0:23:50.640 --> 0:23:55.560 happen at changes in the military based on outside voices. 0:23:56.160 --> 0:24:00.840 So for instance, the abuse physical abuse that used to 0:24:00.960 --> 0:24:04.960 be endured by folks at recruit chaining that was unchecked. 0:24:05.680 --> 0:24:10.520 There was this huge movement of Moms of America right 0:24:10.920 --> 0:24:13.480 who said, you ain't gonna beat up on my child 0:24:13.760 --> 0:24:17.879 at recruit training, like that's inappropriate, and so a lot 0:24:17.960 --> 0:24:23.600 of things change within that. The history of recruit training 0:24:23.680 --> 0:24:25.840 and breaking down a human being to make them a 0:24:25.920 --> 0:24:28.879 service of member, so you can't put hands on people 0:24:29.119 --> 0:24:34.119 you know there there's limitations, and so that's the power 0:24:34.560 --> 0:24:36.760 of a group of people back together and said this 0:24:36.880 --> 0:24:41.760 is unacceptable. And I think in present day society, like 0:24:41.920 --> 0:24:44.560 I said before, people look at the military as a 0:24:44.720 --> 0:24:48.760 separate animal and that they it's not their business to 0:24:48.880 --> 0:24:52.440 be involved. But it's very much their business to be involved. 0:24:52.520 --> 0:24:57.520 It's their tax dollars that support that entire operation. It's 0:24:57.560 --> 0:25:01.680 their children, it's their neighbors, it's their friends kids, you know, 0:25:01.880 --> 0:25:05.520 whomever you know. But everybody is connected somehow to those 0:25:05.600 --> 0:25:08.240 folks who are serving. And so it is up to 0:25:08.480 --> 0:25:11.159 us who have served, who are on the outside, and 0:25:11.200 --> 0:25:13.600 those of us who haven't served that are hearing these 0:25:13.680 --> 0:25:16.919 things to speak out about it. You write and representatives, 0:25:17.240 --> 0:25:19.720 You tell them you want these people to be protected. 0:25:20.080 --> 0:25:23.240 You tell them that it's unacceptable that their commander who 0:25:23.400 --> 0:25:27.959 oversees them also gets to adjudicate any issues or crimes 0:25:28.040 --> 0:25:31.720 that happen under the purview with their troops, because that 0:25:32.200 --> 0:25:34.720 comes with a lot of bias. They need to say 0:25:34.800 --> 0:25:37.840 that women need to be treated much better and that 0:25:38.080 --> 0:25:41.240 the services that are provided to them are first rate. 0:25:41.680 --> 0:25:45.440 We need universal healthcare in this country that's completely free 0:25:45.560 --> 0:25:48.840 medicare for all, and then that will translate to better 0:25:48.920 --> 0:25:52.840 services even in the military as well as in the 0:25:52.960 --> 0:25:56.600 VA services, because then we actually have to fund them 0:25:57.240 --> 0:25:59.879 at their full value that they needed to need to 0:26:00.119 --> 0:26:02.200 be funded. And we know that we can do that 0:26:02.680 --> 0:26:07.000 because the NDAA is so grossly over budgeted, that we 0:26:07.080 --> 0:26:09.440 could take lots of money that gets directed to the 0:26:09.560 --> 0:26:14.640 war machine and improve life and the sustainment of health 0:26:14.800 --> 0:26:19.160 for all of our service members and make it equal 0:26:19.840 --> 0:26:24.600 for everybody who raises their hands, swears that oath and 0:26:24.840 --> 0:26:28.840 dedicates their life and service to this country. So we 0:26:29.000 --> 0:26:31.640 all can play a part. We should all get involved. 0:26:31.680 --> 0:26:36.159 We should all be angry, especially every woman should be 0:26:36.440 --> 0:26:40.040 extremely angry. And I just also want to throw out 0:26:40.320 --> 0:26:45.200 that in the service, they have been cutting childcare availability 0:26:45.560 --> 0:26:49.760 for service members, So if you're forcing them to have babies, 0:26:50.280 --> 0:26:53.199 you don't even have the adequate system so that they 0:26:53.240 --> 0:26:55.879 have childcare put in place for them so that they 0:26:55.960 --> 0:26:59.360 can complete the mission of their job. And on top 0:26:59.400 --> 0:27:01.000 of that they may and pay for it at the 0:27:01.119 --> 0:27:03.800 market rate. And so there are a lot of things 0:27:03.920 --> 0:27:06.720 that can be improved if we take money away from 0:27:06.720 --> 0:27:10.040 the war machine and put it into services for our 0:27:10.080 --> 0:27:13.080 folks and take care of them. Joanna, thank you so 0:27:13.240 --> 0:27:17.679 much for your advocacy, for your voice, for your writing, 0:27:18.640 --> 0:27:22.560 and continuing to raise the issue around how women are 0:27:22.640 --> 0:27:26.600 treated in the military, the reproductive care that they need, 0:27:26.720 --> 0:27:30.280 the childcare that they need, the emotional health and wellbeing 0:27:30.720 --> 0:27:34.280 and services that they need. I really appreciate you and 0:27:34.440 --> 0:27:36.639 thank you so much for making the time for woke A. 0:27:37.400 --> 0:27:45.000 Thank you so much for having me. That is it 0:27:45.200 --> 0:27:48.360 for me today. Dear friends on woke a f as 0:27:48.520 --> 0:27:52.560 always power to the people and to all the people. Power, 0:27:52.880 --> 0:27:55.240 get woke and stay woke as fuck.