WEBVTT - Cecile Richards: Planned Parenthood Boss on Making Trouble 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:09.440 Hi, Brian, Hi Katie, and hello everyone listening to our podcast. 0:00:09.480 --> 0:00:12.840 We just wrapped up our conversation with Cecil Richards, the 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:17.000 outgoing president of Planned Parenthood, someone with whom I've had 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:20.599 conversations for the last eleven or twelve years since she 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:25.160 became the head of Planned Parenthood. What an extraordinary life 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:28.319 and career she's had she has. But before we delve 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:31.000 into all that, Katie, we have some very special news 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:34.839 for our listeners. Katie so having another baby. Brian, No, 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:38.480 I'm not, But why don't we share your big news, Oh, 0:00:38.560 --> 0:00:41.480 the fact that I have an upcoming six hour documentary 0:00:41.520 --> 0:00:45.720 series airing on the Nazio channel. Thanks for bringing that up, Brian, 0:00:46.080 --> 0:00:48.879 I appreciate it because I have to tell you everyone, 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:51.599 I have never worked harder in my life. I've been 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:55.800 doing this series since last August, criss crossing the country 0:00:55.840 --> 0:00:58.040 and trying to get a handle on some of these 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:01.480 veccine social issue is that are plaguing the country and 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:04.960 dividing us, it seems more than ever, and from political 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:09.120 correctness to white working class anxiety to tech addiction. I 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:12.160 think your goal was really to go deep on controversial 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:14.760 issues that affect all of us. Well, I don't know 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:17.119 about you, Brian, but I feel like the news cycle 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:21.440 is so fast and furious, and because of social media 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:27.440 and the need to react instantaneously, we don't necessarily have 0:01:27.560 --> 0:01:31.720 the time to sit back and really consider and think 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:35.160 about an issue. And so that's what I'm hoping to do. 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:38.679 I'm hoping that people will see a variety of perspectives 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:43.040 and points of view, and I'm hoping it will be 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:48.480 a jumping off point for people to explore issues that, unfortunately, 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:51.120 in many ways, seem to be tearing us apart. I 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:54.400 can't wait to watch it, and I really want to 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:57.720 encourage our audience to do the same. And I don't 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:00.400 mean to sound too much like North Korean State TV here, 0:02:00.480 --> 0:02:03.280 but I think it's going to be and go for 0:02:03.440 --> 0:02:07.360 it now. I think it's gonna be really special and 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:11.519 worth everyone's time. Um, particularly since these issues are really 0:02:11.560 --> 0:02:13.520 glossed over on the news. I feel like we're not 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:17.040 even scratching the surface and you actually arrive at a 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:19.960 deep understanding of this stuff. Well, I think one thing, Brian, 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:21.959 and I know you and I have talked about this, 0:02:22.120 --> 0:02:26.760 but we're in the midst of seismic shifts in our society. 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:32.359 It's like the industrial revolution replacing the agrarian society. We're 0:02:32.400 --> 0:02:36.320 going into a technological revolution. We're actually in the middle 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:39.840 of it, and it's changing the way we think, we work, 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:45.519 we play, we interact, we relate, and demographic changes. We're 0:02:45.560 --> 0:02:50.720 going to be a minority majority country by and that's 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:53.960 hard for a lot of people to grapple with because 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:56.679 it means a lot of changes. So I'm hoping that 0:02:57.280 --> 0:03:01.440 people will take the time to say, let's get other perspectives, because, 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:05.560 as we've often talked about, we're also increasingly tribalistic, living 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:09.919 in silos, getting affirmation, not information. So it's more important 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:12.880 than ever to see other points of view. So I 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:17.560 hope those things will be provided in this series. And uh, 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:19.880 if I can just add, because you wouldn't say this 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:27.160 about yourself, dear leader, your humility knows no bounds. You 0:03:27.200 --> 0:03:31.079 can call me d L Brian. One of the things 0:03:31.120 --> 0:03:33.920 I think you do very well is breaking down an 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:37.440 issue without dumbing down the issue. In your previous movies 0:03:37.600 --> 0:03:41.080 on guns and gender identity and nutrition, you sort of 0:03:41.120 --> 0:03:46.400 help to explain the complications and complexity of a big, 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:50.560 thorny issue so that all of us can understand it, 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:52.800 and I think that's exactly what you're doing here. And 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:55.120 so for folks who want to check it out, a 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:58.280 new episode of American Inside Out is going to air 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:01.680 on the National Geographic Channel every Wednesday for six weeks 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:06.000 starting on April eleven. And for our podcast listeners, we 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:08.880 are going to keep the conversation going here as well. 0:04:09.120 --> 0:04:12.200 That's right. Our hashtag for this series is keep Talking. 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:16.920 We don't want people to stop learning after the episode airs. 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:21.040 We want to facilitate conversation. So if you all watch 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:24.719 the episode, or if you're curious about the topics, please 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:27.320 call in or write to us with your questions for 0:04:27.360 --> 0:04:30.800 these experts, because my goal, as is the goal of 0:04:30.920 --> 0:04:34.520 National Geographic, is to keep talking. And we're going to 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:36.599 talk more, as Katie says about how you can weigh 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:39.159 in on these shows during the break. So for now, 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:43.080 let's get back to today's guest on the pod, Cecile Richards. 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:46.640 As Katie mentioned, she's been president of Planned Parenthood for 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:49.320 over a decade. She's been on the front lines of 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:53.440 the fight for women's reproductive health for even longer than that. 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:57.080 Her interests in activism and organizing, as you know Brian 0:04:57.160 --> 0:05:00.480 started very early. She grew up in Texas in this sixties. 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:04.040 She can't pay for local democrats in a very conservative state. 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:06.839 And if you're wondering how she caught the political bug, 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:11.160 well two words and Richard's governor and Richards so three 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:15.560 words was her mom. I mean talk about a political firecracker. 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:18.880 She was known for her one liners. Will have you 0:05:18.960 --> 0:05:21.679 listened to one of her most famous ones a little 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:25.040 bit later. It's no surprise that Cecile takes a special 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:28.359 interest in women who run for political office. In fact, 0:05:28.600 --> 0:05:31.760 she's going to be advising female candidates in the mid terms, 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:35.560 who are expected, by the way to run in record numbers. 0:05:35.600 --> 0:05:38.680 Cecil has written a book called Make Trouble, Standing Up, 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:41.479 Speaking at and Finding the Courage to Lead. And since 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:45.400 I'm thinking about writing my own book, I asked her 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:49.400 why now, why she wanted to write this book and 0:05:49.520 --> 0:05:56.680 what the experience was like for her. I love writing it. 0:05:57.160 --> 0:05:59.760 I realized I have stored up all these stories and 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:03.039 things that had happened, not only in my life and 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:04.800 my mom's raised for governor and a whole lot of 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:06.840 other things. It was just fun to get them out. 0:06:07.279 --> 0:06:10.040 But I really was inspired to write it because after 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:13.240 the last election, every day someone stopped me on the 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:15.800 street or in the subway and said, what should I do? 0:06:15.920 --> 0:06:17.760 You know, the feeling like there was maybe one thing 0:06:17.760 --> 0:06:20.600 they could do that would change things in the country, 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:22.640 or something they were concerned about. And I realized, I'm 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:24.120 not going to talk to everybody in the subway, so 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:26.760 I'll just put it in a book instead. And it 0:06:27.240 --> 0:06:30.640 felt good. I it's sort of a combination of memoir 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:33.640 and call to action, I guess, and I hope that 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:37.600 it inspires people to do something to make a difference. 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:40.719 So let's let's divide it up between memoir and call 0:06:40.800 --> 0:06:43.839 to action. Brian, is there a question that you'd like 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:46.640 to ask the Seal sort of about her biography because 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:50.400 it's so fascinating. There's so much to unpack just about that. 0:06:50.920 --> 0:06:54.000 Oh sure, I mean, let's talk about your mom and 0:06:54.240 --> 0:06:57.160 Richards for crying out lout. I mean, she wanted to 0:06:58.320 --> 0:07:03.479 favorite figures in politics. Um, what was it like growing 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:08.240 up in Dallas and Austin with Anne Richards as your mama? 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:11.560 As you said, well, uh, you know, I grew up 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:14.280 in Dallas and my parents at that in that era 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:16.600 were against everything. I mean, it was just one of 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:19.560 the every movement that came through Dallas, Texas. They were 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:22.040 jumping onto and when the women's movement came alive, my 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:23.680 mother just lost her mind. I mean she's like, this 0:07:23.720 --> 0:07:27.240 was the greatest um. And then we eventually they'll moved 0:07:27.280 --> 0:07:30.920 to Austin, which was a much more progressive town, university town, 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:34.280 and that's where my mom really had the first job, 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:37.640 if you you know, outside the home. She ran Sarah 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:40.840 Weddington's race for state representative. And I talked about this 0:07:40.880 --> 0:07:43.520 in the book that was before really women were running 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:46.160 for office at all, and explained who Sarah Weddington is. 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:48.000 I know it is had of a crazy turn of 0:07:48.040 --> 0:07:50.200 faith that Sarah Weddington. Of course, at the age of 0:07:50.240 --> 0:07:54.160 twenty six, she argued the Roe versus Wade case before 0:07:54.160 --> 0:07:57.080 the Supreme Court. Of course one she was the youngest 0:07:57.080 --> 0:07:59.760 person ever um to win a case before the Supreme Court. 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:01.880 And then when she came back home she decided to 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:04.560 run for office. So of course the guys didn't want 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:06.760 to run her campaign. So Mom said, well, you know, 0:08:06.800 --> 0:08:08.560 I've been raising these four kids. I'd love to do 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:13.080 something else. She ran Sarah's race and then she kind 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:15.960 of got the political bug herself. So it's funny. I 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:17.720 grew up, yes with this woman who has now thought 0:08:17.760 --> 0:08:21.680 of being kind of iconic feminist politician. But for many 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:24.280 years she was mom. She was just my mom. I 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:26.880 didn't know any better, you know, But she was such 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:29.880 a I mean, a dynamic woman. I'll never forget at 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:35.000 the Democratic National Convention when she made that speech and 0:08:35.120 --> 0:08:38.520 of course the famous line that is now etched into 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:49.679 every political junkie's brain. Evermore, let's take a listen, poor George. 0:08:50.760 --> 0:09:03.679 He can't help it. He was born with a silver 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:11.680 foot in his mouth. And we should say, for just 0:09:11.760 --> 0:09:15.679 to provide a little more context, that was the Democratic 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:19.400 Convention and she was attacking George H. W. Bush, who 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:22.720 was then the presumptive Republican nominee for president. I was 0:09:22.800 --> 0:09:28.040 at that convention. I'll never forget that electric moment when 0:09:28.120 --> 0:09:31.000 your mom had that crowd eating out of the palm 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:34.480 of her hand because she was so so funny. Well, 0:09:34.520 --> 0:09:36.200 and you know, as she said, it was time that 0:09:36.200 --> 0:09:38.880 people here with a real Texas accent sounds like I 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:40.640 think it was kind of great to have somebody who 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:43.200 actually sounded like a lot of Americans. It was fun 0:09:43.280 --> 0:09:46.400 when she made that joke or gave that speech, Were 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:49.520 you at all trepidacious that she was coming across as 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:54.480 nasty or snarky or you know, because George Herbert Walker 0:09:54.559 --> 0:09:58.160 Bush was such a gentleman, and I remember thinking, oh, 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:03.320 that's tough. She said, clearly the crowd loved it. But 0:10:03.360 --> 0:10:05.360 did you wonder how it was playing in the rest 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:07.600 of the country at all? Well? I didn't, of course. 0:10:07.640 --> 0:10:10.000 I was on stage with my write about in the book. 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:12.079 I was on stage with my my two brothers and 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:15.600 my sister, and just being in that room, it was 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:19.800 she was landing every line. And you're right, Well, it's 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:22.439 funny two things. One, people still stop me in the 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:24.800 street and say I remember that line, and then they'll 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:26.720 then they'll repeat it. Usually they get it right, but 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:29.440 there some you know, variation on the theme, so a 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:31.840 lot of people do remember it. And then of course, 0:10:32.040 --> 0:10:36.080 um that George Bush. He actually was really quite good 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:38.679 about it, and they I think that was There was 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:41.760 never any animosity, But I do wonder these days. I 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:44.480 was just doing an interview and I said, like, it 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:47.360 is my great regret that their mom didn't live long 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:49.560 enough for Twitter, because I think it might have been 0:10:49.840 --> 0:10:53.760 pretty fun. Yeah, we've been pretty spicy on Twitter. I 0:10:53.760 --> 0:10:57.280 think so cecil. You said that your happiest moment was 0:10:57.360 --> 0:11:00.480 walking up Congress Avenue in Austin. Text is to your 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:04.560 mom's inaugural as governor. But of course four years later 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:09.040 George Herbert Walker's son defeated her for reelection. Was that 0:11:09.200 --> 0:11:12.880 the toughest moment? So, um, well, yeah, I mean, you 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:15.080 can't have the ups without the downs, right, And I 0:11:15.120 --> 0:11:18.480 think that was that was a really tough loss. But 0:11:18.559 --> 0:11:23.080 you know, um mom was one of these big believers that, uh, 0:11:23.120 --> 0:11:26.960 you just never look back, no regrets. She never never 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:30.280 missed a beat, and I think for her, you know, 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:32.560 it worked out. It was very liberating. She went on 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:35.040 to do all kinds of great stuff, you know, kind 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:37.280 of live her life, and for a lot of the 0:11:37.320 --> 0:11:39.520 rest of us, it made us all think about what 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:41.840 are we going to do? You know, then after a 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:43.600 loss like that, then how do you make a difference? 0:11:43.640 --> 0:11:46.280 And of course I started a nonprofit in Texas, you know, 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:49.320 we began to do other work. But I think that 0:11:49.440 --> 0:11:51.240 was a lesson that my mother taught me and that 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:53.200 I tried to write about in this book, which is 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:56.640 just you just have to look forward and keep going. Um. 0:11:56.679 --> 0:11:59.199 Having said that, you know, when your mom passed away, 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:02.360 she was always so dear to me as a woman 0:12:02.400 --> 0:12:05.880 who was trying to be in some ways a trailblazer 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:09.120 in television. Your mom would always talk to me and 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:12.640 take the time to kind of encourage me. And I 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:15.560 was so heartbroken when she passed away. It must be 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:17.559 hard for you to see you you must miss her 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:22.240 every day. Oh, it's very hard, and she did. She 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:25.120 cared so much about you, and care a lot about 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:27.040 women who were trying to make it because she knew 0:12:27.080 --> 0:12:30.240 firsthand what it was like to be put down, to 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:33.880 be second guest, to have a double standard. And you know, 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:36.800 it's funny because people talk about women maybe not supporting 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:39.280 each other. There was nothing that brought her greater joy 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:43.280 than seeing women be successful. I'm glad I got to 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:47.400 start this job at Planned Parented before she passed away, 0:12:47.440 --> 0:12:49.679 although she got sick right just a month after I 0:12:49.720 --> 0:12:52.640 took the job, because she's the one who really encouraged 0:12:52.679 --> 0:12:54.680 me to do it. And I think if she weren't 0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:56.360 in my life, and hadn't been in my life, I 0:12:56.400 --> 0:12:59.480 don't know if I ever would have my biggest regret, 0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:01.560 and I'm sure we all feel this everyone who has children, 0:13:01.640 --> 0:13:04.800 is that she hasn't been around to see her her 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:09.120 grandkids grow into these phenomenal young people. And uh, but yeah, 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:11.240 she's very much with me all the time. I was wondering, 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:13.640 if you think about some of the things she has 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:18.119 said and things she did when you yourself face challenges, 0:13:18.360 --> 0:13:24.600 because certainly the past eleven years have been challenging many times. 0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:27.520 And is there something that she told you that you 0:13:27.640 --> 0:13:31.520 just hold in reserve, that you pull out when needed. Well, 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:33.520 I think, well, one of course, and I do write 0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:35.040 about this, which is I almost didn't go to the 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:37.240 interview a planned parented because I thought, well, I don't 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:39.319 know how to do that job. I've never run anything 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:42.240 like that. It's so big, and what if I fail? 0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:44.640 And Mom was the first one to say, look, you 0:13:44.720 --> 0:13:47.880 only regret the things you don't try, and so you know, 0:13:47.960 --> 0:13:49.800 what's the worst thing that could happen? And I feel 0:13:49.800 --> 0:13:52.040 like that is a mantra, and I just kind of 0:13:52.360 --> 0:13:54.280 not only carry throughout my own life, but also try 0:13:54.320 --> 0:13:56.960 to encourage other women to take a chance that they 0:13:57.040 --> 0:14:00.360 might otherwise not not try. The other time, tim though, 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:02.800 I just really had to channel her was going into 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:05.920 that congressional hearing. You know, I had to appear before 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:09.640 Congress for more than five hours to talk about planned parenthood. 0:14:09.760 --> 0:14:11.959 And you know, she said, when I took this job 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:13.760 at Planned parent and she said, you just got to remember, 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:16.160 this is about women's health, and this is about millions 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:19.280 of women who need access to affordable healthcare, and that's 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:21.200 who you've got to be thinking about. And so it 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:24.640 really helped me carry those women into that hearing room, 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:27.160 women who frankly, are never going to have the chance 0:14:27.160 --> 0:14:30.760 to talk to Congress. But she was a really practical person. 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:34.160 Focus on the people you're here to help before we 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:37.440 get to planned parenthood. You mentioned trailblazing women. And before 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:41.320 you took that job, you work for Nancy Pelosi, who 0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:44.480 was the first woman's Speaker of the House, And I'm 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:48.120 curious what your thoughts are on pressure for her to 0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:53.400 step aside as Democratic leader. UM. A lot of operatives 0:14:53.400 --> 0:14:55.680 in the party believe that would be better for candidates 0:14:55.760 --> 0:14:58.040 running for the House not to have to deal with 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:01.560 her as an issue, because she's pretty popular nationally. Do 0:15:01.600 --> 0:15:05.880 you think she's being treated unfairly? Look, I feel like 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:08.920 we need more women in office, not less. In fact, 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:12.240 I can't wait until Congress. If half of Congress could 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:14.520 get pregnant, we would quit fighting about planned parented in 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:17.120 birth control and a lot of other issues. I do 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:21.080 think that she has been attacked mainly because she's so effective, 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:23.600 and that is why I think the Republican Party has 0:15:23.640 --> 0:15:27.960 gone after her so hard. Is because she's the only leader. 0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:31.280 Even when the Republicans are in control of Congress, she's 0:15:31.320 --> 0:15:33.560 the only leader who can actually get a bill passed. 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:36.200 And frankly, we wouldn't have the Affordable Care Act if 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:39.680 it weren't for Nancy Pelosi. And uh So, when I 0:15:39.720 --> 0:15:42.400 was reading your CV, I was interested in learning that 0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:44.680 you only worked for her for years. That right, like 0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:47.920 a year and a half. Congress was not for me, 0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:50.480 but I took it was like taking a graduate course 0:15:50.520 --> 0:15:52.120 in the hill. I mean, I feel like I had 0:15:52.120 --> 0:15:55.200 this incredible perch of being able to see what it 0:15:55.240 --> 0:15:58.520 was like to run a leadership office and to bring 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:02.280 new people into the system. And Nancy was an amazing 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:07.280 teacher and we've remained friends. We've worked on all kinds 0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:10.520 of women's healthcare issues ever since. So it was invaluable, 0:16:10.680 --> 0:16:12.240 but It's also a lessened to me that you know 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:14.520 you can take a job and then say I'm actually 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:17.240 better on the outside, which is really what I decided 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:19.840 and kind of what led to my job at Planned Parenthood. 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:25.800 We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:36.720 with more of Cecil Richards in a moment. We heard 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:39.160 from a lot of you about our last episode, which 0:16:39.200 --> 0:16:43.560 focused on the aftermath of the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida. 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:47.960 One email from listener Emily Krutzer. Krutzer, Emily, I'm sorry 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:50.680 if I'm mispronouncing your name, but your email really stood 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:53.520 out to us. That's right, she wrote this, Brian, my 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:56.760 in laws recently purchased a pontoon boat for their lake 0:16:56.800 --> 0:16:59.720 house in Virginia. My husband and I are working through 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:02.840 the online course to get our license to drive the boat. 0:17:03.320 --> 0:17:05.960 We commented last night how we could buy a handgun 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:09.000 or an assault rifle quicker and easier than we could 0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:12.840 complete the online voting license course. We have a toddler 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:15.000 and hope we are able to make a change to 0:17:15.080 --> 0:17:18.760 our insane gun laws or lack thereof, because the world 0:17:18.800 --> 0:17:21.760 he is growing up in scares me. I think it 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:24.440 scares a lot of people, Emily, and I think when 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:28.400 people talk about gun control, they're really talking about common 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:33.480 sense gun legislation, and so I think it shouldn't scare people. 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:36.639 I think people who want common sense gun laws also 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:41.359 want to respect the ability of law abiding American citizens 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:44.760 to own a gun and to buy a gun with 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:47.760 certain safeguards. So thank you for writing in, and best 0:17:47.800 --> 0:17:51.800 of luck with your voting license. It's like, just because 0:17:51.880 --> 0:17:54.920 you want people who drive to have to get a license, 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:59.399 doesn't mean you disrespect people who drive cars. Um. I 0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:03.800 think you can balance rights and responsibilities anyway. We love 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:06.200 hearing from all of our listeners and we definitely want 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:08.640 to hear what you all think of the big issues 0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:11.280 that Katie is going to be tackling in her Natio 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:15.160 series America Inside Out. To kick things off, the first 0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:19.560 episode on April eleven, is called Rewriting History. But it's 0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:23.080 not writing as you would think of. It's writing R 0:18:23.200 --> 0:18:26.560 I G H T I n G, because we're really 0:18:26.600 --> 0:18:31.040 examining what history we've learned, what history we're taught, and 0:18:31.320 --> 0:18:35.760 the memorial landscape and how that reflects the American story, 0:18:35.880 --> 0:18:40.720 rightly or wrongly. I traveled throughout the South including Charlottesville, Virginia, 0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:43.840 where I went to college, to explore the controversy over 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:48.320 removing Confederate statues and monuments. So, listeners, here's our question 0:18:48.400 --> 0:18:51.639 for you. How do you feel about Confederate monuments and 0:18:51.680 --> 0:18:55.040 how about the building, schools, and roads all across the 0:18:55.080 --> 0:18:57.960 South that are named after Confederate generals? Do you think 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:00.960 that they should be removed or renamed? And if not, 0:19:01.280 --> 0:19:04.280 why not? So please call and leave a message with 0:19:04.320 --> 0:19:07.200 your thoughts. I'd love to hear how you feel about this. 0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:11.119 Nine two two, four, four six three seven. I know 0:19:11.240 --> 0:19:15.320 people feel very strongly or feel free to email us 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:22.720 at comments at correct podcast dot com. And now back 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:27.480 to our conversation with Cecil Richards. Let's step back and 0:19:27.760 --> 0:19:30.480 actually talk about Planned Parenthood and what it does and 0:19:30.480 --> 0:19:32.679 the services that it provides. Because I think there's a 0:19:32.720 --> 0:19:35.720 lot of misunderstanding and a number of people, particularly on 0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:39.760 the right, portray Planned parent clinics basically as abortion centers. 0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:44.000 Can you just describe what Planned Parenthood actually does? Sure? So, 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:47.280 we just celebrated our hundredth anniversary, and we provide health 0:19:47.320 --> 0:19:49.760 care to about two and a half million people every year. 0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:53.439 The vast majority of our services are preventive care, so 0:19:53.520 --> 0:19:56.879 for a lot of women we do birth control STI 0:19:57.000 --> 0:19:59.640 testing and treatment. For many women they get their their 0:19:59.640 --> 0:20:03.320 full women's health exams, so they get breast cancer screening 0:20:03.320 --> 0:20:05.280 and cervical cancer screening. I know we went to a 0:20:05.280 --> 0:20:08.040 plan period at health Center, actually Katie and I together, 0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:10.920 and we also provide access to safe and legal abortion, 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:13.760 which we think is really important. I will say, I 0:20:13.760 --> 0:20:16.080 think we do more on any given day to prevent 0:20:16.160 --> 0:20:21.080 unintended pregnancy than any organization in America. And one of 0:20:21.119 --> 0:20:24.200 the I think untold stories about some of our success 0:20:24.240 --> 0:20:27.160 in the last few years, particularly when Obamacare helped get 0:20:27.160 --> 0:20:29.919 more coverage for women's birth control, is we're now at 0:20:29.920 --> 0:20:32.639 a thirty year low for unintended pregnancy in the US, 0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:35.760 and actually the lowest rate of teenage pregnancy ever. And 0:20:35.800 --> 0:20:38.320 to me, that is a sign of you know, the 0:20:38.320 --> 0:20:40.600 fact that plan period is actually isn't the problem. It's 0:20:40.640 --> 0:20:43.720 the solution for many many folks in this country, and 0:20:43.760 --> 0:20:45.840 I think it's why our approval rating is really at 0:20:45.840 --> 0:20:48.280 an all time high now. At the same time, you know, 0:20:48.520 --> 0:20:53.639 there seems to be a real smear campaign against planned parenthood, 0:20:53.680 --> 0:20:56.560 and you and I have talked before, how can you 0:20:56.680 --> 0:21:02.040 change the perception up planned parenthood or how is that 0:21:02.400 --> 0:21:06.320 used to kind of galvanize conservatives in this country? And 0:21:06.520 --> 0:21:09.000 and how do you how do you fight that? Well, 0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:12.440 it's I actually think there's some people that just not 0:21:12.560 --> 0:21:15.920 really don't really understand that in fact, we are very popular. 0:21:15.960 --> 0:21:18.680 In fact, I just looked at Fox News and Wall 0:21:18.680 --> 0:21:21.199 Street Journal did a poll last week. We were the 0:21:21.240 --> 0:21:24.920 most popular organization, uh that they pulled it. And that's 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:27.120 coming from Fox News. So this is not a this 0:21:27.200 --> 0:21:31.280 is not a any anything biased in our favor. And 0:21:31.320 --> 0:21:35.240 in fact, after this last really debate over funding for 0:21:35.320 --> 0:21:38.440 planned parenthood over the last fourteen months that has happened 0:21:38.440 --> 0:21:42.880 since the Trump at administration, in the Kaiser pole of Americans, 0:21:42.920 --> 0:21:47.040 including a majority of Republicans and Democrats, support federal funding 0:21:47.080 --> 0:21:50.159 for planned parenthood. So I think we are doing a 0:21:50.200 --> 0:21:53.879 good job of telling our story. That said, there are 0:21:53.920 --> 0:21:56.160 always going to be people that don't want to support 0:21:56.160 --> 0:21:59.000 women's health care, whether it's provided by Planned parented or others. 0:22:00.119 --> 0:22:02.560 And in fact, I mean our patients, they come from 0:22:02.600 --> 0:22:04.879 every walk of life. They don't come in to make 0:22:04.880 --> 0:22:08.879 a political statement. Plenty of Republican women use Plan parenthood 0:22:09.160 --> 0:22:11.439 as their only source of healthcare. So what does it 0:22:11.520 --> 0:22:14.479 mean to defund planned parenthood and where does that stand? 0:22:14.520 --> 0:22:19.600 Because it seems like that old chestnut resurfaces periodically. And 0:22:19.640 --> 0:22:23.640 it's also I think as many of these big hot 0:22:23.680 --> 0:22:28.400 button culture war issues have become a proxy for conservative 0:22:28.400 --> 0:22:32.080 bona fetus among the electorate in some ways. So help 0:22:32.160 --> 0:22:36.160