WEBVTT - Cultural Contractions 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:14.720 Good morning, peeps, and welcome to okay F Daily with 0:00:14.840 --> 0:00:20.279 Meet your Girl Danielle Moody recording from the Brooklyn Bunker, Folks, 0:00:20.360 --> 0:00:24.640 I want to start off today with talking about once 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:29.760 again the importance of mental health and recognizing how the 0:00:29.920 --> 0:00:33.880 past several weeks several years have been weighing on all 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:35.960 of us and what it is that we are doing 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:39.120 or not doing to show up fully in our skin. 0:00:39.479 --> 0:00:41.960 And what I will say is that the past several 0:00:42.000 --> 0:00:46.040 weeks have been incredibly difficult for me. If you've been 0:00:46.080 --> 0:00:49.040 listening to the show for a considerable amount of time, 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:54.960 you know that I will go through I don't know, 0:00:55.160 --> 0:00:58.680 waves of emotion, mostly surrounded by rage, but a lot 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:02.600 of times what will follow the bouts of rage is exhaustion. 0:01:03.480 --> 0:01:07.800 And what I find myself exhausted, I find myself falling 0:01:08.000 --> 0:01:11.160 outside of routines that I put in place in order 0:01:11.200 --> 0:01:16.440 to really ground myself. What I'm realizing, however, is how 0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:19.199 easy it is right as many of us who anybody 0:01:19.240 --> 0:01:21.959 who's ever tried to diet, anybody who's ever tried to 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:26.119 break bad habits or start new ones, is that when 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:29.440 things become overwhelming, it is really easy to fall back 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:34.480 into old patterns, and I am trying to disrupt my 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:37.120 old patterns that have had me once again, put on 0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:41.800 weight once again, start not sleeping well, using really bad 0:01:41.840 --> 0:01:45.560 habits as a way to deal with the stress of 0:01:45.600 --> 0:01:49.080 this current moment, and how to navigate all of that, 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:53.440 all of those things. And you know, the first thing 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:55.480 that I will say is that if you find yourself 0:01:55.640 --> 0:01:59.400 like me in these moments of great overwhelm where you are, 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:05.200 you know, habits that you thought that you broke are 0:02:05.320 --> 0:02:09.680 presenting themselves again, because we are creatures of habit. The 0:02:09.720 --> 0:02:12.800 first thing to do is to give yourself grace, which 0:02:12.880 --> 0:02:16.760 is what I have decided to do. My first step 0:02:16.880 --> 0:02:19.640 is to give myself grace. I am not beating myself 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:24.239 up anymore because frankly, you know, the world beats people 0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:27.040 that look like me, love like me, exist like me 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:29.560 up enough on a daily basis. I do not need 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:34.960 to add to those feelings. So I start off by 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:41.240 giving myself grace. The next thing is to recognize how 0:02:41.280 --> 0:02:44.840 am I feeling these days. I had the executive producer 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:49.680 over Woke f and over DCP shows reached out to 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:55.440 me and said, how are you feeling like? Honestly, like 0:02:55.440 --> 0:02:58.639 when nothing else, just like, how are you feeling? How 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:02.360 are you doing? And what I will say is that 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:08.400 I haven't been feeling great. I have moments of great 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:11.080 times and joy and all of these things, but they 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:14.800 are moments, and I find that they are fleeting. So 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:16.680 I started to think about, well, what were the things 0:03:16.720 --> 0:03:19.119 that I was doing that I had committed to do 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:22.120 over the last two years, new habits that I had 0:03:22.160 --> 0:03:26.360 developed because, frankly, the world shutting down provided the time 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:28.560 to be able to do that. But now that things 0:03:28.560 --> 0:03:31.480 have opened back up, and it seems that our country 0:03:31.560 --> 0:03:36.040 has becoming increasingly by the day, more and more unstable, 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:41.520 I'm finding myself ending each day with a cocktail, ending 0:03:41.560 --> 0:03:44.000 each day recognizing that I had sat in front of 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:47.680 the television or on Twitter, in front of my computer 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:51.080 for hours, hunched over, no longer going from my walks, 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:54.360 no longer taking the breaks that I needed in order 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:58.480 to prevent my own breakdown. I found myself working fifteen 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:02.160 hour days again, never turning my phone off, waking up 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:04.520 in the morning, and getting back on Twitter as soon 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:07.640 as I opened my eyes. All of these things were 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:11.600 habits that I had become really conscious of and very 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:15.920 intentional about breaking and then over the past you know, 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:21.320 six months, I would say six seven, six months plus, 0:04:21.720 --> 0:04:24.080 all of those habits have started to creep back in. 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:26.600 And what has happened as a result of it. I 0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:33.120 find myself incredibly exhausted, on edge. My anxiety has been 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:37.239 through the roof, not sleeping as well, and eating poorly 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:42.039 and drinking too much. All of those are a result 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:49.440 of allowing the stress, the frustrations, the anger to begin 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:53.480 to consume me from the inside out all over again. 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:57.039 Why am I bringing this up to all of you 0:04:57.200 --> 0:05:00.200 and airing out my own personal business because I know 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:05.200 that if I have allowed myself to fall behind in 0:05:05.279 --> 0:05:09.480 my self care, if I have not put myself back 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:13.320 on my agenda, because I am so preoccupied with how 0:05:13.920 --> 0:05:18.440 the GOP GQP is beating down this country, with how 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:21.720 black people are being hunted, with how queer people have 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:26.280 no safe place to go where you know, every headline 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:29.520 is about another fucking shooting, whether it's a mass shooting 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:35.400 or an individual and then you know the abortion fight. 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:38.640 I mean, it's just it doesn't stop. It is worse 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:42.880 than drinking from a firehost. It is worse than feeling 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:46.359 like you are drowning. It is all of those things combined. 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:52.000 The reality is that it's not going to stop friends, 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:55.360 It's actually just going to get worse. And I say 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:57.480 that not as a way to just say well, fuck 0:05:57.520 --> 0:06:01.720 at all you know and give up, but that now, 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:04.160 more than ever, as I say this to you all, 0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:08.359 I say it to myself out loud. The world is 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:12.599 becoming increasingly unstable, which means that we need to figure 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:17.440 out the positive and healthy ways to stabilize ourselves, to 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:22.360 ground ourselves so that we can deal with this storm 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:27.480 that this country has become. The more unstable things feel, 0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:29.960 the more that we need to double down, the more 0:06:30.000 --> 0:06:31.920 that we need to look at our calendars each and 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:34.159 every day. What is the time that I have put 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:37.360 aside for exercise. What is the time that I've put 0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:39.680 aside for meditation? What is the time that I've put 0:06:39.720 --> 0:06:43.680 aside to connecting with friends and family that is outside 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:47.159 of work. What is the time that I'm putting aside 0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:51.400 to say that I'm done with electronics for the day, 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:53.880 I'm done with the television for the day, I'm done 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:56.880 with all of those things. What is my end time? 0:06:57.400 --> 0:06:59.120 Because you see, the thing is is that if we're 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:02.240 not instituting our own end times. There will never be 0:07:02.839 --> 0:07:07.320 a shut off, right because, as I said to the 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:12.960 executive producer of this show, is that nothing ever stops. 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:16.360 It's not going to stop. And so if I don't 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:19.560 pull myself out of Twitter, if I don't pull myself 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:24.360 out of the cable news cycle, I'm always going to 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:26.640 be anticipating that I'm going to miss something, and the 0:07:26.720 --> 0:07:30.080 reality is, yeah, I'm going to miss something because there's 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:33.160 just so much. There's too much to cover, there's too 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:36.240 much going on, and it doesn't ever stop. So I 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:40.200 have to purposefully stop, to give my self permission to 0:07:40.400 --> 0:07:43.680 take pauses and to take breaks, to take calls out 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:47.560 on walks when I can, to institute back in healthy eating, 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:50.960 healthy regiments. Not because I'm trying to get somebody's quote 0:07:51.040 --> 0:07:54.440 unquote summer body, but because I don't want to lose 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:59.680 myself at a time when these people are trying to 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:02.360 make me afraid to exist in my own body and 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:06.880 skin and community. Again, I can't let them win. And 0:08:07.000 --> 0:08:10.600 you see, whenever I'm not sleeping, whenever I'm eating shitty, 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:13.600 whenever I'm drinking too much, I am letting them win. 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:18.040 And that's the thing that I need to remind myself 0:08:18.360 --> 0:08:25.400 so that I make my self care intentional, because caring 0:08:25.480 --> 0:08:27.920 for myself is really about caring for you all, caring 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:32.080 for the community, caring for our country because I can't 0:08:32.240 --> 0:08:35.160 give it the energy that it needs when I feel 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:40.640 so depleted. And so again, friends, the first point is 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:45.400 to give ourselves grace and understand that healing is not linear, 0:08:46.200 --> 0:08:51.640 that it vacillates, and you know, sometimes we take steps 0:08:51.679 --> 0:08:55.280 back in order to recognize how we continue to move forward. 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:58.480 So I offered that to all of you because you 0:08:58.520 --> 0:09:01.760 know that yesterday's show didn't not go up because at 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:04.439 the end of last week I was exhausted. I did 0:09:04.480 --> 0:09:08.520 not do Woke Wednesday because frankly, I have had burst 0:09:08.559 --> 0:09:11.840 into tears multiple times with regard to the Buffalo shooting 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:16.559 and just in general, everything feels so fucking heavy and 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:18.920 there are times when I need to give myself a 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:22.240 break and say I just can't do it, and that 0:09:22.360 --> 0:09:27.200 be okay. So you know I want us and I 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:29.120 will try, and I hope that you all will hold 0:09:29.160 --> 0:09:33.439 me accountable to being more mindful and intentional about how 0:09:33.520 --> 0:09:36.400 I am taking care of myself so that I can 0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:40.360 deliver you guys, the best content that you need at 0:09:40.360 --> 0:09:43.360 this time so that you can feel connected and involved 0:09:43.440 --> 0:09:50.599 and engaged. So let's redouble our efforts in being in 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:55.720 community and healthy community and healthy communion with ourselves and 0:09:55.840 --> 0:10:02.320 one another. Coming up next, friends, a conversation with Elizabeth Finley. 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:05.720 And Elizabeth Finley is the director of Communications for the 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:11.679 National Coalition of STD Directors. And what we are going 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:16.559 to talk about is how the impending reversal of Robi 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:22.920 Wade is going to erode and threaten to disrupt and 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:29.080 undermine all of what it means to have a healthy 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:34.640 reproductive systems. What does it mean when all of the 0:10:34.679 --> 0:10:40.760 smaller facilities that provide regular screening STD screening testing, all 0:10:40.760 --> 0:10:44.080 of these things are shut down because they're too closely 0:10:44.120 --> 0:10:47.480 associated with abortion, and now people are too afraid to 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:49.920 go and receive the type of care that they need. Well, 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:54.000 as Elizabeth will tell us, we have an STD crisis 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:56.800 on the hand on our hands to add to everything else, 0:10:57.480 --> 0:11:01.120 and how that came about, at how things had deterred 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:04.920 at the beginning of COVID and then those numbers of 0:11:05.000 --> 0:11:09.000 gonorrhea and chlamydia and all of these things skyrocketed, and 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:12.319 what we can do about that moving forward and what 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:16.440 we need to be paying attention to during this incredible, 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:19.920 incredibly crazy fucking time that we are living in. But 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:23.080 I think that this is a really important conversation because 0:11:23.080 --> 0:11:26.120 Elizabeth opened my mind to so many things that I 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:30.319 did not think about that are connected to the overturning 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:33.760 of Rob Wade, and of course what the GQP couldn't 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:36.760 give a fuck to think about, but that Democrats are 0:11:36.800 --> 0:11:40.560 not using as they build up some type of campaign 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:45.199 let's hope to fight back against the Republicans come midterms. 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:51.400 So coming up now, my conversation with Elizabeth Finlay. Hey, 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:55.120 I'm David. Plots of Slights Political Gadfest. As another election 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:58.880 season accelerates, it can be tricky to sort through all 0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:01.800 the noise and the news. Each week on the gap Fest, 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:05.240 John Dickerson, Emily Bathalona and I decipher the headlines, break 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:08.520 down the races, and tell you what issues really matter. 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:12.400 We do not always agree, We definitely do not always agree, 0:12:12.559 --> 0:12:15.600 but we always deliver thoughtful debate and we always have 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:19.559 a good time. So subscribe to Slates Political Gapfest new 0:12:19.600 --> 0:12:28.240 episodes every Thursday. Indisputable with Doctor Rashid Ricci is one 0:12:28.280 --> 0:12:31.280 of the latest shows on the TYT network and also 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:34.839 the fastest growing news show in America. On his show, 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:38.960 Doctor Ricci plays no games regarding policy, delivering a heavy 0:12:38.960 --> 0:12:42.280 dose of fact based truth and penetrating analysis on all 0:12:42.360 --> 0:12:47.000 the top news stories focusing on racism, criminal and social justice, politics, 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:51.400 police brutality, karents, and much more. Listeners can also expect 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:56.280 interviews with fascinating guests, political leaders, commentators, and even fiery 0:12:56.360 --> 0:13:00.000 debates with conservatives on a wide range of policy topics. 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:03.560 In the Bullpen. It is an indisputable fact that you 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:07.280 will love this show. Listen to Indisputable with Doctor Rashad 0:13:07.400 --> 0:13:11.439 Ricci on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:14.160 If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:25.240 so you never miss a new episode. Folks, I am 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:28.360 very happy to welcome to okay F for the very 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:33.440 first time, Elizabeth Finley, who is the director of Communications 0:13:33.480 --> 0:13:41.640 for the National Coalition of STDs. Elizabeth, there is an alarming, 0:13:42.200 --> 0:13:46.600 alarming trend that has been happening that we don't hear 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:50.880 about on the news. I've seen a couple of articles 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:55.280 about the rise and STDs and the rise and STIs 0:13:55.360 --> 0:13:58.840 and the fact that there are cases of syphilis that 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:01.160 are being reported, and I could have sworn that we 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:05.800 eradicated syphilis in this country and that has been making 0:14:06.000 --> 0:14:10.960 a comeback. All of this kind of had a catastrophic 0:14:11.480 --> 0:14:16.720 intertwining or explosion during the pandemic, when in fact I 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:19.760 thought that we were all locked at home. So what 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:24.720 has can you tell us when this trend, this surge began, 0:14:25.560 --> 0:14:28.520 and how we got to the moment that we're in 0:14:28.640 --> 0:14:32.720 and why folks need to be paying attention. Sure, so 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:35.840 we've seen a rise in some of the most common 0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:41.880 sexually transmitted infections over about the last twenty years we've 0:14:41.920 --> 0:14:48.160 seen so those are things like gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis. The 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:52.160 one that's really alarming to folks is congenital syphilis, so 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:56.960 syphilis in babies when the mother has syphilis and it's 0:14:56.960 --> 0:15:00.480 not treated in pregnancy and so the baby's born with syphilis. 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:05.400 That's a public health issue that had been completely eradicated 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:09.480 ten years ago and in the past five years has 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:13.000 grown by more than two hundred and thirty percent. So 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:17.680 those rates are skyrocketing they were before the pandemic, and 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:20.520 we just got the latest data from the CDC about 0:15:20.560 --> 0:15:23.480 a month ago, and it showed that those rates continued 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:28.080 to climb in the pandemic. Oh my god, a two 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:32.960 hundred and thirty some odd increase in cases in women. 0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:36.480 And what I read and so you clarify for me, 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:44.480 is that oftentimes, particularly around syphilis, you don't necessarily have symptoms, right, 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:48.600 so you may not then know that you have contracted this. 0:15:49.040 --> 0:15:53.160 Now you're pregnant, you have a baby, and now recognize 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:57.600 that this has happened. Why are we seeing this surge? 0:15:57.720 --> 0:16:01.800 And has something happened with our screening, you know, with 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:05.640 regular O, B, G, Y N check ins and particularly 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:11.800 for women, why we are seeing this rise? Right? So 0:16:12.000 --> 0:16:16.840 you're absolutely right that the screening that happens during obstetric 0:16:16.880 --> 0:16:20.520 care during pregnancy is the way that we catch this. 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:23.400 And what the folks I work would say is anytime 0:16:23.440 --> 0:16:26.320 you see a clime in adult syphilis, you see this 0:16:26.400 --> 0:16:31.680 clime in congenital syphilis. And what really happened during the 0:16:31.720 --> 0:16:36.040 pandemic is women women were doing more telehealth, They weren't 0:16:36.040 --> 0:16:40.320 going in quite as frequently for in person care. You know, 0:16:40.760 --> 0:16:44.920 states screen for congenital syphilis or syphilis, and pregnant women 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:49.000 in the first trimester, and some states screen in the 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:52.760 third trimester, and so if women missed those first trimester 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:56.840 appointments in the pandemic or just did a telehealth appointment instead, 0:16:57.320 --> 0:17:02.000 they weren't getting those screenings and same deal in the 0:17:02.000 --> 0:17:06.320 third trimester. I think we also see with syphilis, especially 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:11.639 it intersects with some other health and political issues. So 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:16.120 syphilis spreads really easily among people who use drugs, and 0:17:16.200 --> 0:17:20.080 we see in places where drug use, especially in pregnancy, 0:17:20.200 --> 0:17:24.520 is heavily criminalized. You know, if if you're afraid that 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:29.640 you're going to be incarcerated or arrested or have your 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:32.879 baby taken away, like that's a pretty good reason not 0:17:32.920 --> 0:17:35.720 to go seek obstetric care, and so then you don't 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:39.120 get screened and you don't get treated. We also saw 0:17:39.359 --> 0:17:44.639 big rises in syphilis among you know, women who are 0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:48.800 categorized as Hispanic in the government data. And we know 0:17:48.960 --> 0:17:53.000 from from lots and lots of places in sexual healthcare 0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:56.800 and reproductive healthcare that if you're afraid of talking about 0:17:56.800 --> 0:18:02.120 your documentation status in healthcare or you know, you're less 0:18:02.160 --> 0:18:05.240 likely to go in and so so it's just this 0:18:05.359 --> 0:18:11.040 sort of massive convergence of issues. The lack of access 0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:15.359 to care in general, which we've seen clime for years, 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:19.600 and especially during the pandemic. The intersection, especially with the 0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:25.160 opioid epidemic, issues around population and immigration, all of these 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:29.159 things kind of come together, and public health really thinks 0:18:29.280 --> 0:18:32.919 of congenital syphilis as this bellweather issue, right Like, in 0:18:32.960 --> 0:18:38.320 an ideal situation, we're testing for sexually transmitted infections regularly 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:42.520 and maybe it gets caught that way. And separately, folks 0:18:42.560 --> 0:18:46.359 who work on maternal health need to get people in 0:18:46.560 --> 0:18:51.719 for those prenatal visits, you know. So folks in public 0:18:51.760 --> 0:18:55.239 health are thinking about this congenital syphilis issue as just 0:18:55.280 --> 0:19:00.359 a real collapse, right because it means that our sexually 0:19:00.359 --> 0:19:04.199 transmitted infection screening protocols are falling apart. It means that 0:19:04.840 --> 0:19:10.000 prenatal care is falling apart, and those were both heavily 0:19:10.040 --> 0:19:15.520 exacerbated by the pandemic. What does this look like, this 0:19:15.640 --> 0:19:18.240 trend that we are seeing that is happening in the 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:25.560 wrong direction. How does the overturning, rescinding, erasing of Roe v. 0:19:25.720 --> 0:19:32.440 Wade play into this rise in STDs and STIs what 0:19:33.000 --> 0:19:37.399 happens next? Can you paint that picture for us? Right? So, 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:41.639 we're interested in talking about this issue because obviously the 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:45.640 most immediate concern is access to abortion and abortion care, 0:19:46.560 --> 0:19:50.119 and we don't want to minimize that at all. But 0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:53.040 we think as people are talking about this, they're missing 0:19:53.119 --> 0:19:56.560 how this is going to cascade into other areas of healthcare. 0:19:57.080 --> 0:20:02.520 And when we think about how people get tested and 0:20:02.600 --> 0:20:06.160 treated for sexually transmitted infections and really like that that's 0:20:06.200 --> 0:20:09.080 the core of prevention. People like really quickly think, oh, 0:20:09.119 --> 0:20:11.479 you wear a condom and you don't get a sexually 0:20:11.480 --> 0:20:15.520 transmitted infection. But really the most important part of this 0:20:15.600 --> 0:20:20.359 puzzle is testing and treatment. And when we think about 0:20:20.400 --> 0:20:25.680 what testing and treatment looks like, access is a huge 0:20:25.720 --> 0:20:29.280 issue and stigma is a huge issue. And so with 0:20:29.320 --> 0:20:32.439 the fall of Row, we worry about the number of 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:35.960 clinics they're going to be available. The folks who provide 0:20:36.000 --> 0:20:40.600 sexual and reproductive healthcare are so important in the work 0:20:40.680 --> 0:20:45.000 to address sexually transmitted infections. They're comfortable talking about sex. 0:20:45.240 --> 0:20:48.040 You're going into a clinic knowing that that's what you're 0:20:48.040 --> 0:20:50.560 going to talk about. We still see a lot of 0:20:50.720 --> 0:20:55.080 hesitancy from primary care providers. You know, if you're just 0:20:55.160 --> 0:20:59.000 going in for your annual physical you know, how comfortable 0:20:59.119 --> 0:21:01.840 is that person talking about sex? How comfortable are you 0:21:01.920 --> 0:21:05.280 talking about sex with that person? And so these sexual 0:21:05.320 --> 0:21:11.200 healthcare providers that also provide family planning services, abortion services, 0:21:11.359 --> 0:21:14.720 they're just a really important piece of our puzzle. And 0:21:14.800 --> 0:21:19.000 so we worry about what happens when those providers go away, 0:21:19.920 --> 0:21:24.800 both as centers where people can get healthcare and also 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:28.800 just as advocates in their community. Is safe spaces in 0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:32.000 their community where folks know that they can go, you know, 0:21:32.040 --> 0:21:35.360 And then there's this stigma piece, right, There's always been 0:21:35.440 --> 0:21:39.159 stigma around sexual health. We know that it exists. We 0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:43.000 work with our members and our networks to try to 0:21:43.040 --> 0:21:46.399 reduce that stigma. But in this time when they are 0:21:46.440 --> 0:21:50.840 all of these forces talking about criminalizing and reproductive healthcare, 0:21:51.400 --> 0:21:55.000 you know, and just more broader in a cultural sense, 0:21:55.840 --> 0:21:59.440 the attacks on transfolks that don't say gay bill. It's 0:21:59.480 --> 0:22:03.480 just this moment of cultural contraption. And what does that 0:22:03.600 --> 0:22:08.000 do in terms of allowing people to go get the 0:22:08.040 --> 0:22:11.240 sexual and reproductive healthcare they need? And are we entering 0:22:11.280 --> 0:22:15.280 this sort of darker period where people can't do that 0:22:15.400 --> 0:22:20.240 safely or even worse, are we going to see more 0:22:20.400 --> 0:22:26.399 of these court precedents fall that allow people to have privacy, 0:22:26.480 --> 0:22:30.040 which is really the bedrock of all sexual and reproductive healthcare. 0:22:31.160 --> 0:22:34.119 You know, I'm thinking and follow me for a minute 0:22:34.480 --> 0:22:37.359 while you're speaking, and I'm thinking to myself, we have 0:22:37.440 --> 0:22:42.160 states right now that have criminalized abortion, criminalized abortion care, 0:22:42.480 --> 0:22:46.200 have put together, like Texas and other copycat red states, 0:22:46.520 --> 0:22:51.960 vigilante laws that are in place to prosecute women and 0:22:52.080 --> 0:22:55.640 any people with uteruses and anyone that seeks to aid them. 0:22:56.200 --> 0:23:04.280 I'm wondering, if congenial syphilis is on the rise, is 0:23:04.320 --> 0:23:08.719 this something that could then become potentially a criminal issue 0:23:09.320 --> 0:23:14.320 on you know, on those that oppose abortion care, Like, 0:23:14.359 --> 0:23:17.719 are we looking at other ways in which people with 0:23:17.840 --> 0:23:21.600 uterus is and who are having children can be prosecuted? 0:23:22.119 --> 0:23:25.600 And it all comes back to lack of education, lack 0:23:25.640 --> 0:23:30.119 of care, lack of services, all of these. But then 0:23:30.520 --> 0:23:35.000 but then the bad outcomes then become the problem of 0:23:35.040 --> 0:23:41.440 that of that pregnant person. Absolutely, absolutely, we already see 0:23:42.080 --> 0:23:46.480 states where where people are criminalized for drug use in pregnancy. 0:23:46.560 --> 0:23:48.640 That's part of why they don't seek care and don't 0:23:48.640 --> 0:23:52.320 get treatment for that syphilis. Um, it's a it's a 0:23:52.359 --> 0:23:54.719 big problem. We need folks to feel safe when they 0:23:54.760 --> 0:23:58.040 go get healthcare, and when we listen to legal analysts 0:23:58.040 --> 0:24:03.960 talk about what's next, you know, what laws do folks challenge. 0:24:04.040 --> 0:24:07.080 We have come to take for granted that we get 0:24:07.119 --> 0:24:13.400 to make decisions about our own bodies beyond abortion, right 0:24:13.520 --> 0:24:15.840 like how do we protect ourselves from pregnancy? How do 0:24:15.880 --> 0:24:19.639 we protect ourselves from HIV? With things like prep, how 0:24:19.640 --> 0:24:25.480 do we protect ourselves from sexually transmitted infections? And beyond that? 0:24:26.080 --> 0:24:28.919 You know, one of the cases that legal analysts talk 0:24:28.960 --> 0:24:32.399 about is lawrence, So what kinds of sex are we 0:24:32.440 --> 0:24:35.560 allowed to have? Who are we allowed to have sex with? 0:24:36.040 --> 0:24:39.080 You know, if you can't go into your doctor and 0:24:39.240 --> 0:24:43.320 talk in your sexual health screening about what it is 0:24:43.359 --> 0:24:46.280 you're doing and with whom and what kind of care 0:24:46.400 --> 0:24:50.679 you need, then then providers have no way of protecting 0:24:50.720 --> 0:24:54.600 you from a pregnancy that you don't want, HIV that 0:24:54.680 --> 0:24:57.840 you don't want, a sexually transmitted infection that you don't want. 0:24:59.040 --> 0:25:03.119 I mean, I just think of about how terrifying of 0:25:03.280 --> 0:25:06.240 a climate that we are creating right now, that we 0:25:06.280 --> 0:25:10.080 are allowing to happen and not really thinking about the 0:25:10.119 --> 0:25:13.439 cascading effects. Like you said with regard to what it 0:25:13.480 --> 0:25:17.879 looks like when people are not able to comfortably and 0:25:18.040 --> 0:25:23.720 openly speak about what has happened, whether that be a miscarriage, 0:25:23.760 --> 0:25:27.280 whether that be an infection, to be able to get 0:25:27.320 --> 0:25:30.840 to the core of the needs that they have. If 0:25:30.840 --> 0:25:33.480 you feel like then the provider that you're speaking to, 0:25:34.119 --> 0:25:36.280 by virtue of your state law, can pick up the 0:25:36.280 --> 0:25:39.600 phone and call the authorities like what I mean, can 0:25:39.640 --> 0:25:44.720 you talk about, like how do we battle stigma in 0:25:44.880 --> 0:25:52.920 a climate that has become increasingly hostile to everyone gets 0:25:53.080 --> 0:25:56.359 it gets really hard. I think one wonderful thing that 0:25:56.480 --> 0:26:00.560 reproductive health and rights organizations are doing right now is 0:26:00.600 --> 0:26:04.040 just reminding people the reality that abortion is still available. 0:26:04.920 --> 0:26:09.520 You know, we are talking about some real, real potential 0:26:09.760 --> 0:26:13.120 for a dystopian future, and we're not there quite yet, 0:26:13.720 --> 0:26:16.200 you know. So it is important for folks to understand 0:26:16.240 --> 0:26:18.080 the care that they can get right now and that 0:26:18.240 --> 0:26:20.159 and some of that varies by who you are and 0:26:20.200 --> 0:26:23.920 by state, um, but I think it's important for people 0:26:23.920 --> 0:26:27.119 to know that we're not quite there yet, and we 0:26:27.160 --> 0:26:31.680 need to push back on what this looks like. One 0:26:31.720 --> 0:26:35.920 thing that's really interesting when we look at the data 0:26:36.000 --> 0:26:40.159 on sexually transmitted infections is that more than half of 0:26:40.200 --> 0:26:44.480 sexually transmitted infections right now are in young people, and 0:26:45.000 --> 0:26:49.720 so those are people who already have a higher level 0:26:49.840 --> 0:26:55.080 of fear around privacy. And before coming to NCSD, I 0:26:55.119 --> 0:26:58.560 worked on young people's sexual health, and so what we 0:26:58.680 --> 0:27:01.879 saw over and Regan is young people who were afraid 0:27:01.920 --> 0:27:07.760 to seek care because they didn't understand the privacy protections 0:27:07.760 --> 0:27:10.000 that already exist in the same way an adult might, 0:27:10.440 --> 0:27:12.320 you know, like maybe they've heard of hip hop, but 0:27:13.280 --> 0:27:16.560 they look at a clinic, especially for people who live 0:27:16.800 --> 0:27:21.360 in smaller towns, in rural areas, they're like, all right, 0:27:21.760 --> 0:27:25.399 this person at the front desk checking me into my appointment, 0:27:25.440 --> 0:27:28.320 goes to church with my grandma, or like as a 0:27:28.359 --> 0:27:32.280 person that my mom sees the supermarket, you know, like 0:27:32.560 --> 0:27:36.119