WEBVTT - Will Abortion Rights Energize the Latino Vote? 0:00:00.600 --> 0:00:03.680 This is Latino USA, the radio journal of News and 0:00:03.840 --> 0:00:09.280 Kurture Latino USC Latin Latino USA. I'm Mariainojosa. We bring 0:00:09.320 --> 0:00:12.680 you stories that are underreported but that mattered to you, 0:00:12.840 --> 0:00:14.720 overlooked by the rest of the media, and while the 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:17.000 country is struggling to deal with these, we listen to 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:20.640 the stories of black and Latino studients United Latino Front, 0:00:20.840 --> 0:00:25.200 a cultural renaissance organizing at the forefront of the movement. 0:00:25.880 --> 0:00:33.120 I'm Maria Inojosa, no bayan. For many women in the 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:36.040 United States, the fall of Roe v. Wade has been 0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:38.880 going back to the time when abortion was not legal 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:45.199 in this country. Only now things have definitely changed. Almost 0:00:45.200 --> 0:00:48.680 two years after the Dobbs decision, there's an increasing of 0:00:48.800 --> 0:00:54.200 policing of women and of pregnancies in general, and Brittany 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:57.560 Watts knows what that's like in the flesh. 0:00:58.120 --> 0:01:00.640 Just makes me angry that somebody would make me seem 0:01:00.760 --> 0:01:04.720 so callous and so so hateful. 0:01:06.120 --> 0:01:09.280 Britney Wants is a thirty four year old black woman 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:13.440 living in Ohio. This January, a grand jury in Ohio 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:17.240 declined to indict her after she was arrested and charged 0:01:17.240 --> 0:01:21.039 with the quote unquote abuse of a corpse after she 0:01:21.160 --> 0:01:26.000 suffered a miscarriage. This is Brittany speaking about the moment 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:29.639 when she went to seek care right after she lost 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:30.399 the pregnancy. 0:01:32.000 --> 0:01:36.440 The nurse comes in and she's rubbing my back and 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:40.240 talking to me and saying everything's going to be okay. 0:01:40.680 --> 0:01:43.520 Little do I know the nurse that was comforting me 0:01:44.319 --> 0:01:47.319 and saying that everything was going to be okay was 0:01:47.360 --> 0:01:48.640 the one who called the police. 0:01:49.280 --> 0:01:52.280 I had a mother who had a delivery at home 0:01:52.400 --> 0:01:54.200 and came in without the baby, and I need to 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:58.400 have someone go find the baby or directly what I 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:01.640 need to do with the lib or not. She says 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:03.480 she didn't want to look. She didn't want the baby, 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:04.320 and she didn't look. 0:02:06.760 --> 0:02:10.200 The Warren City Police proceeded to then go to Brittany 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:14.840 Watt's home. They took her toilet apart, they retrieved the 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:19.520 fetus and used it for forensic evidence. This story is 0:02:19.800 --> 0:02:26.519 escalo friante. It's bone chilling, but perhaps it's not that surprising. 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:31.920 Pregnancy criminalization has been accelerating, and we released a report 0:02:32.000 --> 0:02:37.919 last September that shows that pregnancy criminalization is happening in 0:02:38.080 --> 0:02:40.080 most states to various degrees. 0:02:40.760 --> 0:02:45.120 This is Lurdis Rivera. She is president of Pregnancy Justice, 0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:48.959 a national organization dedicated to defending the rights of people 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:49.840 who are pregnant. 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:53.880 Between two thousand and six and the Dobbs decision in 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:58.880 twenty twenty two, we found close to fourteen hundred cases 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:01.679 of pregnancy criminalism, and we know this is an undercap 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:04.960 The majority of the cases in our data are related 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:07.800 to people who are accused of using drugs during pregnancy, 0:03:08.320 --> 0:03:11.239 which using drugs in and of itself is not a crime, 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:14.840 its possession is the crime right. But because the person 0:03:14.960 --> 0:03:20.320 is pregnant, prosecutors have been very creative and interpreting laws 0:03:20.520 --> 0:03:24.120 to apply to people who are pregnant. But we're seeing 0:03:24.200 --> 0:03:29.160 all kinds of fact patterns, including falling down the stairs, 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:32.800 taking a prescribed medication from your doctor, getting into a 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:35.960 car accident while not wearing a seat belt, and then 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:39.320 of course having a miscarriage or still birth, and being 0:03:39.360 --> 0:03:43.080 accused of causing this outcome. Well, we know there are 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:47.040 many biological and health reasons that cause this outcome, but 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:50.680 if we can't guarantee a perfect pregnancy, we are at 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:55.360 risk of being surveiled and reported to law enforcement. 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:03.600 Food media, and PRX. It's Latino Usa. I'm Marienno Posa. 0:04:03.760 --> 0:04:07.560 Today we continue our special election coverage for twenty twenty four, 0:04:07.960 --> 0:04:10.920 the Latino Factor, how we vote. We're going to be 0:04:10.920 --> 0:04:14.240 talking about one of the top mobilizing issues for Latino 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:23.719 and Latina voters, abortion and reproductive rights. Since the Supreme 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:28.159 Court eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion, voters across 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:32.839 the country have overwhelmingly shown up in support of abortion rights. 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:36.159 Michigan is now the first state in the nation to 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:38.000 guarantee the right to an abortion. 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:41.800 The abortion access is the law of the land. 0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:42.640 In Ohio. 0:04:42.960 --> 0:04:45.320 The right to an abortion is now officially part of 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:47.760 California's state constitution. 0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:53.480 And Latina and Latino latinx Latine voters are no exception. Currently, 0:04:53.760 --> 0:04:57.920 Latinas represent the largest group of women of color impacted 0:04:57.920 --> 0:05:02.159 by state abortion bands, and the community is sensitive to 0:05:02.240 --> 0:05:05.560 the issue. When researchers ask Latinos and latin that's why 0:05:05.640 --> 0:05:09.839 abortion policy was important to them, they responded that banning 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:20.200 abortions puts women's lives at risk. This election, over thirty 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:24.120 six million people in the Latino community are eligible to vote. 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:29.560 That makes Latinos the second largest voting cohort, which accounts 0:05:29.600 --> 0:05:33.960 for almost fifteen percent of all voters, which means they 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:38.599 cannot be ignored. As President Biden has admitted. 0:05:38.400 --> 0:05:42.279 We cannot do well in America if the Latino community 0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:43.520 doesn't do well. 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:47.680 Historically, the Democratic Party has had an advantage with Latino voters. 0:05:48.680 --> 0:05:50.520 Do you know what they're out? 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:50.800 Gore? 0:05:51.200 --> 0:05:52.120 Yeah, Center Obama. 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:54.000 Do you believe Latino voters will not vote for a 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:54.560 black candidate? 0:05:54.760 --> 0:05:58.960 Not I Illinois, they all voted for me. Still, Former 0:05:59.080 --> 0:06:04.840 President Trump has his own edge among Latino voters, specifically men. 0:06:07.360 --> 0:06:11.640 So this election, the stakes are high on so many 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:16.800 intersecting fronts because study after study shows that when abortion 0:06:17.000 --> 0:06:20.520 access is taken away from people, it's women of color 0:06:20.560 --> 0:06:23.920 who suffer the most, and all over the country, from 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:27.839 Colorado to Florida, Latinas are coming up with forms of 0:06:27.960 --> 0:06:32.240 resistance and are fighting back. So in this episode, we're 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:34.480 going to talk with Lurs Ribera, who you heard at 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:37.279 the top of the show, and with two other Latinas 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:40.200 who are working on the ground, and we're going to 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:43.640 talk about the state of reproductive rights post Row, then 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:49.640 how those consequences are impacting how we vote. So Lure 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:55.760 this welcome Buena Satades, and welcome Yemenida. Stephanie Lorraine Pignero, 0:06:56.040 --> 0:07:00.560 executive director of the Florida Access Network. It's the only 0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:06.120 queer and bipod led statewide abortion funding organization in the 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:11.480 state of Florida. Stephanie, Hi, hello. And finally we're joined 0:07:11.480 --> 0:07:16.040 by America Amirez. She's program manager at COLOR which stands 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:21.720 for Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights. It's 0:07:21.800 --> 0:07:24.920 a community rooted organization that makes sure that Latinos and 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:30.120 Latinas can lead safe, healthy and self determined lives. When 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:31.640 US America. 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:34.120 Whens dast this depending on where we're at. 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:37.800 So welcome all of you to Latino USA. But before 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:40.160 we jump into the conversation, I just want to go 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:43.960 around the room, as it were, to get us temperature 0:07:44.040 --> 0:07:46.080 check on all of you, because the three of you 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:49.080 are literally on the front lines of the issue of 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:54.560 reproductive justice. So just quickly, what's your temperature check? Like, 0:07:54.680 --> 0:07:56.640 how are you feeling? And we're going to start with 0:07:56.680 --> 0:07:59.480 you America. Ah, that's a tough question. 0:07:59.720 --> 0:08:00.000 I think. 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:03.760 I think for a lot of repro workers, we're just the. 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:08.720 Right like we're still trucking along but Valle la Pena, 0:08:08.880 --> 0:08:11.400 so we're still doing the best that we can. Even 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:14.480 in the spaces like Colorado where we know that there's 0:08:14.720 --> 0:08:17.320 at least some sort of protections, we still have a 0:08:17.360 --> 0:08:17.880 ways to go. 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:20.520 Ludez, what's your temperature check? 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:23.800 You know, this is a really tough time in our movement, 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:28.480 But I have to say that when I'm feeling discouraged, 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:31.600 I channel Ma Abuela Carmin. Her family worked on a 0:08:31.640 --> 0:08:40.640 sugar plantation in Puerto Rico. She had fourteen pregnancies, She 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:43.200 gave birth to ten children, and nine of whom grew 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:46.080 up into adulthood. So I do this work in her name. 0:08:46.800 --> 0:08:48.440 I do this work in the name of the Puerto 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:52.080 Rican women of my mother's generation and so many others 0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:55.600 who were sterilized without informed consent, and who were robbed 0:08:55.679 --> 0:08:59.160 of their bodily autonomy and agency. And I do this 0:08:59.320 --> 0:09:02.560 work for the communities like Befer Stubs in Brooklyn where 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:05.840 I grew up, where in the name of war drugs, 0:09:05.960 --> 0:09:11.400 they were cruelly impacted by policies that prioritize criminalization over 0:09:11.559 --> 0:09:15.600 policies that meant to address discrimination. And so I can't 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:19.360 afford to be discouraged. And I feel inspiration by my 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:21.160 ancestors and my community. 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:23.480 Stephanie, what's your temperature check? 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:28.040 We're feeling focused and hopeful about what our future looks 0:09:28.120 --> 0:09:31.360 like because we firmly believe that our future is in 0:09:31.440 --> 0:09:33.520 our hands and not in the hands of the state 0:09:33.640 --> 0:09:38.480 or politicians who are more interested in using abortion as 0:09:38.520 --> 0:09:43.520 an issue of political fodder than protecting the rights for 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:46.160 us to live a future with bodily autonomy. 0:09:46.679 --> 0:09:48.800 So it appears that there has been a major shift 0:09:48.880 --> 0:09:52.199 in Latino Latina public opinion about the issue of abortion. 0:09:52.280 --> 0:09:54.840 As recently as the year twenty twenty, studies showed that 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:59.840 only five percent of Latino voters said that abortion was 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.760 one of their top issues, but when the fall of 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:06.600 Roe v. Wade happened, those numbers significantly changed. Today, abortion 0:10:06.880 --> 0:10:10.240 is one of the top ten concerns for Latino and 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:13.760 Latina voters. Stephanie, you work in the state of Florida, America. 0:10:13.880 --> 0:10:18.840 You're in Colorado, both of them with a significant Latino population. Stephanie, 0:10:18.920 --> 0:10:21.840 let's start with you in Florida. How have reproductive rights 0:10:21.880 --> 0:10:25.520 and abortion access changed since the fall of Roe v. Wade. 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:32.120 The Florida abortion landscape has changed most drastically and significantly 0:10:32.640 --> 0:10:35.640 than it has in over twenty five years. 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:38.040 Today of Judge World, women looking to get an abortion 0:10:38.440 --> 0:10:41.320 must pay twenty four hours after an initial doctor's visit 0:10:41.600 --> 0:10:44.840 before getting the procedure. Governor Ron Desantas signing a bill 0:10:44.880 --> 0:10:49.040 and to law Thursday that bans most abortions after fifteen weeks. 0:10:49.400 --> 0:10:52.960 Florida lawmakers have given final approval to a six week 0:10:53.040 --> 0:10:55.960 abortion band, paving the way for a tider grip on 0:10:56.000 --> 0:10:57.520 abortion access in the state. 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:06.040 So wow. Florida was viewed as a quote abortion haven 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:11.319 for many states in the South that had even less access. 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:14.680 Now people are forced to leave the state and we 0:11:14.720 --> 0:11:17.840 are now weeding on pins and needles every week to 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:22.640 hear what the State Supreme Court of Florida has to 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:26.160 say about our right to continue to access abortion care. 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:30.720 Amiti, guy, you're in Colorado. It was for a long 0:11:30.760 --> 0:11:32.800 time considered to be a swing state, but since two 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:35.680 thousand and eight it has been pretty much a democratic 0:11:35.720 --> 0:11:39.200 and liberal stronghold. And that coupled with last year's laws 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:45.040 expanding abortion access in Colorado, abortions appear to be politically 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:47.920 safe in Colorado. Amedic Gay, you are on the ground, 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:50.520 so can you just tell us what that looks like 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:52.440 in your state? Yeah? 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:56.960 So even though there's a lot of talk that Colorado 0:11:57.080 --> 0:12:00.280 is very progressive and although we have very few restricts 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:03.400 and abortion, we knew that Roe v. Wade was not 0:12:03.960 --> 0:12:07.600 enough for our communities, and when Roe was overturned, we 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:10.840 didn't have a state law that would expressly protect abortion, 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:13.560 and so that was when we signed the Reproductive Health 0:12:13.600 --> 0:12:17.720 Equity Act in twenty twenty two, right before the Jobs decision. 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:21.360 And since then, what we've seen is that abortion and 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:25.680 abortion care and healthcare has been a top issue for 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:29.920 our community, and we've seen a huge increase in curiosity 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:33.960 and wanting to learn and engage in reproductive justice. But 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:37.120 also we've seen a lot of influx of patients coming 0:12:37.120 --> 0:12:41.960 to Colorado. Although Colora is not a direct service organization, 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:46.520 we work a lot with organizations that have either abortion 0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:50.320 funds or clinics or providers, and they talk a lot 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:54.160 about how there's a strain right now on their systems 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:58.000 to be able to provide services not just for Colorado's 0:12:58.080 --> 0:13:00.920 but for folks that are traveling to Colorado from other 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:03.559 states to access services. 0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:08.280 So we talked about criminalization at the top of the episode. 0:13:08.360 --> 0:13:11.600 In the case of Brittany Wattson Ohio, and I just 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:15.000 briefly want to give Amitiica and Stephanie the opportunity to 0:13:15.080 --> 0:13:18.200 jump in here and to give their perspective on this issue. 0:13:18.240 --> 0:13:19.920 So America to. 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:22.760 Go a little bit further about the criminalization, I mean 0:13:23.600 --> 0:13:27.400 to also think about folks that are undocumented or young 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:31.080 people who are already in those margins. We get a 0:13:31.080 --> 0:13:35.360 lot of concern of even wanting to get routine procedures 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:39.280 done or routine care because of things like being criminalized. 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:42.040 We've talked to young people who are in high school 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:45.560 that don't want to go to states that don't protect 0:13:45.600 --> 0:13:49.000 abortion for college because they don't know what will happen 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:52.880 once they're there. And that's not something that I considered 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:55.520 when I was thinking about college. And so it's really 0:13:55.559 --> 0:13:59.240 concerning for us to know that there's just so many 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:01.840 other things that people thinking about having to think about 0:14:02.120 --> 0:14:03.920 when it comes to this type of criminalization. 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:05.720 How about you, Stephanie. 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:08.840 I think a way that we're seeing this happen in 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:14.120 Florida is this past year a law was passed that 0:14:14.320 --> 0:14:19.800 requires hospitals ask on their admission forms whether a patient 0:14:20.440 --> 0:14:24.920 is lawfully present in the US. And what we're seeing 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:30.480 is now people who are immigrants, who may be undocumented, 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:34.360 are not getting the healthcare that they need. We're seeing 0:14:34.600 --> 0:14:38.880 increased police presence in front of abortion clinics, We're seeing 0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:44.680 an increased presence in surveillance, and they are scared. They're 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:49.280 not only scared about what is happening, they're also confused, 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:54.760 and rightfully so, are worried that what they are doing 0:14:54.840 --> 0:14:58.240 is wrong. And we obviously stand on the fact that 0:14:58.280 --> 0:15:02.720 getting an abortion, wanting an abortion, abortion, there is absolutely 0:15:02.720 --> 0:15:06.520 no shame and nothing wrong with getting that. However, because 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:10.080 of the way these laws are being described and how 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:12.920 they are being executed, people are worried that what they're 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:15.680 doing is illegal, that getting an abortion is a crime, 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:19.280 and that is also stoking fear in people, and that's 0:15:19.400 --> 0:15:24.280 by design to discourage people from accessing their bodily autonomy. 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:26.360 And this is moat of this. If I can just 0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:30.840 add one other point, the overturning of ROW and the 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:34.040 rolling back of abortion rights. This is part of a 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:38.320 larger agenda to dismantle the games that have been made 0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:42.400 by the women's rights movement, the civil rights, LGBTQ rights, 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:43.800 and workers' rights movements. 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:46.720 This is no simple reform. 0:15:47.080 --> 0:15:49.200 It really is a revolution. 0:15:49.280 --> 0:15:52.680 We want to breathe by any means there. 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:56.840 Well, lesbians and gay men have always been in the 0:15:56.920 --> 0:16:01.720 vanguard of struggles for liberation, and just in this concrete it's. 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:04.920 Not a Democrat or Republican thing. It's a workers thing. 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:07.560 The people are the ones that make these corporations go. 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:09.040 It's not the other way around. 0:16:09.320 --> 0:16:12.560 We're demanding that the federal government do something to legalize 0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:15.880 abortion now that waiting until November is not enough. 0:16:19.600 --> 0:16:23.560 Coming up on Latino USA, what abortion allies and advocates 0:16:23.560 --> 0:16:27.240 can learn from the green wave in Latin America and 0:16:27.840 --> 0:16:31.000 will young voters show up to the polls come November 0:16:31.400 --> 0:16:32.680 stay with us, say. 0:16:32.720 --> 0:17:16.399 Yes, hey, we're back. 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:21.760 Before the break, Nordes Rivera, Stephanie, Lorraine Bigneto, and America 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:26.200 Amides gave us a snapshot of what the two years 0:17:26.240 --> 0:17:29.080 since the fall of Roe have been like. Now we're 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:32.840 going to expand on the new possibilities post row when 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:36.400 we take the shame out of abortion. So let's get 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:41.959 back to the conversation. Stephanie, you actually call yourself an 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:47.159 abortion storyteller. I'm sure that some people are saying, wait, what, so, 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:51.080 what is an abortion storyteller? And why is it important 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:53.200 in the context of the politics of today. 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:58.719 So an abortion storyteller to me is someone who is 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:03.439 reclaiming the narra about abortion and telling their story on 0:18:03.520 --> 0:18:07.480 their own terms. For me, I've had two abortions, one 0:18:07.480 --> 0:18:11.040 of them from a sexual assault in another because of 0:18:11.200 --> 0:18:14.360 needing it, and both happen as a minor, and both 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:17.960 even today I would still not be able to access 0:18:18.040 --> 0:18:23.360 because in Florida you need parental involvement to access an abortion. 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:26.080 If not, you have to go through a judicial intervention 0:18:26.280 --> 0:18:29.400 called a judicial bypass and get permission from a judge. 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:33.440 So for me, it's really important to uplift my abortion 0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:36.920 story and uplift the fact that my abortion was my decision. 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:40.600 And these barriers are very real because they are not 0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:46.120 just geographic. They're economic, they are religious, they are social. 0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:49.280 There are so many different barriers people are needing to 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:52.199 face and accessing an abortion, and it is important that 0:18:52.240 --> 0:18:55.679 people hear the complexities of life that for some people, 0:18:55.680 --> 0:18:58.159 getting an abortion is as simple as I want an 0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:00.320 abortion and I'm going to go get one, And for 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:04.439 other folks they need to attrasad all these barreas to 0:19:04.560 --> 0:19:08.120 access their bodily autonomy. And we deserve to hear all 0:19:08.160 --> 0:19:11.760 of those experiences because we are tired of having our 0:19:11.800 --> 0:19:16.639 stories and our narratives stolen from us and used to 0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:21.640 push political agendas that are unsupportive about abortion care, and 0:19:21.680 --> 0:19:24.840 not just by the opposition, but by our allies too. 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:29.480 And that's what's most important about abortion storytelling is destigmatizing abortion, 0:19:29.880 --> 0:19:35.080 destigmatizing our narratives, and reclaiming what it means to access 0:19:35.119 --> 0:19:37.720 bodily autonomy on our own terms. 0:19:38.640 --> 0:19:43.000 Even though I haven't Stephanie called myself an abortion storyteller, 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:44.960 I have talked about the fact that when I was 0:19:44.960 --> 0:19:49.040 in college, I had two abortions, and at this point, 0:19:49.080 --> 0:19:52.159 I mean, I don't have any shame. I'm thankful that 0:19:52.280 --> 0:19:55.320 I was able to have those abortions. That's why I 0:19:55.400 --> 0:19:58.600 talk publicly about it. But I want to ask you, Stephanie, 0:19:58.680 --> 0:20:03.160 because on the one hand, storytelling is all about making 0:20:03.200 --> 0:20:06.480 this public right, But on the other hand, the central 0:20:06.560 --> 0:20:07.600 issue around Roe v. 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:07.960 Wade. 0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:10.840 I'm not a legal scholar, but I believe is about 0:20:11.040 --> 0:20:14.840 the right to privacy. And yet in your case, Stephanie, 0:20:15.040 --> 0:20:17.600 you had to go before a judge to get this 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:23.000 judicial bypass is so public and that was what allowed 0:20:23.040 --> 0:20:26.080 you to actually be able to get access to an abortion. 0:20:27.000 --> 0:20:30.800 So for you, where does privacy enter into the conversation. 0:20:31.640 --> 0:20:34.080 I am also not a legal scholar, but that is 0:20:34.119 --> 0:20:38.840 where I feel that our abortion rights and legal scholars 0:20:39.480 --> 0:20:42.760 have more to grow. And absolutely we all deserve our 0:20:42.800 --> 0:20:45.440 right to privacy about the decisions that we make around 0:20:45.480 --> 0:20:49.199 our healthcare and around our bodies. But we continue to 0:20:49.560 --> 0:20:54.880 have these repetitive, circular conversations about privacy and whether who 0:20:54.920 --> 0:20:57.920 deserves it and who's more deserving of it. When we 0:20:57.960 --> 0:21:01.920 need to reframe abortion and as an issue of human rights, 0:21:02.280 --> 0:21:05.720 abortion as an issue of self determination that we all 0:21:05.720 --> 0:21:10.000 deserve about our future. Because when we normalize abortion, we 0:21:10.040 --> 0:21:14.160 are able to have bipartisan conversations. And that is what 0:21:14.359 --> 0:21:17.600 when I talk to Miawilita, to my loved ones who 0:21:18.400 --> 0:21:22.600 may have heard of abortion in the political sense, in 0:21:22.640 --> 0:21:25.000 the way that it's been politicized, But when we have 0:21:25.119 --> 0:21:29.080 conversations one on one about what would you do? Would 0:21:29.080 --> 0:21:30.919 you still support me? And do you still love me? 0:21:31.240 --> 0:21:33.680 They still love me. Mayawlia still loves me. The people 0:21:33.720 --> 0:21:36.360 who love me and my life still love me, and 0:21:36.440 --> 0:21:38.840 that is what's important to continue to lift up. And 0:21:38.880 --> 0:21:41.920 that's why we continue to tell our stories and talk 0:21:41.960 --> 0:21:44.480 to each other, because it's not just about telling the public. 0:21:45.200 --> 0:21:46.760 You don't have to tell the public. You don't have 0:21:46.800 --> 0:21:48.520 to come on a podcast. You don't have to do 0:21:48.600 --> 0:21:52.560 those things for your story to be valid. Sharing with yourself, 0:21:52.560 --> 0:21:54.760 sharing with your God, sharing with the people who you 0:21:54.880 --> 0:21:58.520 love to remind them, because everyone loves someone who has 0:21:58.560 --> 0:22:00.639 had an abortion, whether we know it or not. 0:22:02.040 --> 0:22:03.800 For me, when I ended up having to tell my 0:22:03.840 --> 0:22:06.320 mom and my dad about the abortions, you know, I 0:22:06.400 --> 0:22:10.640 was so scared and the reaction from my Mexican parents. 0:22:10.800 --> 0:22:13.760 My mom was like, Amihita, I would have wanted to 0:22:13.800 --> 0:22:16.000 be there with you. You should have told me. I 0:22:16.000 --> 0:22:17.000 would have held your hand. 0:22:17.600 --> 0:22:19.240 One last thing I just want to add, because you've 0:22:19.240 --> 0:22:21.680 brought up your mom and I just think it's so beautiful. 0:22:21.960 --> 0:22:24.960 When I needed an abortion when I was sixteen, my 0:22:25.080 --> 0:22:29.840 mom was not supportive and that was unfortunate because my 0:22:29.920 --> 0:22:32.679 mom was my biggest ally in so many other ways. 0:22:33.119 --> 0:22:36.800 And now fifteen years later, my mom is one of 0:22:36.840 --> 0:22:41.399 our most active volunteers at my abortion Fund WOW, driving 0:22:41.440 --> 0:22:44.639 people to and from their appointments and making them feel 0:22:44.680 --> 0:22:48.360 affirmed and loved on because a lot of people are 0:22:48.400 --> 0:22:53.040 going through their abortion by themselves because of that social stigma. 0:22:53.560 --> 0:22:55.000 And I want to make sure that I say that 0:22:55.040 --> 0:22:58.320 because people need to hear that people can be transformed 0:22:58.320 --> 0:23:00.919 and love is what transforms us when we tell our 0:23:00.920 --> 0:23:01.920 abortion stories. 0:23:09.520 --> 0:23:13.240 So America, about the question of again, things evolving, what 0:23:13.280 --> 0:23:16.600 has changed? I think a lot about terminology. When I 0:23:16.640 --> 0:23:19.439 was growing up, when we got to the term reproductive rights, 0:23:19.520 --> 0:23:22.840 it was a big deal to talk about reproductive rights. 0:23:23.720 --> 0:23:26.760 The term now that you use to describe your work 0:23:26.960 --> 0:23:31.080 is the framework of reproductive justice. So why do you 0:23:31.119 --> 0:23:36.320 think it's essential to understand reproductive justice in the context 0:23:36.440 --> 0:23:38.520 of this particular political moment. 0:23:39.320 --> 0:23:42.520 If we look at reproductive rights, that's the legal protections 0:23:42.560 --> 0:23:46.200 that protect the right to reproductive health care services, which 0:23:46.320 --> 0:23:51.600 is usually focused on abortion and contraception. Reproductive justice is 0:23:51.680 --> 0:23:54.679 based on a human rights framework, saying that it doesn't 0:23:54.720 --> 0:23:56.960 matter where you are, who you are, what you look like, 0:23:57.080 --> 0:24:00.240 where you're from, how much you make, you deserve these 0:24:00.359 --> 0:24:03.919 rights because you are a person. So the tenets of 0:24:03.960 --> 0:24:06.960 reproductive justice, as it was coined in June of nineteen 0:24:07.040 --> 0:24:10.280 ninety four, are one to be able to decide when 0:24:10.280 --> 0:24:12.399 and if you will have a child, in the conditions 0:24:12.440 --> 0:24:15.440 under which you'll define and expand that family that includes 0:24:15.560 --> 0:24:19.159 your fertility, adoption, and your breathing options. The second is 0:24:19.200 --> 0:24:23.200 to decide to not have children and access to preventing 0:24:23.440 --> 0:24:26.399 or ending a pregnancy in a safe and dignified manner. 0:24:27.000 --> 0:24:30.360 The third tenant of reproductive justice is a human right 0:24:30.720 --> 0:24:34.959 to care for your family in safe environments and healthy 0:24:35.000 --> 0:24:38.399 and sustainable communities. And we've also been able to add 0:24:38.840 --> 0:24:42.239 an intentional wording around a person having the human right 0:24:42.440 --> 0:24:46.040 to be able to express their gender identity, their expression, 0:24:46.040 --> 0:24:50.199 and their sexual orientation freely. This is really really important 0:24:50.600 --> 0:24:54.200 in that reproductive justice comes as a body of work 0:24:54.560 --> 0:24:58.879 from twelve Black women. It is rooted in black liberation 0:24:59.400 --> 0:25:04.000 and ensuring that people have the ability and the accessibility 0:25:04.160 --> 0:25:06.800 to be able to make the best decisions for themselves. 0:25:07.400 --> 0:25:11.040 And what America described is really the true right to life. 0:25:11.280 --> 0:25:13.879 And we have to stop giving the abortion opponents a 0:25:13.880 --> 0:25:16.880 free past to claim the mental of life when their 0:25:16.960 --> 0:25:20.280 focus on fetal rights is causing harm to the health 0:25:20.280 --> 0:25:23.440