WEBVTT - Abortion: The Body Politic, Part 6 0:00:01.440 --> 0:00:05.080 I'm Katie Curic and this is Abortion the Body Politic, 0:00:05.519 --> 0:00:10.000 Part six. We started this series by visiting the last 0:00:10.039 --> 0:00:14.560 abortion clinic in Missouri. That was when ROW was still intact, 0:00:15.240 --> 0:00:18.880 but even then Missouri had some of the most restrictive 0:00:18.960 --> 0:00:22.160 laws in the country. We had three patients today, and 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:25.200 there's entire months where we aren't here at all because 0:00:25.239 --> 0:00:30.000 we can't staff this clinic. But just fifteen minutes away 0:00:30.040 --> 0:00:34.239 across the state line in southern Illinois, another clinic that 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:39.559 we visited was already preparing for our new reality. This 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:42.360 is an additional waiting room, so on really busy days, 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:46.680 UM patients can also wait back here. So now that 0:00:46.800 --> 0:00:50.760 ROW has been overturned, what are things like today? We 0:00:50.920 --> 0:00:53.600 check back in with someone who works at both of 0:00:53.640 --> 0:00:57.200 these clinics to find out the impact of the Supreme 0:00:57.200 --> 0:01:00.520 Court decision before we could stand up out of our 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:04.360 seats and moved to another room. Missourian's lost access to abortion. 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:09.000 Dr Kelley McNicholas, I'm the chief medical officer for Planned 0:01:09.000 --> 0:01:12.800 Parenthood of the St. Louis Region in southwest Missouri. When 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:16.800 the news hit on Friday June Dr McNicholas was in 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:20.600 a conference room in St. Louis with Missouri Representative Corey 0:01:20.720 --> 0:01:25.120 Bush and Health in Human Services Secretary Javier B. Serra. 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:29.320 As we were wrapping that round table, we got word 0:01:29.319 --> 0:01:32.760 that the decision had dropped in. There was, you know, 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:36.800 a room full of incredibly dedicated folks, some of whom 0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:40.800 have spent their entire career on abortion access, hearing it 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:43.520 all for the first time, and it certainly was emotional, 0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:46.600 and there were folks, certainly some folks were shedding tears. 0:01:46.640 --> 0:01:48.760 And before we could even get out of the room 0:01:48.800 --> 0:01:51.800 to process what was happening, we had heard that Missouri's 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:56.040 Attorney General had in fact immediately invoked the trigger ban 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:01.200 um in it was a bit surreal to have that 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:05.880 experience with the Secretary of HHS in our presence um 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:08.680 where you know, we could show him, you know, the 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:14.320 real on the ground impact of that decision even immediately 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:17.320 as we had to then, you know, make sure that 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:20.320 our call center was aware of the decision and the 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:24.280 trigger being implemented um so that as patients called, they 0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:28.240 had the right information to give to folks. We quickly 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:32.280 regrouped and everybody, including the Secretary, headed over to the 0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:36.280 Fairview Heights Plumbic because I thought it was incredibly important 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:38.520 for him to see the other side, to see what 0:02:38.600 --> 0:02:40.320 it was like and feel what it was like to 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:44.320 lose access to this basic care um in one state, 0:02:44.400 --> 0:02:48.160 and then truly drive just fifteen minutes down the road 0:02:48.400 --> 0:02:52.639 across the river, as we say, UM, to a place 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:56.959 where we were now preparing to see a flood of patients. 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:04.840 Illinois is uniquely situated, um unlike other critical access states, 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:09.840 as being truly a blue island in the middle of 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:12.760 a completely red sea or what will soon be a 0:03:12.840 --> 0:03:16.480 red sea. So for us in southern Illinois, you know, 0:03:16.560 --> 0:03:21.520 we are surrounded by Missouri, Tennessee, Indiana, and then you know, 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:25.760 as you move further south, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, these 0:03:25.760 --> 0:03:30.559 are all states that are already have banned um abortion 0:03:30.880 --> 0:03:34.480 or severely limited it, or in the coming weeks months, 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:37.360 um we'll move to completely ban it altogether. And so 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:40.680 you know, as we think about the public health crisis 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:45.240 that this has now sparked, we're talking about mass mobilization 0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:48.720 of tens of thousands of people for basic abortion care, 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:52.360 many of whom will be looking to the closest geographic area, 0:03:52.440 --> 0:03:55.840 which for lots of them will be southern Illinois. So 0:03:56.480 --> 0:03:59.760 this is the Fairview Heights Hell Center. It is an 0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:02.800 eight teen thousand square foot building. When I got a 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:05.680 chance to tour the Illinois Clinic in May and it 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:09.480 is built as a searge site as we call it, 0:04:09.480 --> 0:04:13.200 it was pretty clear this facility was set up for 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:18.240 the future. So you have a few case managers who 0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:22.680 are working to navigate patients there, patients who have to 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:26.200 deal with all the challenges of getting an abortion these days, 0:04:26.720 --> 0:04:30.800 from the cost to the travel to hotel needs, all 0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:32.920 of it can be taken care of in a phone 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:37.839 call with one case worker. A case worker like Caroline, Alright, 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:41.919 so you're going to transfer her over, I'll just actually 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:45.280 need the moment. Caroline is a veteran of the Fairview 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:49.320 Heights Health Center, having worked there for three years, first 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:53.360 booking appointments and then moving over to the logistics center 0:04:53.520 --> 0:05:01.960 when it opened in January of no problem. So in 0:05:02.000 --> 0:05:05.480 that situation, this is a person that was previously scheduled 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:10.679 and she was quoted a price point. This person had 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:15.200 a cost that was I'm a five hundred and sixty dollars. 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:18.359 She made it in clinic and her gestation was way 0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:21.080 further than what she expected. So her cost of service 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:24.640 is extremely more than what she expected to pay. She 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:27.600 was already needing assistance. She's only able to provide a 0:05:27.680 --> 0:05:30.239 hundred and fifty dollars towards her total cost of service. 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:33.760 She has a balance of one thousand and thirty dollars 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:37.440 that she'll need assistance for. Her appointment is in a 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:40.000 few days. Of course, she can't just come up with 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:43.720 five hundred and some more dollars. So that's why we 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:46.600 are needed, Like I'm gonna find the funds for so 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:50.479 she can receive the services. So that's a prime example 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:53.560 of what's going on here. The center was designed to 0:05:53.680 --> 0:05:57.920 accommodate an increase in patience, So as you walked on 0:05:58.040 --> 0:06:01.279 the hall, there are lots of rooms that you'll see 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:04.159 that you know are still empty, not in use, because 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:07.520 we're going to be it's designed to scale up. Southern 0:06:07.600 --> 0:06:12.880 Illinois is expecting fourteen thousand abortion refugees from other states 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:16.839 every year. When I visited two months ago, all the 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:22.159 empty procedure rooms, counseling spaces, and waiting areas weren't needed yet. 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:27.120 But Dr McNicholas says it's taken no time for the 0:06:27.120 --> 0:06:30.080 center to fill up. I'll tell you that the volume 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:33.040 is coming, I would say, at at a faster pace 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:36.800 than we even anticipated. So within the first seventy two 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:40.360 hours after the decision, our way time went from about 0:06:40.400 --> 0:06:43.200 three to four days to now being already two weeks. 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:46.440 In the last couple of days, I have started my 0:06:46.480 --> 0:06:50.040 interactions with patients by acknowledging that they've come a long 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:53.080 way for this care. And you know, the range of 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:57.960 responses has been anywhere from I've had no choice, um. 0:06:58.000 --> 0:07:00.800 I remember a woman from Mississippi just looked at me 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:03.080 and said I didn't have a choice. Um. And she 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:07.240 and then continued to say, but I'm grateful that you're here, um, 0:07:07.279 --> 0:07:10.880 to folks who just really broke down because just getting 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:13.920 there was so difficult. Um. We're still in that phase 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:18.440 where folks had appointments already established and on the books 0:07:18.480 --> 0:07:20.920 in their home state, right, And so some of those 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:24.880 folks are, you know, still getting over the reality that 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:28.600 it really was overnight that they went from being able 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:30.880 to go down the street to now having to go 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:35.280 hundreds of miles. The consequences of the Supreme Court decision 0:07:35.320 --> 0:07:38.360 are playing out in other ways as well. I mean, 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:42.120 we have also seen all sorts of medications now at 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:47.600 pharmacies being delayed or denied because of potential implications on 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:51.480 pregnancy or miscarriage. You know, methatric state for example, to 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:55.400 medication we routinely use for ec topic pregnancies. It's also 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:57.960 one of the main stay therapies for folks who have 0:07:58.480 --> 0:08:02.040 lupus or arthritis, for example. So folks who have been 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:07.520 maintaining their health with these critical medications are now also 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:11.200 finding themselves in places where they can't even get care 0:08:11.280 --> 0:08:15.840 for non pregnancy related health care issues. Because of how 0:08:16.040 --> 0:08:21.680 broad and wide sweeping this decision is, ending access to 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:25.520 abortion in one or multiple states was never the end goal, 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:28.480 and we should be prepared for what the next wave 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:32.480 of a tax looks like. Criminalization is certainly one of those, 0:08:33.000 --> 0:08:36.360 not just for folks who are having abortion, but also 0:08:36.400 --> 0:08:39.040 the folks who are providing that care. And so, you know, 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:42.520 I think as we look to the next legislative session 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:47.000 and we are looking to broaden our our areas of support, 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:48.599 you know, this is a place where we're going to 0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:51.719 need to engage folks outside of our typical movement and 0:08:51.840 --> 0:08:56.440 really make sure that the fight to um to prevent 0:08:57.200 --> 0:09:00.440 some of these things is robust and in a aggressive 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:06.800 My name is Danassessman. I am the acting executive director 0:09:06.840 --> 0:09:10.280 at National Advocates for Pregnant Women, and we are an 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:13.960 organization that defends the civil and human rights of people 0:09:14.080 --> 0:09:18.960 who are targeted for criminalization or other state intervention because 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:22.840 of pregnancy or because of a pregnancy outcome, including a 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:27.400 pregnancy loss like still birth or miscarriage, abortion, or continuing 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:31.040 a pregnancy and giving birth. One of the ways that 0:09:31.120 --> 0:09:34.320 we're trying to get prepared for this new reality is 0:09:34.400 --> 0:09:39.680 by working across disciplines. We are engaging more and more 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:45.160 with healthcare providers, with child welfare workers, with UM, criminal 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:49.240 defense attorneys, and even with police and prosecutors UM. Because 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:53.440 so many of our cases originate in medical settings. We've 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:57.360 had nurses call the police because they thought that a 0:09:57.400 --> 0:10:00.240 pregnant woman intentionally fell down a flight of stair us 0:10:00.360 --> 0:10:04.320 in order to end her pregnancy. UM. She in fact 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:07.240 was lightheaded, fell down the flight of stairs, went to 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:09.440 the hospital to make sure that her pregnancy was okay, 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:12.960 that she she and her pregnancy were okay, and UM 0:10:13.000 --> 0:10:15.800 and had shared that she had contemplated having an abortion 0:10:15.840 --> 0:10:17.959 earlier on in her pregnancy. But had changed her mind 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:22.600 her The nurse hearing that story spoke with the doctor 0:10:22.640 --> 0:10:24.520 and one of them called the police and she was 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:31.520 charged with attempted feet aside, we understand that there will 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:35.160 be situations in which nurses and doctors and hospital based 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:39.920 social workers will feel like they are required to call 0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:42.720 the police. And what we're trying to do is provide 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:47.080 more information and tools to health care workers so that 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:51.120 they understand that they don't have to report their patients, 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:55.360 and their obligations to their patients include minimizing harm to 0:10:55.480 --> 0:10:59.320 them and to their families, UM, which means not involving 0:10:59.440 --> 0:11:04.000 criminal law enforcement in their lives. UM. So we are 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:09.000 focusing on interdisciplinary response and an all hands on deck 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:12.600 response because that's sort of what's demanded in this crisis. 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.240 And you know, one example that we have that we 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:19.680 can point to is the Latti's Fisher case, which is 0:11:19.679 --> 0:11:24.040 a case we worked on in nineteen a case out 0:11:24.120 --> 0:11:29.040 of Mississippi where a woman who maintained consistently that she 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:32.160 experiences still birth called nine one because she was experiencing 0:11:32.160 --> 0:11:37.640 a medical emergency and was deemed suspect because at some 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:42.080 point in her pregnancy, she had googled medication abortion, um 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:44.640 and I just think that we have very few cases 0:11:44.640 --> 0:11:47.320 to point to, but that is one, and I think 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:50.959 very um informative of of of what we may see 0:11:51.240 --> 0:11:56.800 in the not so distant future. We've been asked a 0:11:56.840 --> 0:11:59.360 few times, you know what, what what would you advise 0:11:59.440 --> 0:12:02.240 someone who wants to get an abortion or wants to 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:05.360 access medication abortion in a banned state? What would you 0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:08.320 advise them to do with respect to sort of getting information? 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:11.040 And I said something along the lines of talked to 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:18.360 as few people as possible. It's so utterly devastating to 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:22.520 think that we are now forced to advise people to 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:27.040 not share what they're going through with others for fear 0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:34.080 of facing criminal, criminal repercussions, not just for themselves, but 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:37.480 maybe even for the people who helped them. I think 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:42.960 it's not disconnected from what is also happening, which is 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:46.800 that primarily women, but all people with the capacity for 0:12:46.840 --> 0:12:53.719 pregnancy will not be part of public life, you know that. 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:57.320 I think about the generational impact that this could have 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:03.120 if things don't how dramatically shift, you know, in the 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:05.920 next round of elections. And I don't have a lot 0:13:05.960 --> 0:13:10.560 of hope. There's a lot of analysis over what having 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:14.120 access to abortion has allowed. It allows women to stay 0:13:14.120 --> 0:13:17.839 in college, and it allows women to move to move 0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:22.560 out of poverty. And we will see a general disappearance 0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:26.160 of women from public life. And we may not see 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:29.120 it in two years or in five years, but in 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:31.520 twenty years or in thirty years, we will see such 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:35.960 a dramatic shift in who is participating in public discourse, 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:39.920 who are the people we see publicly, who is making policy. 0:13:41.120 --> 0:13:44.480 I'm mourned for that. I'm mourn for the individual people 0:13:44.520 --> 0:13:46.680 who will be impacted, but also mourned for what we 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:51.959 will miss as a society coming up, what the public 0:13:51.960 --> 0:14:02.600 and private sectors are doing to protect abortion. I think 0:14:02.679 --> 0:14:08.000 this hashtag say abortion started with I actually believe it 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:12.719 was Renee Bracy Sherman from We Testify started using that 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:18.080 hashtag during the presidential debates because she noticed that none 0:14:18.120 --> 0:14:21.440 of the Democratic candidates seemed willing to actually say the 0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:26.040 word abortion, and we're instead using euphemisms to talk about abortion, 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:32.120 so saying like uh, women's health or reproductive choice, like 0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:37.440 really skirting saying the word of abortion. My name is Caramailman. 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:41.800 My pronouns are they and he. I am the chief 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:45.800 research analyst for reproaction. Part of the reason it's so 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:49.200 important to hear our politicians, like our Democratic progressive leaders 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:52.720 say the word abortion is because our opposition isn't afraid 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:56.120 to say the word abortion. They love to talk about 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:59.000 abortion because they see it as a winning issue for them. 0:14:59.400 --> 0:15:01.840 And if we an abortion to become a winning issue 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:04.560 for us, which it is that the majority of people 0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:08.960 support abortion and abortion access, we actually have to be 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:13.080 willing to say the word Chairwoman Maloney and ranking Member Comer, 0:15:13.200 --> 0:15:16.720 thank you for inviting me to speak today. Congresswoman Pramalajaia 0:15:16.800 --> 0:15:20.160 Paul is a Democrat from Washington State. I speak to 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:23.560 you as one of the one in four women in 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:27.800 America who have had an abortion. She's not only one 0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:31.000 of the few politicians willing to say the word abortion, 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:33.640 she was one of the first to share her own 0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:37.520 abortion story, first in an op ed in twenty nineteen, 0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:45.520 and then before Congress in I remember googling congress member 0:15:45.600 --> 0:15:49.800 abortion story to see if anybody else had talked about 0:15:49.800 --> 0:15:52.760 it at the time, and what did you find? The 0:15:52.840 --> 0:15:57.160 only person I found was Jackie Spear. Congressman Jackie Spear 0:15:57.680 --> 0:16:01.600 had on the floor of the House in really angered 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:04.840 towards a number of comments that were being made by 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:08.600 a Republican member. You know, I had really planned to 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:11.960 speak about something else, but the gentleman from New Jersey 0:16:12.000 --> 0:16:16.120 has just put my stomach in knots because I'm one 0:16:16.160 --> 0:16:21.400 of those women he spoke about just now, I had 0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:28.080 a procedure at seventeen weeks. She talked about the medical 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:31.120 necessities that she faced when she had her abortion. It 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:34.160 was quite a different story, but it was the only 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:37.400 time I found and so I just decided to go ahead. 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:43.120 And um, I think the reaction was overwhelming from across 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:48.480 the country, including from some people I didn't expect. You know, 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:53.040 a man who identified himself as a Republican who doesn't 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:56.520 believe in abortion, and he read it and he said, 0:16:56.600 --> 0:17:00.400 I came away with a deep respect for something you said, 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:03.280 which is that you are not trying to tell anybody 0:17:03.320 --> 0:17:07.040 else to have an abortion, and nobody should tell you 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:09.840 not to have one. He said, I think I have 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:14.720 been convinced, so mission accomplished. Yes, at least for that 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:20.800 one person. What is your reaction to what's going on 0:17:20.880 --> 0:17:26.840 in this country visa the abortion rights It is a 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:33.760 catastrophic dismissive and demeaning uh decision that the Supreme Court 0:17:34.000 --> 0:17:40.320 has put forward. I feel outraged and fury because it 0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:43.159 isn't just and I don't say just dismissively. I had 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:46.440 an abortion. I know what it means to be pregnant. Um, 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:50.119 it isn't just about the nine months of pregnancy. It 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:54.879 is actually about our agency as equal citizens to be 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:58.800 able to control our lives. Our lives do not stop 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:02.160 to matter the moment into conception, and I think that 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:06.000 is the issue that we just have to keep reminding 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:09.080 people of we are. We are part of the economic 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:11.879 engine of this country, and we have to have the 0:18:11.960 --> 0:18:15.320 right to control our own bodies and our own futures. 0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:19.919 The US is now one of only four countries that 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:26.360 have actively moved backwards on reproductive rights. So what does 0:18:26.440 --> 0:18:30.640 this say to other nations and how does it affect 0:18:31.080 --> 0:18:34.800 our standing in the world. We are already being seen 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:40.080 as a country that cannot call ourselves the leader of 0:18:40.320 --> 0:18:44.360 the free world. Um, it becomes very difficult. There are 0:18:44.480 --> 0:18:47.000 fifty countries in the last twenty five years that have 0:18:47.080 --> 0:18:51.439 expanded access to abortion, and we are going in the 0:18:51.480 --> 0:18:54.560 opposite direction. We are out of sync with the American people, 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:56.720 and we are out of sync with the world, and 0:18:56.760 --> 0:19:00.600 it really affects our ability to say that we lead anything. 0:19:00.920 --> 0:19:03.920 And let's just think about the fact that these hypocritical 0:19:03.920 --> 0:19:07.440 Republicans say that they're pro life, pro child, pro family, 0:19:07.880 --> 0:19:12.320 but every single one of them have opposed paid family leave, childcare, 0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:15.080 the child tax credit. You can go through the list. 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:19.760 So obviously, UM, that also affects us. And I've had 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:22.879 world leaders you know, are people in other governments saying 0:19:22.880 --> 0:19:26.199 to me, the United States is not the country we 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:29.080 thought it was. We are going to have to take 0:19:29.200 --> 0:19:33.080 up leadership, um, because the United States is not capable 0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:36.840 of offering that. Do you think it will change? Can 0:19:36.920 --> 0:19:40.120 you bring the United States back as the world power 0:19:40.160 --> 0:19:42.159 that it once was and that it could be and 0:19:42.160 --> 0:19:46.000 should be? And my answer is yes, we can, but 0:19:46.119 --> 0:19:50.000 it does depend on the people turning out and voting 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:55.160 for people, um, and eliminating some of these systemic barriers 0:19:55.200 --> 0:19:59.360 like the filibuster. In the time since we spoke President 0:19:59.440 --> 0:20:03.960 Biden's find an executive order on abortion rights, I'm asking 0:20:04.000 --> 0:20:07.800 the Justice Department that, much like they did in the 0:20:07.840 --> 0:20:11.320 Civil rights there, to do something, do everything in their 0:20:11.320 --> 0:20:14.960 power to protect these women seeking to invoke their rights. 0:20:15.160 --> 0:20:18.359 As of this recording, abortion is already banned in at 0:20:18.440 --> 0:20:22.439 least eight states, and President Biden doesn't have the power 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:27.040 to restore abortion access in those states. But the Biden 0:20:27.080 --> 0:20:32.080 administration is directing doctors everywhere that if a pregnancy is 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:36.919 causing a medical emergency, doctors are obligated to perform the 0:20:37.000 --> 0:20:42.399 life saving abortion, regardless of state law. Hospitals that don't 0:20:42.400 --> 0:20:46.960 comply could lose their Medicare status. On Twitter, conscious woman 0:20:47.040 --> 0:20:51.160 Jaia Paul thanked President Biden for signing the executive order 0:20:51.480 --> 0:20:56.000 and called on Congress to codify ROW, which would require 0:20:56.080 --> 0:21:00.760 either changing the filibuster or electing a stronger Democrat majority 0:21:01.119 --> 0:21:06.280 in the midterms. Voting is absolutely critical. Um. I also 0:21:06.520 --> 0:21:10.320 think that there are media things around providing support to 0:21:11.080 --> 0:21:14.960 UH pregnant people who are in these states that have 0:21:15.080 --> 0:21:18.720 banned abortion. That is really really important, and I hope 0:21:18.760 --> 0:21:21.240 there will be a series of actions that lead it 0:21:21.320 --> 0:21:25.159 up to voting that are about demonstrating our power in 0:21:25.240 --> 0:21:27.600 this economy. You know, I floated the idea of a 0:21:27.680 --> 0:21:30.720 national strike, and I'm working on it and let's see 0:21:30.760 --> 0:21:32.640 if we can get there. But I think it's important 0:21:32.680 --> 0:21:36.119 for people to understand we have power we have to 0:21:36.359 --> 0:21:39.199 show it. We have to assist those who are hurting 0:21:39.280 --> 0:21:44.480 right now, and we have to vote in November. While 0:21:44.560 --> 0:21:48.760 reproductive rights advocates within the public sector figure out ways 0:21:48.800 --> 0:21:53.760 to protect abortion access, Rushmasu Johnny, an activist for Paid 0:21:53.800 --> 0:21:58.240 Family Leave, told me back in March that businesses need 0:21:58.320 --> 0:22:01.440 to step up. The private center has kind of not 0:22:01.680 --> 0:22:04.880 dealt with Roving Wade and reproductive rights because I think 0:22:04.880 --> 0:22:07.800 they never thought maybe the moment would come. And so 0:22:08.240 --> 0:22:12.919 it's up to businesses to provide, you know, basically provide 0:22:12.920 --> 0:22:15.960 abortion access to their employees. Like one out of three 0:22:16.119 --> 0:22:19.080 employees will have an abortion at some point, right, so 0:22:19.160 --> 0:22:22.360 this is like the vast majority, you know, of their population. 0:22:22.480 --> 0:22:24.000 So they have to think about how they're going to 0:22:24.080 --> 0:22:27.640 actually protect support, you know what I mean, the right 0:22:27.680 --> 0:22:30.280 to choose. Like if if I'm employed and I live 0:22:30.320 --> 0:22:33.639 in Texas and that Texas is now you know, outlawed abortions, 0:22:33.680 --> 0:22:35.200 You're going to have to pay for me to get 0:22:35.200 --> 0:22:37.680 to New York City, you know what I mean, my flight, 0:22:38.119 --> 0:22:41.000 my airfare, the cost of it, you know, it is 0:22:41.040 --> 0:22:43.800 now your problem. And and I think that this is 0:22:43.840 --> 0:22:46.560 also the cost of when companies actually don't stand up 0:22:46.560 --> 0:22:49.480 and speak out, you know, and join the fight. I 0:22:49.520 --> 0:22:51.400 think we have to, you know, they have to basically 0:22:51.760 --> 0:22:54.320 play a role in making sure that this right exists 0:22:54.400 --> 0:22:58.480 for women. In fact, in the days and weeks since 0:22:58.520 --> 0:23:02.800 the road decision came down, many companies, from City Group 0:23:02.920 --> 0:23:08.040 to Yelp have responded by boosting travel reimbursement programs and 0:23:08.200 --> 0:23:12.679 creating funds that do exactly what Rushima suggested cover the 0:23:12.760 --> 0:23:18.040 costs associated with getting an abortion. The CEO of Amalgamated Bank, 0:23:18.240 --> 0:23:21.280 Priscilla Simms Brown, was one of the first to reveal 0:23:21.440 --> 0:23:25.840 such a plan. In an interview on CNBC, she explained 0:23:25.880 --> 0:23:31.560 why abortion is absolutely a corporate responsibility. We want to 0:23:31.760 --> 0:23:37.560 both hire and retain qualified women. In particular, we want 0:23:37.600 --> 0:23:41.159 to give them opportunities um and we want to deliver 0:23:41.280 --> 0:23:45.360 on our diversity and inclusion goals. These are just important 0:23:45.480 --> 0:23:49.160 issues to women, and we have taken a terrible step 0:23:49.200 --> 0:23:56.760 back for half of America's workforce. We'll be right back. 0:24:00.920 --> 0:24:03.880 I think there is a short term need and then 0:24:03.920 --> 0:24:08.080 there's we need a long term strategy. Again. Here's doctor 0:24:08.200 --> 0:24:13.600 Colleen McNicholas from the Planned Parenthood Health Center and Fairview Heights, Illinois. 0:24:13.920 --> 0:24:17.400 The short term need really does have to focus on 0:24:17.600 --> 0:24:20.600 getting people from point A to point B and then 0:24:20.640 --> 0:24:23.960 back home home. And so as much as folks can 0:24:24.200 --> 0:24:28.920 utilize resources grassroots organizations UM that are on the ground 0:24:28.960 --> 0:24:31.919 doing that work, abortion funds, practical support organizations, or the 0:24:31.960 --> 0:24:36.040 Regional Logistics Center for example, who are already doing the 0:24:36.080 --> 0:24:39.760 work figuring out that infrastructure. But the long term plan 0:24:40.119 --> 0:24:44.639 um and strategy really I think needs to be around accountability. 0:24:45.200 --> 0:24:48.800 In this moment, I think it's a real opportunity for 0:24:48.920 --> 0:24:53.359 us as a movement to say, you know, all of 0:24:53.400 --> 0:24:58.159 the historic uh concessions that were made around abortion, you know, 0:24:58.320 --> 0:25:01.760 the big tent and room for everybody. You know, that 0:25:01.840 --> 0:25:04.920 approach is what got us here um. And so if 0:25:04.960 --> 0:25:07.520 we are going to rebuild a system that works for 0:25:07.560 --> 0:25:12.720 everybody and provides access to abortion throughout pregnancy where people 0:25:12.760 --> 0:25:15.320 are when they need it, we really have got to 0:25:15.359 --> 0:25:19.000 start holding people accountable. And so whether that means that, 0:25:19.160 --> 0:25:21.560 you know, we stop giving them dollars when they're running 0:25:21.560 --> 0:25:25.200 for office because they've demonstrated that in fact, they aren't 0:25:25.200 --> 0:25:27.080 going to do the things that they say. They don't 0:25:27.200 --> 0:25:31.639 understand that abortion is something we cannot compromise on, you know, 0:25:31.800 --> 0:25:34.560 I think we just have to to think about how 0:25:34.600 --> 0:25:38.000 we are holding those elected officials accountable. If we are 0:25:38.040 --> 0:25:40.320 going to rebuild better, and when we do rebuild better 0:25:40.600 --> 0:25:44.720 um and and more equitable, that it will have a 0:25:44.880 --> 0:25:48.320 um an intersectional approach, right, and that that it will 0:25:48.359 --> 0:25:52.000 truly pull in folks from all of the different justice movements, 0:25:52.080 --> 0:25:54.600 because the truth is, you know, abortion is a racial 0:25:54.640 --> 0:25:57.159 justice issue, and it is an immigrant justice issue, and 0:25:57.200 --> 0:26:00.760 it is an environmental justice issue. And so if we 0:26:00.840 --> 0:26:07.000 are to help folks reframe to understand why the ideal 0:26:07.520 --> 0:26:09.919 is abortion care when you need it, where you need it, 0:26:10.119 --> 0:26:12.840 and paid for by your either public or private insurance, 0:26:13.160 --> 0:26:16.239 they must also understand how it fits into each one 0:26:16.240 --> 0:26:19.679