Reproductive Warfare

introduced an agregious, fucking national ban on abortion. Now. I know that the media loves to part and parcel things out and use Republican talking points as a way to frame the conversation around abortion, but let me be really clear so that you all understand the bullshit that you were hearing from mainstream media. What Lindsay Graham and Republicans in the Senate have done is introduced to bill that they are referred to as a quote unquote late term abortion,

which is banning abortions after fifteen weeks. Right. And here's the whole point of this that clearly the media does not pick up on language actually fucking matters, and we know that a ban is a ban is a ban as a band. I don't care if it's a fucking heartbeat bill there, bullshit heartbeat bill. I don't care if it's a fifteen week ban. Right. These Republicans since the beginning of time have loved to chant about states goddamn rights.

States should have the rights to decide curriculum. States should have the rights to decide gun controls. States should have the rights to a press voters. States should have the rights to decide bodily who has bodily autonomy or not. Right. So, now that you are hearing stories like the horrific story we heard about the ten year world rape victim that had to flee her state in Ohio in order to go to Indiana because when doctors checked her out found that she was about six weeks and a few days

into her pregnancy term. They realized that they couldn't perform an abortion for a ten year old rape victim. So then she goes to Indiana. And what do the good people in the state of Indiana do, or I should say their governor. They decide to pass a law that then bands abortion outright except for in places of incests and rape right, because God forbid, we create safe haven

for women in this country. So now that we are hearing more and more stories about women having to drive four hundred miles in some cases to other states in order to receive abortion care. The Republicans have decided, oh no, no, we're not going to leave things up to the states. We're going to implement a national band. Now we know that right now we have a super motherfucking slim majority in the Senate. Vice President Kamala Harris acts as that fifty first vote in order to get us over the

threshold in most cases. So while this band will not pass in this current Congress, we know that midterms are but fifty five fucking days away, while the Senate is not in play because the Republican Senate fucking challengers that they have up there are of the likes of A Herschel Walker, my God, or Vance another Moron JD. Vance. Then you have doctor Oz and others that are, as Mitch McConnell said, you know, not of the best quality.

But we know that Republicans are unrelenting, and all they do is just wait to peel it away, peel it away, peel it away, and then when they finally do get the majority, we already know what is on the agenda. But here's the thing that Republicans are not paying attention to. They're not reading the motherfucking room from Kansas to South Carolina. We are seeing women register to vote in numbers that

we have not seen before. We are seeing mid term voters, in primary voters say to their elected officials, hands off my god damn body. But the likes of Lindsey Graham and others are not paying attention because what they want, folks, is what we talk about on woke app all the time. What they want is full and complete control over every aspect of our society, including our bodies. There are, folks, one hundred and sixty seven million women in this country,

one hundred and sixty seven million women. More than half of the population are women and people with uteruses. So what is the message that Republicans are sending and what is the message that every person should be listening to. They are coming for you. They go for the lowest hanging fruit. First, abortion rights have been the fucking cat nip for the white evangelical Christian set, the fundamentalist who want to impose their religiosity and their doctrine on the

rest of us. That is not how a democracy operates. We carve out all of these religious exemptions for these people. You hear stories now of employees at CVS's and Walgreens and Duane Reads refusing to fill prescriptions because it goes against their religious beliefs. Well, then here's a news flash. Here's a tip. Don't go to that job. How About

work in a fucking church. How about work in a religious institution, because if your religion is actually getting in the way of you providing a service to the majority of the population, then maybe that is not the right fucking job for you. The story is very simple, folks. Republicans want to set this country back, and if they have their way, by way of midterm elections and these polls, they will there are going to be in the House

of Representatives more election deniers than not. While we can hold on to the White House right now and the Senate, the House of Representatives is a fucking toss up. What do you think is going to come out of Kevin McCarthy's House of Representatives. I'm sure bullshit taxpayer dollar wasted

investigations into Hunter Biden, into the Biden administration. I'm sure frivolous, absolutely frivolous legislation that will be about attacking LGBTQ people, black people, brown people, and women and people with uterus is. They are not mincing words anymore, folks, about what their intentions are and who they are. And as doctor Maya Angelou has said, when people show you who they are,

believe them the first time. How many decades do we have to go through to recognize that Republicans do not care about this country because if they did, then they would invest in clean energy, They would want innovation, they would want diversity, They would want America to be globally competitive. But how can that be if we are chaining half the population inside the house with children they can afford,

nor do they want. How are we going to be competitive when we allow corporations to run rough shot over workers and workers are barely able to keep their head above water because their wages are not on par with inflation. They don't want America's success, and it's time that the American voters recognize that. With fifty some odd days to go, folks, Republicans continue to show us who the fuck they are and their vision for America is worse than the Handmaid's Tale.

And we know that for women of color in this country, abortion rights had only been a paper right, and most of these red states to begin with. So it's time that white women who have aligned themselves with the power and privilege of white men, wake the fuck up and realize that your rights, your life, your economic stability is on the chopping block. Coming up next, dear friends, joining us, we have the President of Planned Parenthood for America, Alexis McGill.

Johnson will be joining us to talk about what Planned Parenthood is doing in this time of great strife in this country and how you can get involved. Hey, I'm David. Plots of Slaves. Political Gabfest. As another election season accelerates, it can be tricky to sort through all the ways in the news. Each week on The gap Fest, John Dickerson, Emily Bathlon and I decipher the headlines, break down the races,

and tell you what issues really matter. We do not always agree, We definitely do not always agree, but we always deliver thoughtful debate and we always have a good time. So subscribe to Slate's Political Gapfest, new episodes every Thursday. Get a behind the scenes look at Comedy Central's The Daily Show on Beyond the Scenes, an original podcast from the Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Every week, host Roy Wood Junior goes deeper with the notable guests and experts

from the Emmy Award winning series. Together, they use comedy to tackle current topics from gentrification to gun laws and take a closer look at how and why these topics matter. Listen to Beyond the Scenes from the Daily Show with Trevor Noah on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast. New episodes every Tuesday, Folks, I am super excited to welcome to Woke f Daily Alexis McGill Johnson, who you have seen no doubt as Rovie

Wade was overturned. She is the president of Planned Parenthood, which you no doubt know who Planned Parenthood is. If you went to college, if you have needed any type

of repro healthcare, Planned Parenthood was always my first stop. Alexis, you came out of You were one of the many esteemed activists and organizers and leaders that were part of a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris where it was said that she reaffirmed the Biden administration's commitment to pushing back against the Republicans extreme agenda to ban abortion right to oppress women and people with uteruses, and so I wanted to get your initial reactions after having been in

that meeting, how you're feeling right now, and and what you can share with us that came out of it. So, Danielle, first, let me start with the genesis of the meeting, right, Um, this is a meeting that came together because a group of reproductive rights, health and justice leaders, along with a group of largely legacy civil rights organizations, came together to really underscore the fact that that we know, reproductive freedom and reproductive justice is intimately tied with our voting rights

and democracy, intimately tied with racial justice and standing together really, you know, for the first time, at least with this genesis of folks to come together to really talk about the intersection of issues as they relate to you know, all of our you know, all of our movements, and

what we need to do moving forward. And I think the Vice president, I think, particularly someone who uniquely sits at the nexus of civil rights, of reproductive rights and justice and criminal justice, I think has been was very receptive to the notion that we had to come together and to really talk through, you know, what are our strategies moving forward, not just over the next fifty six days into the November election, but also what our long

arc needs to be as we move towards justice. So talk to me about the fact because I think that it is I always appreciate when civil rights organizations come together with whether it is women's rights, lgbt Q rights organizations, but come together to understand that we have a shared desire for justice, right, that we have a shared desire for equity. Talk to me about the unique I guess position that black women and women of color are in right now since the overturning of Rov wade as at

the close of the Supreme Courts session. And what are some of the experiences that you've been hearing about or

that we're uplifted during that meeting. Yeah, I mean, you know, to be um on the on the kind of meta level, we know that these bands that we've seen over the years, abortion bands have disproportionately impacted Black women, in particular, people of color, people with low incomes, rural communities, and we are seeing many of these bands introduced in states with the highest maternal mortality rate, right, so also an issue

that significantly disproportionately impacts black women. And so you know, I think we start there and just the nexus of how sexual and reproductive healthcare bands and restrictions impact our bodies and control over our bodies and our freedoms. Then you add a layer on to the criminalization and the

surveillance that is increasing with respect to these bands. Some of them are being enforced by this you know, unique bounty hunter provision that was part of the civil right of action that came out of the Texas x SB eight UM van and fiasco last year. UM. And and now with row overturned. UM, we you know the we could see felony convictions right um from for providers up to ninety nine years UM. But you know also for people who support people who get access to care out

of state. And you know, the opposition has introduced everything from uh you know, saying it it shouldn't be legal to cross state lines in order to get access to cares, literally holding people hostage in their state, UM, so that they are not able to get access to abortion care. UM. You know, people worried about the long drives they're taking.

We are seeing people drive an average four hundred miles outside of their state to get access and lonely right because they are afraid to tell anyone what is going on, because they don't want to you know, um, implicate anyone else in their decision if it if it may cause them harm. UM. And we also recognize the fact that if criminal prosecutions move forward, as you know what one would have to right, if they're going to actually enforce these laws, you know, that could also impact and create

voter disenfranchisement. Right, it could impact you know, one's ability to get access to housing, access to medicaid, and so the ripple effect into public policy from from the kind of healthcare harms that people are experiencing, I think is just really great. Um. And you know, a significant challenge for us to be thinking about. And because of that, I think that's why these communities coming together made such

a powerful statement. Last I would just add that, you know, so many reproductive rights organizations, including mine, you know, we are now being led by by black women or women of color, and so the opportunity to really sit at the center kind of of who we are along with the Vice president I was just an incredibly powerful moment. You know, there's been a lot of critique about the

Biden administration and they're handling of this issue. There had been pushed back from abortion activists about the fact that the president and hadn't uttered the word abortion. Um. There has been pushed back in general about Democrats and their inability to wrap their arms fully around this issue. It was always you know, abortion should be you know, safe and rare, right. Um. And you know, we have moved to a place where we understand that abortion is just

a necessary part of care. We're hearing terrible stories about partially formed fetuses that are being left inside of of of of a uterus because they can't be aborted. Right. Um. Do you think that this administration, when we knew, when we thought that the built with that the that the decision was a draft, that they took enough proactive action. Um. And do you think that they have arrived at this place and recognizing that Republicans are not going to let

this issue sit. Yes. And look, I think like, uh, like the party's entire evolution on this issue, right. I mean, we still have people in the party that are you know, do not support access to to abortion, and I think that is you know, something that we have to grapple with.

But I think this administration, it has been very very thoughtful in terms of thinking as a what I would say a whole of government response to the crisis and making sure that the actions they are taking, whether it's litigation or UM, you know, identifying various UM you know, policies or executive orders that they are very patient and provider focused UM and intended to do. They ken to

help people mitigate the concerns while we fight back. UM. So you know, a good example, as you just mentioned the the emergency medical UM you know, uh, you know, UM support in the danger of the parents life. You know, I mean that am tala guidance from HHS is very important, and we've seen how you know, the Republicans have responded

to that. You know, Attorney General Paxton of Texas said he wasn't going to follow that guidance or recommend that guidance in the state because they didn't think that the federal federal government had the ability to do that. So you know, we should and we should come back to that when we talk about Lindsay Graham. UM. But but they have done actually some very important things. Right. We've seen the executive order urging medicaid to support travel right, which,

as I said, people need. They're traveling up upwards of four hundred miles. We've seen them open up Supplemental Title ten funds to get access to family planning, making some abortion care available through the VA right. That's a big deal to have a you know, the agency lead at the Veteran Affairs you know, support the you know, the men and women of our you know of our service

people are are desperate for accurate information. As we know they're is so much misinformation rife in this in this space that is, you know, information that you see online and then gets codified into crisis pregnancy centers. And the administration has responded by launching Reproductive Rights dot gov and

and you know, I have to lift up. And I think this is one of the reasons why we were particularly keen on um, you know, seeing the Vice President yesterday, is that she personally has been traveling across the country this summer around abortion access. She has met with over one hundred and fifty legislatures in seventeen states, leaders in higher ed healthcare providers, con law experts, attorneys, general, disability advocates, faith leaders like she's leaving no stone unturned to really

inform the kind of response from the administration. So is there a silver bullet that the administration could you know, provide for us. No, because it's so much more complicated, you know, with this ruling. But I think in terms of mitigating the harm and the impact on people, that is where they are focused, and we need to get back and quite frankly, deliver a different system instructure for them to operate in in order to get some real,

meaningful policies set into laws. So you brought up Lindsey Graham, who many know who listened to me know that that is my least favorite senator. And you know, Lindsey Graham did something this week where he offered from the Republican Party a national ban on abortion. Now he is referred to it as a late term abortion, which the media, mainstream media has turned around and is using Republican talking points when reporting on what is inside of this legislation.

I want to get your reaction first to one, this party that has made it their mantra States rights has now turned into oh no, no, no, because the States are not doing what we want. Now we want a national ban one and then two, how the mainstream media has been dealing with this issue and particular in discussing this quote unquote late term, which we know is BS one hundred percent. So look, I think on them on

the offering, we should not be surprised, right, um. And you know they talk about states rights, and I think there is an element related to states rights that that the opposition and the Republican Party in particular, you know, um, white supremacists are very keen on um, kind of doubling down on with respect to um, you know, uh, enforcing

and codifying power in each state. Um. And you know, we could only look to the to the opposition, which is you know, said they would like a nationwide six week ban, which is looking to for the Supreme Court to take up a constitutional personhood and admit so they've never really meant states rights only in certain circumstances is maybe code words for some groups, but what they really want to get to is abolition right, a complete inability for us to access abortion and control our bodies with

respect to you know, a fifteen week ban and calling it a late timor version that is just you know, it's just a complete misnomer. First of all, a ban as a ban as a ban as a ban, right, Yeah, pregnancy is unique, Each circumstance is unique, That's why we would rather have providers and patients making their own personal medical decisions and not creating these one size fits all laws.

They just don't work and they create harm right to your to your earlier point, you know, seeing patients that are in second second try who don't have the ability to get the abortion care that they need even when their pregnancy is no longer viable, waiting for steps is to set in, you know, which could you know, obviously

create so much harm. There's so much bias obviously in in care, particularly related as it relates to black maternal care, and that you know, it just it's it's it's incredibly harmful and offensive right that that this is the piece with respect to the media, you know, I think that the media has actually been a big challenge all along, not just with respect to just picking up as a late term. We know that upwards of eighty percent of Americans believe that rose should be the law of land,

the energy um. And I think the resistance to so many of these increasing extreme restrictions is so palpable, it's so clear they're you know, no state, very few states where um you know where it's it's even kind of middling, and so I think that part of the challenge what we see the media is that they have actually also created a false equivalence around people who support acts and

apportion that people who who oppose it. And so at every turn, you know, here we are with a majority public opinion support, and we're positioning this as both sides,

and that just that false equivalentally doesn't work. So then you layer onto that, you know, late term, it's really a way to set up you know why people who support access to abortion are not going to be reasonable or compromise, and you know what I mean, I would have to say, like, we are not going to compromise by you know, having a one size fits all approach when we know full well that each pregnancy and circumstances unique and providers are the best people to make those decisions,

not politicians. I think at the end of the day, you make your own choices, you make your own decisions, but politicians don't need to be in the middle of that, right, We would rather have our medical providers in the middle of those conversations, you know, Alexis With fifty six days until mid terms, we have seen some pushback, We've had some good news like in Kansas, where we have seen the people push back and say no. We have seen and heard that more women are registered in registering to vote.

We saw an initiative fail in this state legislature in South Carolina. Now is a really hard time, though, to be hopeful. Right everywhere that you look, there is just really bad news like this, Graham Bill, And I'm wondering, how are you and all of the people that work at Planned Parenthood across the country, how are you maintaining a sense of hopefulness. You know, I honestly, I think it has been those little, not a little big victories,

you know, you know, state by state victories. It has been you know, holding out hope that we could pull through in Kansas, even when you know the data pointed to it being a quite um an even match early on. It is seeing that kind of courage become contagious in a state like Nebraska, where they literally couldn't find the

next you know, the legislators that would would make the difference. UM. It is holding the line because every time we're able to delay a ban or delay some of these harsh restrictions, we're actually able to provide service to people. UM I am. I am incredibly hopeful deriving hope from you know, honestly, the patient and provider stories I hear every day, and make no mistake that these are people that are despairing. They are They are despairing as they can't provide the

care that they need. They are despairing because they have to embark on a you know, a long and arduous and lonely abortion journey, and that is you know, that is difficult to bear. But the reason they do that is because they have hope on the other side, right, they have hope on the other side that being able to get access is going to help them make the best decisions for themselves and for their families. And you know, at the end of the day, we trust folks to

make decisions about their bodies. We trust them to, you know, UM figure out how they need to to live their own best lives. And I think every time every time we see that UM, which is in stark contrast to the way politicians like Lindsay Graham are inserting themselves as if they are the trusted UM, you know, gatekeepers to our own body of the autonomy, I think it just highlights how important UM this right is and has been. It highlights how important our democracy is and our voting

you know, capacity and rights are. UM. It highlights all of the work that we need to do together as a as a collaborative of communities, which is really um. You know what what gave me hope yesterday in the conversation with the Vice President and my colleagues who you know, um, Danielle, We've known for for many years in different positions, but to feel like we are standing strong because we have intersected in so many different ways on so many different issues.

We see this at the core is being about freedom, right. We see this at our four being about freedom and justice. And that is why I have hope because you know that has always carried us through. You know. Last question for you is that there are so many people, so many people that listen to my show, so many people that are glued to cable news and want to figure out what they can do to how how they can be of service outside of obviously voting in the midterm elections.

Tell people how they can be supportive to Planned parenthood, to this movement, to this moment right now. You know, so of course, supporting Planned Parenthood affiliates is incredibly important in this moment because many patients are making their way to various affiliates across the country, and wherever you are, there's an opportunity to support and connect to patients who are both traveling out or helping us meet the surge

of operations in that place. Supporting independent providers at keep our the Nix dot org, who we're also carrying a huge burden of um of providing abortion care, supporting abortion funds abortion funds dot org our ways to give direct support to patients who are traveling and need all of the logistics and support there. Um, if you want to get engaged, you know politically, UM, I would say go

to take control twenty twenty two dot org. That will get you all involved in your electoral game, mobilizing, um, you know. And I think that's really where we need to be focused over the next fifty seven days. UM. And then we're going to be back with the long game conversation, right and yell, like the long game around now that Row is gone. You know, who who are we going to be now that we're not defending Row?

And how are we going to reimagine the right? And I think that's where you know, um, you know another place where where we can be hopeful together, we can be imaginated together, and that's really what the work is going to be moving forward. Well, Alexis, I will tell you that there's no that a person than you to

be at the helm of planned parenthood. Right now. I feel like the organization and the movement is in good hands, particularly with the list of esteemed people that I have known for many, many years that were in that room

with the Vice president. You know, I hope that you will come back and join us and continue to tell people how they can get involved, what they can do, and remind us that you know, we have been in these places before, we have seen these dark days before, and that it doesn't end here, that this is this is a new beginning and like you said, a reimagining Alexis Migill Johnson, we appreciate you so much. Thank you for making the time for us today. Thank you, Danielle.

It was so lovely to see you and talk with you. This gave me hope. That is it for me today. Dear friends, on woke f as always power to the people and to all the people. Power, get woke and stay woke. As fun get a behind the scenes look at Comedy Central's The Daily Show on Beyond the Scenes, an original podcast from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Every week, host Roy Wood Junior goes deeper with the

notable guests and experts from the Emmy Award winning series. Together, they use comedy to tackle current topics from gentrification to gun laws, and take a closer look at how and why these topics matter. Listen to Beyond the Scenes from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. New episodes every Tuesday.