#1430 Abortion laws are changing and so is how we talk about it
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 24 July 2021
⏱️ 67 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Air Date 7/24/2021
Today we take a look at the messaging wars over abortion and reproductive justice more broadly as well as the politics of supporting full abortion rights and the likely restrictions coming at the hands of the Supreme Court.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Changing the Way We Talk About Abortion Part 1 - Ordinary Equality - Air Date 4-7-21
How do we dismantle the anti-choice movement? We’re talking through what needs to change on our side, and how we can unify our message towards the anti-abortion crowd. Strap in, folks-- it’s the grand finale.
The Supreme Court is set to review a MS law banning abortion after 15 weeks that intends to challenge Roe v. Wade, raising concern for advocates about how reproductive rights can be preserved without the landmark ruling. Kathryn Kolbert and Julie Kay.
Ch. 3: Changing the Way We Talk About Abortion Part 2 - Ordinary Equality - Air Date 4-7-21
Ch. 4: Does Roe v. Wade Stand A Chance Part 1 - Whats Next - Air Date 5-26-21
The fight over abortion access is far from settled.
Ch. 5: Preston Mitchum on Roe and Reproductive Justice - CounterSpin - Air Date 5-21-21
We’ll talk about the Supreme Court’s potential overturning of Roe v. Wade with Preston Mitchum, director of policy at URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, and adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center.
Ch. 6: Changing the Way We Talk About Abortion Part 3 - Ordinary Equality - Air Date 4-7-21
Ch. 7: Does Roe v. Wade Stand A Chance Part 2 - Whats Next - Air Date 5-26-21
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Ch. 8: This City Wants Your Racist Uncle to Enforce Their Abortion Ban - Boom! Lawyered - Air Date 6-10-21
Lubbock, Texas, passed a “sanctuary city for the unborn” ordinance, a so-called heartbeat ban that would ban abortion at around six weeks. The ban would allow anyone to sue to enforce the ban—and not just anyone in Lubbock or Texas, anyone in the country.
VOICEMAILS
Ch. 9: Consequences of Everyday Racism - Alan from Connecticut
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 10: Final comments on the Podcast Awards
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):
- Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr
- Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
- Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world)
- Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent
SHOW IMAGE:
Description: Activists of varying ages standing on the side of a road hold up a red canvas banner that says "Abortion on Demand and Without Apology" in bold black letters.
"Abortion on Demand and Without Apology" by Debra Sweet, Flickr | License | Changes: Cropped, enhanced saturation and contrast, extended the road for formatting purposes
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of Left podcast, in which we shall |
| 0:07.3 | take a look at the messaging wars over abortion as well as the politics of supporting full abortion |
| 0:13.2 | rights and the likely restrictions coming at the hands of the Supreme Court. |
| 0:18.0 | The clips today are from ordinary equality, democracy now, what's next, counter-spin and boom-loyered. |
| 0:31.9 | Too many people in our movement still use language that suggests abortion is shameful, |
| 0:36.3 | that having sex for pleasure and getting pregnant is a mistake. |
| 0:39.5 | This language may sometimes seem subtle, but it reveals a deeply problematic seed in our |
| 0:44.2 | movement. |
| 0:45.7 | Here's Renee Bracey Sherman, the founder and executive director of We Testify, an organization |
| 0:51.2 | dedicated to the leadership and representation of people who have abortions. |
| 0:55.8 | The way in which we talk about pregnancy in general, the anti-abortion movement very much |
| 1:03.1 | is like, well, you know, you had sex, so you better have this kid and you're punished |
| 1:07.9 | for it. |
| 1:08.9 | The reproductive rights movement is kind of like, well, you shouldn't be punished, you |
| 1:12.2 | know, your whole life for a mistake. |
| 1:14.0 | And it needs to be beyond that. |
| 1:17.4 | It needs to be that like, yeah, people have sex, people have multiple partners, people |
| 1:23.5 | are sometimes in toxic relationships, accidents happen, birth control is not 100%. |
| 1:29.5 | That's okay. |
| 1:31.4 | And abortion can be there as part of that. |
| 1:34.9 | And I think that the other piece about not wanting to talk about sexuality and pleasure |
| 1:40.6 | is because we are as a nation uncomfortable with this idea that young people are having |
... |
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