(2015/01/27) Bringing harm, one patriarchal policy at a time (Abortion Rights)
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 28 January 2015
⏱️ 73 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Edition #893
Show Notes
Ch. 1: Opening Theme: A Fond Farewell - From a Basement On the Hill
Ch. 2: Act 1: Can Abortions Save Lives? - @testtube - Air Date: 1-6-15
Ch. 3: Song 1: A Girl, A Boy, and a Graveyard - The Reluctant Graveyard
Ch. 4: Act 2: Right-Wing Policies Are Literally Killing Women - @davidpakmanshow - Air Date: 05-17-14
Ch. 5: Song 2: Nothing Else Matters - Inquisition Symphony
Ch. 6: Act 3: @KathaPollitt: on the history of abortion rights in America - Diane Rehm Show (@drshow) - Air Date: 10-8-14
Ch. 7: Song 3: Patriarchy Over & Out - Patriarchy Over & Out - EP
Ch. 8: Act 4: Safe And Legal Abortions Difficult By Design - @fakedansavage - Air Date 9-16-14
Ch. 9: Song 4: Shame - Emotionalism (Bonus Track Version)
Ch. 10: Act 5: We would really like some control over your uterus - @TWiBnation - Air Date: 1-13-15
Ch. 11: Song 5: Liberty - Frontiers
Ch. 12: Act 6: States Continue Push To Ban Abortions After 20 Weeks - @JenniferLudden on @NPR - Air Date: 1-22-15
Ch. 13: Song 6: The Thing That Made You - Beasts of the Southern Wild (Music from the Motion Picture)
Ch. 14: Act 7: Republican women revolt against abortion ban - @allinwithchris Hayes - Air Date: 1-22-15
Ch. 15: Song 7: Mondo '77 (feat. Francis MacDonald) - Vanilla Sky (Music from the Motion Picture)
Ch. 16: Act 8: End Abortion Coverage Bans - Best of the Left Activism
Ch. 17: Song 8: "This fickle world" - Theo Bard
Ch. 18: Act 9: @KathaPollitt reads from her book Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights - @Politics_Prose - Air Date: 10-31-14
Voicemails
Ch. 20: No problem with teaching comparitive religion - Trey from Corvallis
Ch. 21: Privacy laws also protect the already-powerful - Dave from Canada
Ch. 22: One reason why the police shoot to kill - Neil
Voicemail Music: Loud Pipes - Classics
Ch. 23: Final comments on why cops are trained to shoot to kill and a reminder to nominate BotL in the Best Produced category at PodcastAwards.com
Closing Music: Here We Are - Everyone's in Everyone
Activism: End Abortion Coverage Bans
Take Action:
Track H.R.7 via GovTrack.us and use Contacting the Congress to tell your Senators to vote NO when H.R.7 comes to the Senate.
SIGN All* Above All’s letter opposing the Hyde Amendment on the 2016 budget: End Abortion Coverage Bans Now!
Additional Activism/Resources:
SIGN NARAL Pro-Choice America’s petitions to the 114th Congress:
”Ask the Republican Leaders: Where Are The Women?”
”Anti-Choice Politicians Don’t Speak For Me
Sources/further reading:
See who the H.R.7 co-sponsors were: Congressional Bill Tracker — H.R.7
"New Year, Same as the Old Year? 2015 Reproductive Rights Preview” by Katie Klabusich at Truthout
"Roe Should Be a Reality for All, Not Just for a Wealthy Few” by Heidi Williamson at TalkPoverty.org
"Congress Rejected A 20-Week Abortion Ban, But These States Didn’t” by Tara Culp-Ressler at ThinkProgress
Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
Thanks for listening!
Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com
Check out the BotL iOS/Android App in the App Stores!
Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft
Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft
Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This program is made possible by the members and donors to the show for details visit the membership tab at BestopoleF.com. |
| 0:08.0 | Welcome to the award-winning BestopoleF podcast with clips today from TestTube, The David Pakman Show, The Diane Reams Show, Dan Savage, This Week in Blackness, NPR, All in With Chris Hayes, and Politics and Pros. |
| 0:20.0 | To clarify, we're actually pretty deep into the 21st century. This debate just makes it seem like we're back in the 70s. Don't be fooled. |
| 0:30.0 | A human rights group found that due to strict abortion laws, a high rate of women in Senegal are killing their newborn children. |
| 0:37.0 | In some cases, by leaving them in the wild to starve or even be eaten. |
| 0:41.0 | Due to Senegal's abortion laws, which the UN calls some of the world's strictest, if a woman wants an abortion, she needs three doctors to sign off on the procedure. |
| 0:50.0 | And those doctors have to determine that having the child would be life-threatening. |
| 0:55.0 | As a result, Reuters reports that 38% of all women jailed in Senegal were charged with either in fantasy side or having an illegal abortion, and up to 13% of maternal deaths are due to illegal abortions. |
| 1:07.0 | And Senegal is just one example of how strict abortion laws can negatively affect a country's population. |
| 1:14.0 | According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, more than a quarter of the world live in a country with highly restrictive abortion laws, meaning abortions are prohibited or allowed only if it will save the most. |
| 1:24.0 | And an estimated 47,000 women die per year as a result of unsafe abortions. |
| 1:30.0 | Many of these happen in areas of the world where abortion laws are the strictest. |
| 1:35.0 | According to the World Health Organization, more than 97% of abortions in Africa and 95% in Latin America are unsafe. |
| 1:43.0 | These are two regions where the vast majority of the countries have strict abortion laws. |
| 1:48.0 | They also have higher rates of abortion by about 10%. |
| 1:52.0 | Studies show when a country legalizes or liberalizes abortion, things do get better. |
| 1:57.0 | In 1996, South Africa legalized abortion up to 12 weeks without any restrictions, a change from only allowing it when the women's health was in danger or in cases of rape or incest. |
| 2:08.0 | As a result, deaths from unsafe abortions dropped by over 90%. |
| 2:13.0 | Similarly, in Nepal, the number of women admitted to the hospital with complications from unsafe abortions fell drastically after they legalized abortion in 2004. |
| 2:22.0 | This obviously does not tell the whole story. |
| 2:25.0 | Even in some countries with legal abortion, women are still unsafe. |
| 2:29.0 | This is because abortions are being done with unsanitary equipment or by untrained people. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jay Tomlinson, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Jay Tomlinson and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

