such pleasure to welcome to the program
dr trace you uh... we eat
the director of the advancing new standards in reproductive health program
at the bixby center for reproductive health at u_c_ san francisco
uh... welcome to the program professor
technocratic
so i you know
the fortieth anniversary of roe v_ wade in many respects i think
and then tell me i mean from a legal perspective
the uh... i think uh... the re-election of president obama i think is
the
best thing that could happen
for roe v_ wade but on the ground
uh... there seems to me do been a a
women's
right to reproductive health seems as threatened as ever
i think that be
e uh... election of obama secures at least predictor premkumar forget moment
im
but the fight for many decades that benefit state-level which and the casey
decision in nineteen ninety-two have been allowed to break the early abortion
care express there
disapproval of abortion
both to women and the health care providers to operate in we're we're
looking at excuses to thousands and in many respects sort of an unprecedented
onslaught on the state level
on awam is right to choose you you you wrote
recently i think it was in hopping to pose to suppose that states based
abortion regulations would be less proud prevalent if the pro-choice movement had
behave differently or could have different leadership is naive rather a
fight over abortion will continue as long as is an effective tool the
conservative
economic political establishment
tell me what what you meant by that
well
v
at that country heavily been quite conflicted about abortion whether it's
moral immoral
uh... should be regulated should they not regulated but abortion restriction
have really had very little kid to with that fight they are an attempt
q galvanize
a population of boulder
who otherwise would boat um... who
food economic interest are more aligned with the party that is pro-choice
though a way to keep it that conservative particularly evangelical
christian voters
aligned with the republican party and aligned with very
conservative economic policy that benefit the highly wealthy
uh... idbi introduced new legislation at sort of bad on steroid weight
that said look we care about your issues work what we are doing
and then it keeps people aligned with that conservative
um... movement
an instance
the many respects i mean that's how
this became an issue uh...
uh... from i mean at least a eight eighty broader political issue from the
very beginning community
that this was the plant since the
made too late seventies
abt the reason i want to keep them happy because what to remind that that they've
had a long history
of political manipulation and he gave me that suddenly
in two thousand and pad
the american public woke up and said look we disagree with the portion that
therefore
were to elect politicians and they're going to implement the candidates have
been a very strategic move
q align
abt
moral conservative social conservative
from particular demographic group
i'm with the conservative party who actually doesn't really care about
abortion
it really care about the economic policy that they were able to get through
e cloak and and social conservative it down in order to keep people voting
against their own economic self-interest and there's also a i mean there's
there's a key
of having uh... uh...
they've right of women too
determinedly determination as to whether or not
over their reproductive systems
is also sort of based in
of the economic liberation of women as well mean you know aside from it being a
fig leaf for another agenda
aside from the conservatives using uh... abortion as one of these sort of
social
uh... identify identification issues like in many respects like guns like
uh...
uh... marriage equality i think there's also some real economic implications for
women when it comes to uh... having reproductive rights
which also in some ways
uh... impact
economics that
men deal
yet that breast
too
uh...
uh... and economic
if dem web full member to the household need to work
dramatically shifted power arrangement in family
in particular error in families that had uh... traditional patriarchal structures
who are worried that when women can control both their sexuality and their
fertility
that that traditional patriarchal family structure
threaten
though absolutely folk that arken burned about uh... for that
mail forty folk aircon charmed about
meant economic uh...
um... predominate in in their own the marketplace
are very concerned about what abortion mean
in terms of women corporation
i think that argument get last
attention
in the general population because
dean and gary antiquated
i think the fact that what you thought and uh... romney within romney inability
to articulate that women should make equal pay for equal work
that bad is actually in undercurrent
of the folks
who are putting forward somebody the antiabortion commission
but i think it will rarely articulated in that way
out because women in the workforce had become though ubiquitous
and he really is not an issue that we are fighting about publicly
it may be an issue that we're fighting at we will portion regulation but he did
not actually what date
bed about the uh... everything for these restrictions
yes and i think to a certain i said i think that that to me is incredibly
fascinating dynamic because i think it permeates all of this and i think you
know obviously um... it triggers
you know sort of heehee conservative mindset uh...
there is that in some ways uh... you know a reproductive rights is
threatening the traditional family uh... uh... traditional family values which in
their mind is that uh... it is extremely uh... patriarchal
it also has implications it because it creates a certain pressure on wages
uh... four men that is sort of articulated through this and i think he
uh... i think this is so bala dot in it because i think a lot of the
earth the misogyny we see that is sort of whirlwind through uh...
uh... you know we see state legislatures were for
earth to uh... women hill has compatible um... and uh...
yeah i guess dropping the h instead of channels of but
uh... so much of it is downed up in that that it is
that this is so much of a women's reproductive uh... rights is bound up in
sort of larger questions of of of feminism
the
am and and if the repairman use are much more attention in this election cycle
time ball
abortion and country option
jack that he really is that out this larger issue and not just about the
moral that at the defeat it
herewith check about the moral that at the defeated it may be kept having a
fight about abortion but in fact
this legislative that election cycle inkjet that suggest all of us that it's
about more than abortion it about abortion it's dot com perception that
balance sexuality generally
which is about a larger set of social anxiety
and i think special anxiety there about the destruction of the family structure
but also destruction abt sort of white elite power i think that team backlash
that you thought in abortion rights
uh... was represented in that backlash against immigration right g-spot in kind
of
trip real anger or really hardcore policy
in st
around both abortion and immigration
and they have to do with that sort of crisis of power
the traditional white in uh... male dominated patriarchal family and so let
me know
get your sense of you know
i guess it was probably about maybe in two thousand four
heard a lot about uh...
democrats traditionally considered the well and then i think uh...
quite obviously the
pro reproductive rights uh...
uh... political
uh... movement i guess in in this country but we saw at that time there
was an attempt to sort of
blur those lines a little bit
do your sense of where
and how it's a lie
lined with the democratic party is today relative to just like ten years ago
era portion to single back marker which political party you belonged to
that while the country have become more nuanced in understanding of all kinds of
political issues
the abortion issue is gary much uh... party a collegiate
pure against abortion you're more likely to be a republican a cure
uh... for abortion rights are more likely to be a democrat though
there's been a big polarization
across the party
uh... what that meant for the democratic party is that it's trying to be at big
your at big time
and a hand
read cute kid
hard-core support
four abortion rights and moved in and i think we thought it with with bill
clinton that let make abortion safe legal and rare he's uh... president
obama thing with reduced the need for abortion this idea that there were three
other
a middle ground compromise what we can all agree that we'd get flight to
portion
but we didn't want to change its legal fateh
um what that did the for
abortion
conversation entirely stigmatize
the women who used to portion services pretty much told them big even the party
that support their legal right to abortion
did not support gary youth
of abortion
and women
became phylum they did not tell their story
uh... we forgot that one-in-three women will have an abortion in our lifetime
that every year the in number of abortions happen active gary infections
and yet all of us can name
and number of people in our life competitive carry infection this year
but we can't name the women in our life you've had a portion
uh... so we drove abortion
into a much more statement i placed not just from people who are prone to
abortion by people who were in support of legal abortion who fought
that this could be the compromise atwood stopped the abortion wars and
e-ticket utica that the pendulum has swung back from it because i i i i it
seems to me
that
that this past election
um... e it it's it's long back a little bit i mean maybe maybe it was more
because maybe this visit this fight was far more on contraception and abortion
uh... over the over the past
ten months or so
over the past year
uh... but do you have a sensitive swung back i mean just because the democrats
are that there is
that i mean uh...
you n_b_c_ came out with a poll
although i guess uh...
uh... just this past week
saying that
uh... for the first time
i think i ever uh...
fifty four percent of adults are that abortion should be leader honor the
legal either always are most of the time
uh... that's the biggest majority and
that it's been
do you think that that pendulum has swung back at all at least in terms of
the democratic party
i can't believe it it impact and part because
it didn't work out a strategy
reaching out trying to find the product
baat compromise but we all agreed we dislike abortion we're not gonna talk
about it
didn't
abortion rights opponent
i'm pushing for harder legislation pursing more egregious thing about but
date you know the idea that uh...
pregnant the reports from a reputed property and god
that it strategic we did not work
though i think that many people are backing away and no
you know that
but actually talk about what's true which is that lots of women have
abortion
that this is part of how they control their lives and that we get the country
iphone dare legal right to do this
but i do think depend fun swinging back
i'd also think that young people i'm who get
uh... who who are often talked about it not caring about the issue carolina
about
the economic uh...
social stratification access to this right
anarchy and that they are really waiting beginning to raise their voices about
uh... the
unexpected bility let any of the hyde amendment
the first compromise the nineteen th benefit compromise the fed the taxpayer
dollars could not be used for abortion
that the consequences of that for poor women
are now being raped by uh... younger generation did much more
about social chapter
i thought to be more of a personal topics orientation
to abortion rights
and happy kept much more progressive generally
uh... so i think that the pendulum in swimming baths doesn't mean that last
point is is is really the most instances is uh... is also incredibly important i
think uh...
to note because when you see these attacks on access to abortion in the
rights it is all
always really uh... felt most
by poor women
and they are also
rodent not consequently uh... not coincidently
though the least represented in many respects they they're the
there at the one of the weakest political constituencies
um... and
that's that really is the challenges and ended because
uh... wealthy woman can take it can take time off for work and take a day
uh... may not be working can drive out-of-state can go uh... to the one
uh... abortion clinic that made the in uh... in their state for hours away but
uh... if you're poor you can't do it i mean i just saw some
really uh...
so shocking
percentage of women of poor women
um... end up getting abortions late because uh... of their reduced access in
the cost
uh... so that's really where this battle's going to be fought isn't
right battle it now by it
on the economic in inequalities if if you did with dates right
i think we can say that the right
it at the constitutional matter
the right adult now whether or not
this concordia you know overturns roe or states continue to regulate abortion the
pendulum is moving in the direction and we know that abortion has existed in
every step by a d
at the beginning of time getting kicked in all countries where it is the legal
abortion is jeff at universal it happened
women control their fertility
that fight now is over
who get to have access to that right and how much that right is just a few with
economic and and social stratification
i think that put
uh... progress than on how much
better firmer ground
because
it can't next the abortion issue to all kind of other social inequality
inequality around
who can raise their kids with dignity
who gets a good education for their children around who have access to
college uh... andy when the abortion rights situated in a much larger set of
requests from the progressive occurred to me and turn the progressive movement
i think it's been a much farmer and stronger place socially
the dr tracy weeks director of the dancing to standards in reproductive
health at the big city center for reproductive rights
at uh... u_c_ san francisco thanks so much for joining us
track banquet