Please welcome Cecile Richards.
(applause and cheering)
-Welcome back to the show. -Thank you. Nice audience.
Oh, amazing audience. Are you kidding me?
-(applause and cheering) -The best audience. -Wow.
Yeah.
-(imitating Trump): I have the best crowds. -(laughter)
-Uh, welcome... -The biggest crowds.
-The biggest crowds, all the biggest. -Yes.
But they never show my audience. Look, show them now.
-They won't show my audience. -(applause and cheering)
They won't show them. They won't show them.
Welcome back to the show.
Uh, we had you on, uh, it was a year ago.
-Exactly a year ago, yes. -A year ago,
and that was just before,
uh, the women's march that took place.
In a year, how have things changed?
Have things changed?
And most importantly, how have they changed
-for women's reproductive rights? -Okay.
So, yes, it's incredible that a year ago we didn't even know
-how the women's march was gonna turn out. -Right.
And it turned out, of course, to be the largest march
in the history of the United States of America,
-which is pretty exciting. -(applause and cheering)
Um... but I think, most importantly, Trevor,
-it wasn't the end, it was the beginning. -Right.
And, in fact, women have been, ever since,
leading the resistance, they've been persisting,
they've been showing up at town hall meetings.
I think now, a year later,
women are the most important political force
in the United States of America.
-And that's really exciting. -(applause and cheering)
The march was big, but this year, um,
Donald Trump decided to make an appearance
as the first president to make a, you know,
visual appearance at the March for Life,
which is opposed to everything that you do.
We actually have a clip of something that he said.
Could you play this here?
Right now, in a number of states,
the laws allow a baby to be born
from his or her mother's womb
in the ninth month.
It is wrong.
It has to change.
(laughter)
-This is... this is... -It's shocking.
-Yeah. -It's uncomfortable to ask, but is it true?
Are babies being born from their mothers' wombs?
-(laughter) -I think the shocking thing is,
-it's been happening for centuries. Um... -(laughter)
And, uh, but...
-This is a... -But here's the thing.
-Yeah. -I mean, he says this, and, look,
-I honestly don't believe he cares about any of it... -No.
...which is why he didn't even notice he said it, but...
but is-is this...?
This is a rumor that you hear all the time--
-that abortions are happening at nine months. -Mm-hmm.
Where is this happening,
and where is this information coming from?
Right. I mean, I don't know where he gets his information.
It's absolutely not happening. Uh...
And I-I think it's...
Look, I think that this is a classic example
of the danger of having people in office,
particularly people who cannot get pregnant themselves,
making decisions about women's bodies and their lives.
-(cheering, whooping, applause) -And, um...
and one of the interesting things that has happened--
and I have to, you know, harken back
to when we had President Obama in office,
who really supported women's healthcare access--
we actually, because of that now,
something like 62 million women now get birth control
in this country at no cost in their insurance plans,
even though President Trump is trying to get rid of that.
And largely, as a result,
we now are at the lowest teen pregnancy rate ever
in the history of the United States.
-(cheering, applause) -And, um,
we're at the lowest abortion rate since Roe was decided.
And it's in large part 'cause women are getting better access
to family planning and birth control,
and a lot of that is Planned Parenthood.
Here's a question I have
that I've always struggled to understand is
why there seems to be a disconnect in an argument.
Some people say, um, they aren't a fan of abortions,
they don't want women having abortions,
they don't want them to have the right to choose.
But then those same people go, they don't want women
having access to birth control, or they're opposed to this.
Is there a way that you can bridge this gap of people?
Do they understand the connection
-between the two things? -(laughter)
Well, most of them do, but unfortunately,
several of those folks are in congress.
And I do think it's important.
Look, um, birth control, it's wildly popular.
I'm just gonna get it right out there.
-(laughter) -Um, more than 90% of women
-in this country use it. -Right.
But when we look at this administration,
and, you know, I mean, Planned Parenthood
was in the crosshairs from day one.
That's what they said: We're gonna, you know,
we're gonna defund Planned Parenthood,
we're gonna take away the Affordable Care Act...
And has that happened?
Actually, this is an important thing.
Paul Ryan said that bill was gonna be on the president's desk
in, I think, early February of last year,
and today is January whatever, and I just will say,
Planned Parenthood's doors are still open
all across the United States of America.
-(cheering, applause) -So... so that didn't work.
Um, that didn't work.
This year, the Women's March, one of the biggest gatherings
was held in Las Vegas,
and Planned Parenthood was there, you were there.
What was interesting was,
-this year seemed to have a shift in focus. -Mm-hmm.
If last year was about mobilizing people to march
and to voice their concerns, this year seemed like
it was about getting people out to do now--
-Right. -women to move into political positions,
women running for office.
Um, you had remarks that were really powerful for me.
You said in your remarks about going out to vote
-Mm-hmm. -that white women need to be better...
white women, specifically, need to be better to black women.
-What did that mean? -Well, I think, uh...
-(applause) -Yeah. Well... I'd love to actually...
Where it began-- I think it is really important
just as a factual matter for folks to know--
is that women of color in this country
are the most reliable voters-- they show up to vote--
and when they do vote, they vote for people
who support women's health and rights.
-And that's just something that is really important. -(cheering)
Um... and so my point in saying that
is one, is to give credit where credit's due,
and to say we need to invest in women of color,
as candidates, as activists, as leaders.
And also, the rest of us need to be doing more.
And that is really to ensure that...
Look, I look at this November, this coming election.
Women are poised to completely change the direction
of Congress, and I think a lot of women are looking,
looking at who's in office and saying,
"I could do better than that."
And I just heard today 30,000 women
have asked EMILY's List
to get training to run for office.
-That is historic. -Wow. Wow.
-And so... um... -(applause, cheering)
So I do think it's important, though,
we-we need-- if women, you know, if they register folks,
if they educate them about what's at stake in elections,
if they show up to the polls,
women will absolutely dominate
in the November 18 elections, and it's about time.
With something that is so crucial,
with a time that feels so crucial, you know,
we can't help but notice that, you know,
there have been reports that came out,
it was BuzzFeed, it was Politico,
saying Cecile Richards is stepping down
from Planned Parenthood.
Is now the time to step down?
Does this feel like the right time to step away
when it feels like everything is mobilizing?
Well, I think it's, one, I'm not here to make any, you know,
big announcements or pronouncements today.
I think that Planned Parenthood
has never been a more important organization.
And I have, you know, every day I'm president
of this organization-- I've been doing it now for 12 years--
I see the difference that we make in peoples' lives.
And in fact, tomorrow morning, all across this country,
in red states and blue states,
doctors and clinicians and patient escorts
will wake up and they will open the doors,
and they will serve affordable health care
to thousands of American people.
And that, to me, is not only the legacy of this organization,
but it's what we need to do going forward.
And every day I get to play a role in that,
it's an honor of a lifetime.
You dodged my question very effectively.
And I understand why.
I-I know you have a board meeting coming up,
but I-I I would want to know about your future as Cecile.
I mean, everything comes to an end in life.
And I don't know when that will be,
but would you see yourself going into office?
Maybe not 2018, maybe 2020, down the road,
-could you see yourself... -Maybe 2020, yeah.
could you see yourself going into office in--
working to get into office in some way?
You know, I don't know what all-- I don't know what, uh,
my future holds, but I do know that I've been fortunate
to be kind of a troublemaker my whole life.
I was raised by a troublemaker,
the late, great governor of Texas, Ann Richards,
-and, uh... -(cheering and applause)
As my friend, Congressman John Lewis would say,
"Good trouble," I hope, and so whatever I do,
uh, in my lifetime, I've always been incredibly privileged
to be able to, I hope, make a difference in the lives
of folks who may just need a break.
And, uh, so that-that's my hope.
That's my hope for my future.
-I wish you the best of luck. -Hey, thank you, Trevor.
Thank you so much for being on the show again.
-Good to see you. -I really appreciate it.
Cecile's memoir, Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out,
and Finding the Courage to Lead, will be out this spring.
Cecile Richards, everybody.