07/13/21 07/13/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> let me tell you this, who decided on constitutional right deserves greater deference on the other? i will tell you, texas. the republican legislator decided your right to carry a gun is more important than your precious right to vote amy: texas tech democrats flee

to washington, d.c., to stop what they call a suppression session where republicans hope to pass a belt in the texas state legislature making it harder to vote in the battleground state that already has some of the toughest restrictions in the country. we will speak to one of those who left, state representative jarvis johnson, and the head of the texas democratic party. and if roe v. wade does not survive, can reproductive rights be preserved witut it? >> the right to choose reproductive freedom has never been in such dire straits. if we're going to make progress, need to quit hitting our heads agast the marble staircase and begin to depend on state legislatures, on congress, not the court because the federal courts are no longer our friend. amy: we will speak with kitty kolbert, who argued that planned parenthood versus casey before

the supreme court and julie kay about their book. d we will go tel salvar to lo at the iminalizion of aborti to the credibleto ofeodora vásquez, who was sentced to 3years in prison after her baby was born dead in a stillbirth at nine months. >> first they said it was an abortion and then they changed it to homicide. they sentenced me to 30 years. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. democrats in the texas house of representatives boarded chartered airplanes and flew to washington, d.c. in a bid to , monday block republican-backed voter suppression legislation. the extraordinary move denied republicans a quorum in the

texas house, where republican governor greg abbott has convened a special session to pass legislation that, among other things, would ban 24-hour polling places and stop drop boxes and stop drive-thru voting. texas democrats flew from austin to the u.s. capital to demand congress pass the sweeping federal voting rights bill, the for the people act. this is texas state representative joe moody of el paso. >> the voter suppression going on in texas is just the tip of the iceberg. the clock is literally ticking on congress to act to protect voters in texas and across the country. amy: today, president biden is set to deliver his first major speech on voting rights since republicans deployed the filibuster to stall the for the people act. we'll have the latest from texas and washington, d.c., after headlines.

in iraq, at least 64 people were killed and over 100 others suffered burns and smoke inhalation after a fire ripped through a covid isolation ward at a hospital in the city of nasiriyah. monday's fire was fueled by an exploding oxygen canister. a similar blaze in baghdad killed 82 people and injured over a huned others april. the latest disaster came as iraq recorded its highest daily infection rate of the pandemic. and as iraqis have been holding anti-government protests amid shortages of electricity and water during a blistering summer heat wave. oxfam warns a there has been a six-fold increase in people around the world facing famine-like conditions since the start of the pandemic. conflict was the main driver behind the increase, exacerbated by the climate crisis and covid-19's effect on the economy. meanwhile, the wealth of the 10 richest people grew by $413 billion last year -- 11 times more than what is needed to fund the u.n.'s global humanitarian assistance.

israel began offering a third dose of pfizer's coronavirus vaccine monday to immucompromised adults at high risk of death from covid-19. this comes as pfizer officials met with u.s. regulators and vaccine experts monday seeking emergency use authorization for a second booster dose of its vaccine. most public health experts say a third shot of pfizer's mrna vaccine is not necessary for most adults. in geneva, the head of the world health organization slammed the growing vaccine gap between rich and poor countries. this is dr. tedros adhanom ghebreyesus. >> some countries and regions are actuly ordering millions of booster doses before other countries of had supplies to vaccinate their health workers and most vulnerable. we are making conscious choices rit now not to protect those most in need. amy: the u.s. food and drug administration has added a new

warning to johnson & johnson single-dose covid-19 vaccine. the fda reports about 100 cases of the rare autoimmune disorder guillain-barré among 12.8 million j&j vaccine recipients in the u.s. the cases were mostly in men aged 50 and older, with one death reported. the fda said in a statement the benefits of the vaccine still far outweigh the risks. a recent study by the cleveland clinic found over 99.7% of people hospitalized with covid-19 were unvaccinated. more information is emerging about the suspects involved in the assassination of haitian president jovenel moïse last week. at least one of two haitian-americans arrested was an informant for the u.s. drug enforcement administration, the dea. other suspects were also fbi informants. this comes as a u.s. delegation on monday returned from haiti after meeting with haiti's

interim prime minister claude joseph, and ariel henry, who moïse had appointed as joseph's successor days before he was killed. dozens of suspects have been arrested, including colombian mercenaries who were reportedly recruited by a miami-area security firm called ctu security, run by a right-wing venezuelan. president biden said monday he stands with the cuban people in response to thousands taking to the streets of cuba over the weekend in rare anti-government protests denouncing the island's economic crisis during the pandemic. it has been exacerbated by catastrophic u.s. sanctions. this is white house press secretary jen psaki. >> if there is ever indication yesterday's protests were spontaneous expressions of people who were exhausted with the cuban government economic mismanagement and repression, and those either inspired by the

harsh reality of everyday life in cuba, not people in another country. amy: thousands of people also participated in counter protests in favor of the cuban revolution and the cuban president miguel díaz-canel, who accused the u.s. of instigating the into actions and urged the biden administration to in the u.s. blockade. >> is it not very hypocritical that you block me? that you who carry out policy human rights company tar people for more than 60 years -- as complex as the pandemic annual to present yourself as a big savior? lived the blockade. lift the measures and we will see how we get along. amy: in soh africa, at least 3200 people have been killed in clashes between police and protesters. on monday, the south african president ordered soldiers of the two most is the populated provinces after crowds ransacked

retail shops. the protests began in response to the jelena former president jacob zuma who was charged with contempt of court for refusing to testify in a probe of high-level corruption but the protest quickly refocused on poverty and going economic inequality during the pandemic. in morocco, press freedom groups are denouncing the jailing of moroccan journalist soulaimane raissouni, the editor-in-chief of the now-defunct moroccan newspaper. raissouni last week was sentenced to five years in prison accused of indecent assault against another man, a charge he's denied and said was fabricated to intimidate him. for years, he covered anti-government protests in morocco and was also highly critical of morocco's handling of the covid-19 pandemic. raissouni was arrested in may 2020 and has been on hunger strike for over 90 days, demanding his release. he is one of at least 10 moroccan journalists who've been jailed in recent years, many of them accused of sex crimes.

to see her interview with another moroccan journalist still jailed, go to democracynow.org. thousands of protesters took to the streets of tbilisi, georgia, over the weekend after a camera operator died following an attack last week on dozens of lgbtq activists and journalists. the attack from violent, homophobic groups came after a pride march had to be called off due to threats of violence and political and religious opposition. protesters called for the georgian prime minister to resign for failing to protect lgbtq people and journalists. >> georgian media must stay strong so everyone in this parliament building must understand that media cannot be silent. should be the last victim in the nearest future in history. amy: on monday, scuffles broke out as journalists and opposition politicians tried to enter the floor of georgia's lower house of parliament, demanding the resignation of georgia's prime minister and

government. in guatemala, demands are mounting for the resignation of alejandra giammattei. several protests took place in guatemala city and other regions denouncing the president's government, neglect, and corruption. progressive guatemalan congressmembers are also demanding giammattei step down. this comes as covid-19 cases continue to skyrocket in guatemala, with hospitals on the verge of collapsing and others have already collapsed. guatemala has one of the lowest covid-19 vaccination rates in all of latin america. a federal judge in michigan grilled lawyers for former president trump monday over their false claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. u.s. district court judge linda parker, who called the claims fantastical and speculative, is considering whether to ban sidney powell, lin wood, and other trump allies from

practicing law in michigan or whether to disbar them altogether. this comes as "the washington post" reports that the republican national committee's top lawyer warned last november against continuing to push false claims that the presidential election was stolen, calling them a joke that could mislead millions of people. and in illinois, some 2500 chicago-area public employees have won a tentative contract after 10 months of negotiations and an 18 day strike. if approved by members of seiu local 73, it would offer better pay equity, hazard pay during the pandemic, and other benefits to other front line workers. the deal is the longest public sector strike in chicago's recent history. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. texas house democrats have fled the state and landed in

washington, d.c. after fleeing texas to stop republican backed bill that mix of harder to vote in the battleground state that already has some of thtoughest restrictions in the country. this comes after hundreds of texans waited in line for hours over the weekend to speak out against the changes, which would include a ban on 24-hour polling places and drop boxes and stop drive-thru voting. the texas house is set to reconvene in a special session today, what critics are calling a "suppression session," but without the democrats it won't have enough members present to reach quorum. meanwhile, president biden is set to deliver his first major speech on voting rights since republicans deployed the filibuster to stall the sweeping voting rights bill, the for the people act. speaking in philadelphia, he will lay out the moral case for voting rights and denounce donald trump's big lie about a stolen election. for more, we go to washington, d.c., to speak with jarvis johnson, texas state representative for district 139th in houston, texas. and in brownsville, texas, we're

joined by gilberto hinojosa, chair of the texas democratic party. welcome to democracy now! state representative jarvis, can you talk about why you fled the ate of texas? >> you heard everything that we already said. this is a suppressive session where the governor and republicans have done everything they can to regulate and put in place more restriction for voting host they are creating voting that takes us back to the voting rights bill. that is what we're here today, to lobby with all of our federal legislators to ensure we can pass the john lewis act so we can make sure that voting and true voter integrity is available for all americans, particular, texas. explain how it went down yesterday.

the chartering the flight, getting on the planes, how many of you left? 51 texas tech representatives? >> more than 51 of us have already left. what we may not have converged altogether on washington, we all in solidarity have left and made our way to d.c. to make sure we stop the suppressive, oppressive bill that republicans have put forth. this is not something that happened overnight. this is something we all had to talk about, understood from the very beginning while we have tried to negotiate and communicate, certainly while we try to legislate, the have simply turned a deaf ear and blind eye to the citizens of texas. we realized at that point there was no more negotiation that could be done and so therefore, we took our last tool in our

toolbox and perform to make sure that we are here to negotiate not to be bullied and pushed by republicans and use bully tactics like stopping thousands of americans salaries and insurance republican governors put in place to say if we don't vote the way he wants us to vote, that this is what is going to use to try to punish not democrat legislators, but hard-working texans on both sides of the aisle. we are not here to be bullied and we are making sure we are standing tall and strong and we will stand together. amy: explain the bill that has been put forward that republicansay they revised since the last time you all left at the end of the session to stop the passage of these voter suppression bills. explain this new one. >> number one, the only

revisions they have made is the lies put forth. they said it was a typo. it was down 11:00, it was must be 1:00 or vice versa. they did not know judges have the right to overturn elections wiout any type of evidence, that there was fraud in place. those are mistakes they said had been made. up one of the things people are overlooking is the fact republicans have given power to poll watchers to simply go into polls and be disruptive. to simply intimidateot only electi judges, but voters. that is one of the biggest ones for me that i will stand strong against. because these remind me of yesteryear when they were intimidating factories and individuals standing at the polls and intimidating black people as they are going to vote, standing with dogs and police officers. these are the type of efforts we are gng to stop.

those poll workers have the ability to be very disruptive inside the polling sites. amy: what can a federal government do? yeah biden going to philadelphia, a lot of progressive democrats demanng he make this more high profile, the whole issue of voting rights in the for the people act. he did not give a major speech on voting rights the week it was up for a vote come he gave a speech on crime. but now he's going to philadelphia to speak for the first time in a very focused way on this. what do you think the democrats need to do in congress that has not been done yet and president biden himself? >> become more unapologetic. become what we need and what the republicans quite frankly have always done -- they have been unapologic in their positions to get for their legislation, so we must do the same. we have to make sure we're a protecting all american citizens and not simply our base.

and that is what democrats certainly have always done, but we have to make sure we push back on some of the hateful, harmful gestation that republicans put forth. and certainly to get rid of the filibuster. to ensure we can have a straight up-and-down vote, that we can get these things past. but we must become more unapologetic and be straightforward with what we need to get done in order to protect all of our citizens in america. amy: i want to bring gilberto hinojosa into the conversation, head of the democratic party of texas. three quarters of the democratic legislators in texas are either latinx or african-american. can you slay the significance of this in light of what the republicans are pushing through? >> that is precisely the issue here. this legistion the republicans call legislation for voter

integrity is not legislation for voter integrity, it is voting legislation to suppress the hispanic, mexican-american, and the african-american vote. what republicans were asking our legislators to do is sit in a session, give them a quorum so they could pass the voter suppression legislation designed to prevent mexican-american and african-american voters from voting, which are the constituents of these democratic state representatives that have gone to washington to seek justice. in other words, they're asking them to be part of this process to take away the right to vote of their very own constituents. that is why they left. that is why they came to washington, d.c., to fight to ensure that congress stops this legislation -- not just in texas but all across the country. what you're seeing in texas is a saying in georgia, florida,

arizona, and across the country where these voting suppression bills are being advocated by the republican party. this is something that is critical to our community. our community is in a situation where we need economic help, help to ensure we have access to health care, need help to ensure we have better schools in our community. that can only happen wn we are able to pass legislation to do those things and that can only happen when we elect democrats that are going to be in that position. so all of this is tied together. the republicans do not want to let go of power because they undetand once they do that, democrats will start passing legislation that will help the people of the state of texas. african-americans, hispanics, asian americans, white americans, working families all across the state of texas on the critical needs of their families. the issues that are important to the quality of life.

that is why our legislators have no choice -- amy: governor abbott says he's going to keep calling these sessions. they are going to get this law passed. can you stop it? >> i believe we can for a couple of reasons. i believe what representative johnson is doing along with the other legislators is critical. the filibuster is a product, the creature of a jim crow era. it is the way southern white republicans stopped civil rights legislation, putting lights -- voting rights legislation. they need to get rid of this filibuster and allow these bills pending in congress to prevent this from happening. we need this time but secondly, i think people in the state of texas are tired of greg abbott's games. he only responds to the right wing of his base. this is red meat he is feeding his base. he has two right wing

republicans pushing him to do these kinds of things because he is generally worried about being reelted or winning his own primary. what i think is happening is people in the state of texas are seeing this and instead of repairing the grid you saw in the news a few months ago where people work freezing to death -- we lost between 400 and 500 people that literally froze to death because we did not have power because electric grid in the state failed. instead of trying to fix this, he's dealing with these issues like voter supession, like preventing transgender children from being able to engage in sports and in order to satisfy his base instead of taking care of the needs of the people in the state of texas. i believe the people in this state are going to get tired of this intel g -- and tell greg abbott -- amy: let me end with representative johnson who fled

the state with the other scores of texas representatives to stop what they're calling the suppression session. it is a story of a man who would viral and social media for being the last person in line to cast a vote at 1:00 a.m. on super tuesday march 2020, applauded as a tenacious civic minded man who worked hard to exercise his right to vote. now he is being prosecuted by the texas attorney general ken paxton for allegedly voting illegally. he had once served time in prison. years and years ago. the significance of this? >> the significance of this is, again, remds us of yesteryear. these are intimidating factors they're using to make sure black and brown people will not vote. and if you do, this could potentially have a need. the fa that hervis rogers was given a voter registration card

by the prison system straight out of prison and the fact that he was never told he could not vote but then simplyecause c paxton once to use them as an example to intimidate is what they are doing. he is walking into the middle of the courtyard ensuring everyone, if you do this, this is what will happen. on top of that, going to montgomery county, 100,000 bond on his head when in actuality someone shot a police officer and had a $75,000 bond placed on his head. so you understand what can paxton, why he is under indictment himself, had the audacity to attack people like hervis rogers lucidly trying to exercise their civil right to vote. amy: i want to thank you both for being with us and we will continue to follow the texas delegation was left texas to to stop what they call the

suppression session. this is democracy now! when we come back, if roe v. wade doesn't survive, can reproductive rights be preserved without it? we will speak to the authors of the new book called "controlling women." stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "control" by janet jackson. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as we turn now to another right democrats face mounting pressure to preserve, women's right to control their own bodies and choose to have an abortion. advocates note president biden has not said the word "abortion" once since he became president. until 2019, biden supported the hyde amendment, which bans federal funding for abortions and forces medicaid patients in most states to pay for their

abortions or stay pregnant because they can't afford the procedure. well, on monday, for the first time in four decades, a key house subcommittee cleared a spending bill for the department of health and human services without including the hyde amendment. this is appropriations committee chairwoman rosa delauro. >> i know that this is an issue on which many of us disagree, but regardless of the original intent of high, it has disproportionally impacted women of color and ultimately lead to more unintended pregnancies and later, riskier and more costly abortions. quite frankly, allowing the hyde amendment to remake on the books is a disservice not only to our constituents, but also to the values we espouse as a nation. we are finally doing what is right our mothers, our families, our communities by striking this discriminatory amendment once

and for all. amy: this comes as the now ultraconservative supreme court is set to review a mississippi law intended to challenge roe v. wade that would ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. if roe v. wade does not survive, can reproductive rights can be preserved without it? for more, we are joined by the co-authors of a new book that addresses this question. just out today, it is titled "controlling women: what we must do now to save reproductive freedom." in philadelphia, kathryn kolbert is a longtime public interest attorney who argued the landmark case of planned parenthood v. casey before the supreme court in 1992, which is credited with saving roe v. wade. and in new york, julie kay is a human rights attorney who has argued for abortion rights internationally, including before the european court of human rights in a, b and c vs. ireland, which prompted the liberalization of ireland's abortion law. we welcome you both to democracy now! kitty kolbert, let's begin with you.

we have a democratic president, democrats control the senate and the house. get president biden has not said the word "abortion" since becoming president. can you talk about the significance of this and what you think has to happen right now if you believe roe v. wade -- if roe v. wade were to be erturned and if it isn't? thanks, amy. it is great to be he. let me jt say i thk this rning fothe president to do the right thing, not to lk about it so i'm not disturbed by the fact he is not mentioned the question of abortion. i do think the fact that the hyde amement efforts t rebuild the hyde amendment going through congress areery good thing, but let's remember that bill has a long, long way to go. it has to get to the house and the senate and there are currently sufficient votes to

support a hyde-free bill. let's go back to the more important question, what is the supreme court going to do around this issue? i think it ivery, ry likely the court will either eradicate the right to choose abortion as we now know it completely or so undermining to make i -- underming to make it meaningless for most of it can women. that means we as a nation need to stand up and make changes, both at the state level and in congre to ensure our rights are protected and unless we do so, unless we change tactics, unless we go forward with a new vision of what is possible, we are going to be in for a very, very dficulteriodf time. amy: c you explain theyde amendment? >> it is any appropriation, a rider to the appropriations bill that prevents poor women, those

who collect medicaid fundi, from obtaining an abortion. there are hyde-like restrictions on a whole range of federal laws that prevent for emple women in the military and peace corps anyone who receives essentially federal funding for the health care, from obtaining abortion. what ts means is the ability to have baby is paid for, the ability to do every other type of health care is paid for except abortion. what that means for poor women is they don't have the means to obin service. it is extremely discriminatory against poor women, young women, women of color. and it means their ability to ercise the choice they want is prohibited. amy: this is justice ruth bader ginsburg speaking during her 1993 supreme court confirmation hearing. >> my thinking about equal protection versus individual

autonomy and my answer to you is, it is both. this is something central to a woman's life, to her dignity. it is a decision she must make for herself. and when government controls the decision for her, she is being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices. amy: ruth bader ginsburg was unapologetically pro-choice. she was confirmed 96-3. that was 1993. kitty kolbert, in 1992, a second appearance before the u.s. supreme court arguing planned parenthood versus casey, the landmark case widely credited with saving roe v. wade.

with what has been called one of the most audacious negation strategies in supreme court history. can you lay that out? what it is, how you argue this? >> let's say, amy, what happened in 1992 is been replicated now. we have the time believed roe was going to be overturned. there were five vos at the time to repeal roe to totally eliminate it. it was with a last-minute change by justice kennedy that leto what we now know as planned parenthood v. casey. what that case did was establish you had a ght to have an abortion up until the time of viability, but states had a lot moreower to restrict those rights. over the years, they chipped away and chipped away and chipped away what we now think of as the right to choose abortion.

what that has made as many, many women have been unable to obtain services in states all across the country. and the court has gotten more conservative, re likely to see not only replication of that, but at this point, i think it is clear there are six clear both on this court to eliminate roe, send the question back to the states, and then we are back to a state-by-state qstion, state legislatures willave tremendous power to ba abortion and we estimate about one third of the states this country will ban abortion should the court give them the right to do that. amy: this is how you began your opening argument in the u.s. supreme court. >> whether our constitution adults government with the power to force a woman to continue or into a pregnancy against her will is the central question in this case. since this court's decision in roe v. wade, a generation of

american women have come of age secure the knowledge the constitution provides the highest level of protection for the childbearing decisions. this landmark decision was necessarily illogically love message of this courts jurisprudence not only protects the rights of bodily integrity and economy, but enabled millions of women to participate fully and equally in society. the genius of roe in the constitution is that it flipper text rights of fundamental importance. government may not chip away fundamental rights and make them selectively available only to the most privileged women. amy: kitty kolbert arguing before the u.s. supreme court. in your book "controlling women come come you said you did not pect to win >> i did not. our entire strategy was built on the view the work five votes to overrule roe, the question would

become a political one. we wanted to force the issue before the 1992 election so bill clinton could be president and we could pass federal legislion to protect the right. so we were very, very surprised. but i think the lesson now 20 some years later is that the court has incredibleower to eliminate the constitutional rights we hold dear. and they're poised to do so again. and if that happens, we as a movement need to be prepared to win back those rights in state courts, the state legislatures, and in congress -- we cannot sit idly by as we see these rights being taken away. that is really the key here. so what do we do need to do now to make sure our right to state government going forward? amy: julie kay, take a human rights lens to these issues

around reproductive rights and you do this internationally. talk about what happened in ireland, deeply religious catholic country, arou the issue of abortion. >> thank you, amy. when i first arrived in ireland, it was like going through the looking glass. we were coming out of the u.s. where roe v. wade, ireland is a very progressive country but had zero access to abortion. women were forced to travel to england and other countries to access abortion services. even sang the "abortion" to stigmatize. what we have seen in the last 20 years is how using the human rights model and allowing people to have [indiscernible] entrenched religious-based control of government has brought about tremendous change. what we're seeing in this country is decline, decline,

decline and of the rest of the roadway see human rights model that recognizes what is at stake. that iin a clip you lay from ruth bader ginsburg. we have moved beyond that to recognize not just talking about privacy or even a policy, but looking at liberty, dignity, and the ability to have full participation in all aspects of life. amy: how did ireland legalize abortion? >> it was decades of hard work that started well before i went over there, with people who are lling to assist women directly in their travel as well as working in the political realm, working with politicians who were reluctant to step up and sicker heads above the parapet -- not so dissimilar from what we see today. we have to be reasonable

indifference to religious views. it was not actually count people -- how people enacted in practice but how much control of government was similar to how we see things going on in texas or the federal level right now. and eventually through different -- bringing a lawsuit challenging the bank at that -- the ban is a human rights issue that what arlen was doing was not rising [indiscernible] leading to a referendum that only gay people the right to vote and really let people say enough, we're not going to have the power of the government squelching are most important decision-making. amy: i want to turn to dallas, texas. this goes to the subtitle of your book controlling women:

what we must do now to save reproductive freedom." you argue what has got to be beyond going to the supreme court. it is dallas, texas. the high school valedictorian tosses out her pre-approved commencement speech at her graduation last month and instead delivered a passionate denouncement of texas's assault on reproductive rights. this is lake highlands high school graduate paxton smith responding to a bill signed this year by republican governor greg abbott banning all abortions about six weeks into a pregnancy. >> i have dreams and hopes and ambitions. every rl graduatg today does and we have spent our entire lives working toward our futur and wiout our put and consen our contr over that future h been stripped away from us. i am terrified that if my contraceptive fails, i am terrifd that if i am raped in

my hopes and aspirations and dreams and efforts for my future will no longer matr. and i cannot give up this platform toromote complacency and peace when there is a r on body and a war on my rights, a war on the rights of your moer's, a war on the rights of your sisrs, a war the rights of your daughters. we cannot stay sent. thank you. amy: high school valedictorian paxton smith throwing out her preapproved speech. kitty kolbert, you argued it has to go beyond the supreme court. can you talk about the significance of this and the stories you tell in your book of women, the bravery of women, stories, for example, michelle lee, the stories of the case of

rosa hartford? >> amy, i thinthe importance of what happened in hyde -- texas, as we see a young woman really being courageous standing up, speaking her mind and maki her views known. it is no accident it went viral because we all want to be inspired by acts of courage. think that is what it is when it take to win back our rights now. we need to see resistance. we can't let the legislatures pass restrictive lawover and over again without some fighting back. so the democrats have to bui a spine. the women have to start fighting back in ways they have never -- no longer is it ok to be nice. they have to scream back and say "it is not ok." i think if that begins to happen at the state level, state legislators really hate controversy, hate being in the

news when theres a big disagreement. if we can start fighting back in a much more vigorous way, we can start pushing bacon some of these restrictive laws. the important part here is also that we won roe in the first instance because there was a movement for change among everyday american women who really were frustrated that women were dying of back alley abortions. i think we need to again reassert that it is the movement for change that ultimately this going control here. we saw eight in poland and argentina and we're seeing it in different parts of the world and we need to bring it to the united states. amy: i want to thank you both for being with us. congratulations on the publication of your book today. if you want to read about the stories of remarkable women in history and the legal cases that are based on them, you can go to controlling women: what we must

do now to save reproductive freedom." written by kathryn kolbert and julie kay. when we come back, we go to el salvador to look at the criminalization of abortion the incredible story of teodora vásquez, sentenced to 30 years in prison after her baby was born dead at 91's. it was a stillbirth. stay with us. ♪♪ [muc break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we end today's show in salvador, where reproductive justice advocates continue to fight for reproduction health and abortion access in the central american country. last month, a woman serving a 30-year prison sentence, accused of having an abortion, was released after nearly a decade behind bars. sara rogel was arrested in 2012 after she went to the hospital with bleeding injuries she said she sustained after a fall.

she was prosecuted and sentenced for terminating her pregnancy. el salvador has long had a total ban since 1998. dozens have been convicted and imprisoned after having miscarriages, stillbirths, and other obetric emgencies. the award-winning documentary "fly so far" looks at the criminalization of abortion in el salvador through the incredible sto of teoda vásqz, a wom who in 07 was sentced to 3years inrison afr she haa stillbth at ni months. ásquewas releed in 18 ter er a decade hind bar the fi also hilights t stories of other women. this is the trailer.

amy: therailer f the award-wiing docuntary "f so f," whichecently premred in fnce. whe are r gut inow. atirst, 'reoing to gto another ip of thfilm. a clipf teodorvásqz speaking about the night in 2007 when she had her stillbirth.

amy: a clip from "fly so far." for more, we're joined by the film's director, celina escher, a salvadoran-swiss filmmaker and feminist activist. welcome to democracy now! it is great to have you with us. it is a devastating film. explain what happens next. she's preparing for the birth of her baby and then she is alone. the police don't, when she calls them. and she has a stillbirth, the baby dies. she almost dies, too.

>> thank you for having me. yes what happens to teodora vásquez issue was criminalized the moment she gav birth as police arrived at the place and took her to the police station. they have her handcuffed for around eight hours. she almost died with the police. many human rights violations happened to her. during the trial, the judges changes the crime and give her 30 years for aggravated homicide. amy: i would like to go to another clip from the film. it is so powerful. and this, teodora has returned

to court to appeal her conviction of aggravated homicide and the 30-year sentence.

amy: here she is arguing for the appeal of her own case, but she represents las 16, the 17. the 17 women in the prison. talk about the criminalization of abortion since 1998 in el salvador and who these women ar why sheoesn't just speak for herself >> yes, that's right. teodora is the spokesperson for the 17. the 17 are simil cases. in 2009, a citizen group fnd 17 cases of women criminalized for hang since the there's of centrix emergencynd the similarities are they live in poverty, single mothersdon't have access to medication were medil access so wn they changed the abortion law, the

previous laws -- the ban of abortion and women can get 80 years of prison also doctors who lped them get an ortion. the women have a miscarriage and seek help, go to the public spital. the doctors called the police and arrest e women, ndffed them to the bed. one ld me she was handcuffed to the bed by hand and foot for a week. there a moment when the doctors criminalize her and the police also arrest [indiscernible] amy: let me go to another clip from your documentary "fly so far." we hear from other women who are imprisoned in the same prison in san salvador as teodora, and who were also convicted of aggravated homicide. again, they are known as the 17.

las 17. amy: tell us the status of these women, what happened to teodora,

the most famous case now is sara rogel we just got up. these women are serving years and years and you dedicate the film to the case now inhe inter-american court of manuela. if you can doesn't talk about the women who have not made it, who have died? >> yes, it manuela was a woman with limited resources. she lived in poverty in rural area and could not read and write. she already had two sons and had a miscarriage because of lymphoma cancer. she was heavily bleeding. the doctors did not take care of her. they accused her of having an abortion and sennced her for 30 years prison for aggravated homicide. manuela died in 2010 in prison because of the lymphoma cancer. we dedicate the book to manuela

and those who have lost their lives. her cases now being held in the american courts and we are waiting --e are demanding justice for manuela, for all the 17 and the legalization of abortion ithe freedom of all the 17 women. we are making a call to action in september if everyone can join. he will be the de of decriminalation of abortion internationally. we areaking global aion to demand justice for manuela new liberation of the 17. amy: what are the status of the demands to decriminalize abortion in el salvador? the right-wing president has continually pressed his oppotion to abortion. >> all, there was a proposal to change the abortion law, to mak a reform to legalize aboion

but now with the extreme right wing government, they have since archived the proposal. so now it is a difficult situation for women and girls in our country come every day women and girls get violated and raved also suffer violence, never really-aside rate. they have found two months ago 52 and house of x police so we are also in a really difficult situation. men have to live with this violence every day and gir who have been rapedommit suicide becae theyon't find any alternative of what to do. amy: 10 seconds. w can people see the film? >> well, it will be shown in a film festival in the united

states. it will be online. an online festival that will be only about reproductive justice. amy: we will link to it online at democracynow.org. celina escher,r■ç■ç■ç■q■q■q■q■qc