06/27/22 067/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> 49 years -- 49 years and they stripped away. amy: the supreme court overturns roe v. wade. protests continue across the country.

>> that they can put a lot on the land that the majority of this country does not support, that will strip away the basic human rights of over half the people living here. i am mad1 >> we will look at the court's decision and what it can mean with lawyer kitty kolbert who argues the landmark case of planned parenthood v. casey in a 1992, the case that upheld roe. she is co-author of "controlling women: what we must do now to save reproductive freedom." we will also speak with california law professor micle goodwin, author of "policing the womb: invisible women and the criminalizatioof motherhood." >> when we look at mortality in the united states, this opinion is absolutely shocking. shocking and horrific as we see the state level antiabortion laws. a woman is 14 times more likely

to die in the united states carrying a pregnancy to term then by terminating it, so if we fail to include that in our conversation then we are missing what essentially is a death sentence for many women across the united states. amy: professor goodman wrote "no, justice alito, reproductive justice is in the constitution." then, missouri becomes the first state to enact a trigger law. we will speak with yamelsie rodriguez about the organization stealth opening of a clinic across the border in illinois, which has the capacity to serve up to 15,000 abortion-seeking patients a year. and we will go to rhode island to speak with the state senate democratic candidate jennifer rourke who was punched by her republican rival who is a cop during an abortion rights rally on friday. all that and more, coming up.

welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. protests are continuing across the united states after the supreme court overturned roe v. wade, the landmark ruling that established the constitutional right to an abortion. the conservative court ruled 6-3 on friday in the case of jackson versus hobbs. that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy while voting 5-4 to overturn roe. conservative chief justice john roberts supported upholding the mississippi law but not overturning roe. nine states have already banned abortion since friday and 17 more states are expected to do so soon. in his majority opinion, justice samuel alito wrote -- "it is time to heed the constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected

representatives." in their dissent, the court's three liberal justices wrote -- "with sorrow -- for this court, but more, for the many millions of american women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection -- we dissent." conservative justice clarence thomas sided with the majority but argued in a concurring opinion that other key landmark rulings establishing gay rights and the right to contraception should also be overturned. at a protest friday outside the supreme court, california congresswoman maxine waters denounced the ruling. >> you see this turnout here? you ain't seen nothing yet. women are going to control their bodies no matter how they try and stop us. the hell with the supreme court.

women will be in control of their bodies. if they think black women are intimidated or afraid, they have another thought coming. black women will be out in droves. we will be out by the thousands. we will be out by the millions. we are going to make sure we fight for the right to control our own bodies. amy: president biden also denounced the court's ruling and vowed to protect access to abortion pills and contraception. friday's ruling has also led to growing calls for the supreme court to be expanded. backers of the proposal include senator elizabeth warren who is also urging biden to open health clinics to provide abortions on federal land in states that ban abortion. the supreme court's ruling comes just four months before the 2022 midterm elections. former president donald trump has taken personal credit for the ruling by appointing three of the justices who overturned roe, but "rolling stone" reports

trump is privately concerned the republican party's push to ban abortion could backfire at the polls. his former vice president mike pence is calling for a nationwide abortion ban. on saturday, trump appeared at a rally with republican congressmember mary miller of illinois, who received cheers after saying friday's ruling was a "historic victory for white life." >> president trump, on behalf of all the maga patriots in america, i want to thank you for the historic victory for white life in the supreme court yesterday. amy: miller's campaign later said she meant to say a "victory for right to life" not a "victory for white life." we will have more on the supreme court's ruling after headlines. president biden has signed a new bipartisan gun safety law, the first approved by congress in almost 30 years.

on friday, the house passed the bill by a vote of 234 to 193. 14 republicans joined with the democratic majority. president biden spoke on saturday. pres. biden: while this bill does not do everything i one, it does include actions i have long called for that are going to save lives. it funds crisis intervention, including red flag laws, keeps guns out of the hands of people who are a danger to themselves and to others. and it finally closes what is known as the boyfriend loophole. so if you assault your boyfriend or girlfriend come you cannot buy a gun or own a gun. amy: wle gunontrol groups praid lawmakers for finding a bipartisan solution, the final law does not include a number of initiatives that were included in a separate bill recently approved by house democrats which aimed to ban the sale of large-capacity magazines and raise the minimum age to purchase an assault weapon from 18 to 21.

both shooters in buffalo and in uvalde, texas, were 18 years old. russian forces have fully taken over the city of severodonetsk in eastern ukraine after ukraine withdrew troops. as much as 90% of the city is destroyed after months of fighting. severodonetsk is seen as russia's biggest battlefield victory since the fall of mariupol in may. over the weekend, russian forces fired missiles across ukraine, including one strike in kyiv that hit a nine-story apartment building, killing at least one person. in other developments, "the new york times" has confirmed cia personnel and nato commandos are secretly operating inside ukraine, sharing u.s. battleground intelligence to help in the fight against russia. meanwhile, russia has announced it will soon send nuclear-capable missiles to belarus. president biden and other world leaders are in germany for a meeting of the g7 to discuss

ways to counter both russia and china. the g7 leaders are working on a plan to ban the import of russian gold while also looking at ways to limit the price of oil sold by russia. this comes as russia defaulted on its foreign debt sunday for the first time since 1918. at the g7 summit, leaders also announced a plan to raise $600 billion to help finance overseas infrastructure projects in an attempt to counter china's belt and road project. a warning to our audience, the following headline includes disturbing video and content. at least 23 people seeking refuge in europe have died at a border fence between morocco and the spanish enclave of melilla. many were beaten by moroccan forces. others died in a stampede. one ngo put the death toll at least 37. the deaths occurred when as many 2000 asylum seekers attempted to cross from morocco into spain on friday morning. video shows hundreds of people

lying on the ground, many motionless, near the border fence as moroccan security forces looked on. the moroccan human rights association said the bodies of both the injured and the dead were left on the ground for hours and that moroccan forces buried people without identifying them or conducting autopsies to determine the cause of death. the mass deaths at the spanish border comes just days before nato holds a summit in madrid. spain has been pushing nato to focus not just on its eastern border with russia, but also its southern border. over the weekend, thousands gathered in madrid to oppose increase military spending by nato members while calling for u.s. troops to withdraw from europe. the united states has released asadullah haroon gul, an afghan man who was jailed at guantanamo bay for 15 years without trial. last year, a federal court ruled his detention was illegal and ordered his release. according to the group reprieve,

gul suffered severe physical and psychological torture during at -- is stay at guantanamo, including being beaten, hung by his wrists, and deprived of food and water. authorities in india have detained the prominent indian human rights defender teesta setalvad who has spent years trying to hold prime minister narendra modi accountable for his role in the 2002 anti-muslim riots that left more than 1000 dead in gujarat, where modi was chief minister. her arrest came a day after india's supreme court upheld a ruling that cleared modi of wrongdoing. amnesty international denounced the arrest of teesta setalvad saying it sends a chilling message to civil society in india. funerals have been held in brazil for british journalist dom phillips and the indigenous expert bruno pereira who were recently murdered in a remote area of the brazilian amazon while investigating threats to isolated tribes.

on friday, bruno pereira was buried after a ceremony where dozens of indigenous men and women paid their respects to the 41-year-old father of three. this is marcos xukuru, an indigenous leader in brazil. >> so here we could not in any way miss this day. we came here to honor our warrior, warrior bruno, today becomes a martyr for all of us, for the indigenous cause, for popular causes, for those who fight in defense of life. how many other leaders were killed? how many of our warriors were murdered because of the struggle for territory and did not have that visibility? today is important to emphasize that it was not just dom and bruno, but many others, indigenous chiefs, other indigenous leaders who have been murdered. amy: on sunday, the family of dom phillips held a funeral near rio de janeiro. his coffin was draped in the flags of brazil and the united kingdom.

his sister sian phillips spoke outside the chapel where the funeral was held. >> he was killed because he tried to tell the world what was happening to the rain forest and its inhabitants. his mission clashed with the interests of individls who are determined to exploit the amazon rain forest regardless of the destructive impact of their illegal activity. amy: lgbtq+ groups took to the streets over the weekend for pride events that were overshadowed by the supreme court's ruling striking down abortion rights under roe v. wade. here in new york, pride protesters warned the supreme court appears poised to roll back other hard-fought gains, including the rights to marriage, contraception, and non-heterosexual sexual intimacy. >> with the conservative

majority in the judicial system, you do say, is gay marriage next? is trans rights next? at what point -- i am trans. when i'm i know longer going to be able to exist in this country as a fully realized person or am i going to have to hide in the closet? amy: officials in oslo, norway, canceled pride events er the weekend after a gunman went on a rampage at a gay bar early saturday morning. two people were killed and 10 others seriously injured by gunfire in the assault. norwegian police arrested a suspect they described as a radicalized islamist with a history of mental illness. despite the violence, thousands marched in the streets just hours after the attack, chanting, "we're here, we're queer, we won't disappear." this is norway's prime minister . >> we should have celebrated love. we should have colored the

street in the color of the rainbow and displayed our community and our freedom. instead we are filled with grief. norway is hit by brutal attack. amy: a trump-appointed federal judge in texas has struck down a biden administration rule that prioritized the arrest of undocumented immigrants considered to be a threat to public safety and national security. after friday's ruling by judge tipton, immigration and customs enforcement said it would no longer set priorities for its enforcement actions, leaving some 11 million undocumented immigrants more vulnerable to deportation. the department of homeland security says it will appeal the ruling. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. when we come back, we spend the hour on the supreme court's long anticipated ruling that overturned roe, the landmark decision that established the constitutional right to an abortion. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "you don't own me" by lesley gore. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. today we spe the hour on the supreme court's long anticipated ruling friday that overturned roe v. wade come the landmark decision that established the constitutional right to abortion some 50 years ago. conservative court ruled 6-3 to uphold a republican-back to be law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. a voting five to four to overturn roe completely. john roberts supported upholding

the mississippi law but not overturning roe. nine states have already banned abortion since friday, 17 more are promising to do so soon. in his majority opinion, justice samuel alito wrote -- it is time to heed the constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives . in their dissent, the courts liberal justices wrote, "with sorrow for this court, but more for the many millions of american women who've today have lost a fundamental constitutional protection, we dissent." clarence thomas sided with the majority but argued in a concurring opinion that other key landmark rulings establishing gay rights, the right to contraception, should also be overturned. protests broke out nationwide in response to the ruling and

continued over the weekend as thousands marched nationwide with some facing arrest and police brutality in los angeles and south carolina. >> the court thinks that they could put a lot in the slide that the majority of this country does not support, that was stripper way the basic human rights of over half the people living here. i am mad! amy: and estate with abortion been really -- mini clinic stopped offering abortions friday saying it was the best way to protect staff and the patients because of the legal uncertainty with providers canceling appointments asking patients to seek help elsewhere. at the same time, reproductive rights activists are mobilizing to support patients with travel funds and more. this is renee bracey sherman, executive director of we testify, speaking at protest this weekend. >> it is also going to be

critical that you show up 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and someone is arrested for their stillbirth or their miscarriage or self managing their abortion. amy: in our next segment we'll go to missouri, which became the first state to enact its trigger law after friday's ruling. this is u.s. representative cori bush, democrat of missouri, responding friday to the court's ruling friday. >> 49 years -- i'm sorry. 49 years that they stripped away. 36 million people will be affected and it is oh, well. 36 money people and it is oh, well. 36 million people and this is a far right supreme court making

this decision that affects other people, that affects lives when black women -- when we know that black women, the leading cause of death before 1973, was sepsis , was the sepsis that went along with these unsafe abortions. and to say, hey, we're good going back, we are going to send you back there, to know that people are already hurting, that people need services -- this is health care. it is like mental health. it is like going to get the services for heart disease, get services for a toothache. it is health care. amy: in the past, congress member bush has shared she was raped and got an abortion as a teenager. president biden denounced the ruling and outer protect access to abortion pills and contraception. in welcome to democratic senator

-- meanwhile, democratic senator elizabeth warren and 25 senators wrote letter to president biden calling on him to open federal enclaves in red states to provide heath clinic that provide abortion. this is democratic congressmember alexandria ocassio cortez speaking sunday on nbc's "meet the press." >> what i believe the president and the democratic party needs to come to terms with is this is not just a crisis of roe, it is a crisis of our democracy. the supreme court has dramatically overreached its authority. amy: for more, we're joined by two guests. kathryn "kitty" kolbert, argued the landmark case of planned parenthood versus casey before the supreme court in 1992, which upheld roe. she is the co-author of the book "controlling women: what we must do now to save reproductive freedom." also with us is michele goodwin, chancellor's professor at the university of california irvine school of law, and founding

-- host of the ms. magazine podcast and author of "policing the womb: invisible women and the criminalization of motherhood." she has a piece in with the new york times" headlined "no, justice alito, reproductive justice is in the constitution." we welcome you back. professor goodwin, let's begin with you. can you talk about your response to the supreme court overturning roe after almost 50 years? >> it is good to be back with you on this show. the decision itself, just as we saw with the lked draft come has many errors, omissions come has a selective if not opportunistic reading of american history. it does not censure in all of its claimed originalism and its claimed textualism, interestingly enough, it avoids

the 13th of mimic and event of was the first sentence at amendmen here's what my piece was about, it was that when congress abolished to the ratification of the 13th amendment, abolished slery and involuary servitude, there were not abolishing that just for black men. it was very well understood involuntary servitude for black women in the united states meant involuntary sexual assault, rape, and reproductive -- reproduction after that as black women were forced to labor not only in the field, but also labor under the weight of a different kind of shackling of slavery, which was sexual coordination and reproduction. this was very well known to the abolitionist income was to lead the way for the 13th amendment, spoke and wrote about this. massachusetts senatorharles sumner was nearly beaten to death in the halls of congress

two days after giving the speech about the raping of black women. sojourner truth spoke to it. it was clear "the new york times," their articles, the very ideao one was thinking about involuntary servitude as being consistent with involuntary reproduction i just absurdist. it was written about everywhere. everyone knew this as being one of the devastating effects of american slavery. and it was abolished with the 13th amendment and i with the 14th amendment, it was to recognized black women were psychologically, physically, and reproductively still being harmed in southern states. their children were being denied citinship. their children were being snatched and taken away from them. and the 14th amendment was then ratified. to give an education to the supreme court anto our country, to remember this because otherwise, black women have been essentially erased

from the constitution. and like -- and by erasing black women, ultimately arrays all within from the constitution because the 13th of them and 14thmendment not only free blk women om these bondage's, butlso freed white women from these bondage is. none of this is given any kind of reading by the originalists and contextual is under the supreme court seem to ignore all of that -- to acountry where there are -- where individuals can be free with their bodies and also those where it is nonfree. one can't help but understand this as being so consistent with the patterns of slavery and jim crow in the united states. amy: let's talk about the trajectory right through to now. people of color are most affected by the lack of health care that will be available when abortion is outlawed state after state.

can you talk about the duke study come about black eternal r. kelly and how much higher it is than for white people who are pregnant? >> welcome i'm glad you mentioned that because what is also alarming in this opinion and also in the draft opinion is how it gives no regard to fax. concurrent fax. united states right 60 fit in the world in terms of maternal tally. it is not in league with germany, france. instead, it is in company with nations that still publicly lash and stone women. in 2016,he supreme court's ow record showed women were 14 times more likely to die by carrying a pregnancy to term then by having an abortion. once we flash what this looks like in terms of race, then we really get a sense of the horror

behind all of this. again, what the supreme court deciding it wou pay no attentn to it. so in mississippi, looking at 118 times black women more lily to die, 118 times a caring pregnancy to term them by having an abortion. according to mississippi's own data from their department of health, a black woman -- 80% of the cardiac deaths in that state occur to black women. black women don't make up 80% of the female population in the state, but are 80% of the cardiac deaths during pregnancy. nationally, 3.5 times more than their white reports to die due to maternal mortality. if you look at certain -- within these antiabortion states, black women may be five times or 15 times more likely to die having to carry a pregnancy to term and by being able to have the medical care of an abortion.

it is just that glaring and alarming. what is so stunning is the supreme court gives no consideration to this data. amy: kitty kolbert, you argued planned parenthood v. casey before the supreme court 30 years ago in 1992. roe was reaffirmed in that case. this was about spousal consent? men having to give women their consent for an abortion? >> it was that in a number of other restrictions in pennsylvania law that were upheld. but i think sikingly in 1992, we expected the court to do exactly what they did here. and they did not because justice kennedy changed his vote at the last minute. but as a result of casey, while it prerved legal abortion throughout the country, it meant many women, particularly black and brown women, women who were poor, women who lived in rural

areas, women who were young come had very difficult times obtaining abortion because of restrictions that it permitted. now, unfortunately, today, as a result of those ruling, the same women will suffer much, much more because their ability to obtain abortion will be totally circumscribed. it is a devastating opinion, one in which all of us need to be as angry as we can be and channel that anger to making a difference in changing what the court has done through the legislative process. amy: and how do you do that? now the former vice president mike pence is calling for congress, the legislative process, to pass a nationwide abortion ban. >> and they could do that. they could do that. if they ke control of the

house of representatives and the senate with republican president after 2024, they could easily do that and mitch mcconnell has said it is on the table, it is something they will consider -- which is macconnell speak for "we are going to do that." our response has to be keep control of the house, when a majority in the senate that includes two additional senators who are willing to bypass the libuster rule, and past statutory protections for women. but the reality is that states are also a huge impediment on this issue. you said earlier, 26 states are expect to ban abortion within the next couple of weeks or months. that means 40% of women of childbearing age or more will be affected -- we are talking about hundreds of thousands of women who will be seeking abortions

for their unintended pregnancies having to travel hundreds and hundreds of miles to save states. this is no way to provide health care. this is no way to live in a democracy. it is because the altar conservative justices -- ultra conservative justices have taken about the supreme court and, frankly, have imposed your own ideological violence against all the rest of us. it is of a devastating ruling and one in which our anger is appropriate and certainly should be heeded to make sure we can switch this. amy: let's talk about this moving pregnant people from one state to another to have an abortion. the concerns of a number of, what, abortion funds like one in texas -- corporations who said they will do this, they will pay for this. not clear the workers would want to make it known to the corporation that they were

pregnant, but abortion funds, for example, going inactive now right at the time when they could get a lot of money, a lot of support all of the country because they are terrified it means aiding and abetting. can you clarify this? or the lack of clarity, what -- is the plan, that people will be afraidid to do this? organizations will be afraid to do this but it is not actually codified in law, the ban, on that? >> state-by-state. some states like texas prohibit eating persons to self manage their care. it is not clear if it would also prohibit women from traveling and aiding the travel, but the point is you are absolutely right, amy, the vagueness really scares people from taking action. let's remember there is like three thin that are likely to happen.

first, is women who could travel. frankly, it isomen with means for most likely to travel. women who have the resources to be able to get on a plane or drive 250 miles. other women will self manage their abortion by taking abortion pills. they will get them in a variety of ways. either through the internet or through prescriptions from foreign countries, you know, mailing them from india or other pharmacies or going to mexico or going to canada or going to their friend who lives in missouri and asking them -- not missouri, but going to california to visit their friend and asking for the pills there. they're all kinds of ways to self manage or care, but the problem -- and i think michelle can lk about this even more graphically than i -- that many of those women will subject themselves to the potentl of iminal prosecution either for

self managing their care and gettg the drugs illegally or people who are aiding or helping to get in information and get the appropriate care. you know, i think that we need to stand up and say this is not all right. make lots and lots of noise. make sure these prosecutors who are adamantly opposed to abortion are taken out of office and defeated at the next election. all of this will take time and will take effort and will take many, many billions of americans standing up for our liberties. it is possible stuff we have to starnow. amy: let me go to the tweet of alexandria ocasio-cortez from new york. this is a concise overview about the possible ways to respond --

let me put this question to professor goodwin. one of the points she makes and that senator warren has made come along with 25 other elected representatives, is this idea of opening -- providing abortion on federal land called federal enclaves where there often hospitals on military bases to pregnant people in red states. can you explain what this is about? >> sure. it is an interesting point because in her confirmation hearings, justice ruth bader ginsburg spoke about a client

she represented and it was captain kathy's drug. this wasefore roe v. wade and the captain was in the military and she was pregnant. she actually wanted to carry her pregnancy to term. the military required at the time that if you a in the military and a woman and pregnant, you must have an abortionr leavehe military. captain struggled wanted to stay pregnant. ruth bader ginsburg thought this would be a great case to chlenge the laws tt criminalized abortion as a state state -- that women decide on their own. instead, it was the case that was roe v. wade as we understo it, that this and from court then ruled on in 1973. but if you think about what justice ruth bader ginsburg was trying to at that time and what captain stru wanted,as military bases abortions were

already accessibleavailable and if you were an employee of the military, you had to have an abortion rather than keeping your pregnancy. so this idea is actually a long-standing idea because it has already been in practice on military bases even before roe v. wade, women were able to get abortions if they were in the military. so opening up these federal enclaves for this kind of reproductive health care is meaningful for not just a reaction to dobbs, but there are reproductive health care centers all across the country and there is a dire need for people to get reproductive health care that they need. so even if we had not seen the result of the dobbs decision, that would have been a smart thing to do, particularly given the very -- mortality and morbidity in the united states that connects to a number of

issues, but one of them being that there is not good reproductive health care that is accessible for so many vulnerable people who live in these areas where it is very hard to find a clinic or hospital to provide basic health care, including reproductive health care. amy: kitty kolbert, thomas' concurrence, justice thomas' concurrence where he writes that we should move on from here to gay marriage, to contraception. can you talk about this? >> yeah, i think he is the only one on the court or in the majority that is willing to tell the truth. you know, justice alito seems to backpedal and say, well, he does t think it is the only rights affected are abortion rights. well, that is bunk. the reality is, it is rationale the court used overturn roe and

kc is equally applicable to a whole range of what are called unenumerated rights, so rights that are not specifically listed in the constitution but derived from our most -- liberty and equality. that includes contraception, gay rights, trans rights, end-of-life care, it includes the ability to make decisions about one's child's education. there is a host of liberties -- right to travel is not mentioned specifically in the constitution. so there's a host of interest that are at play here. interestingly enough, justice thomas did not mention the right to marry a person of a different race. and maybe because it affects them personally as opposed to all of these others that are just people he doesn't care about. but the reality is, i do think this ruling is extremely extremely broad, written in a

way that can expand, frankly, state legislatures are already attacking us, attacking contraception, trans people, gay marriage in a host of ways those attacks will make their way to the supreme court. frankly, i think the court is likely to expand the ruling. amy: we just have 30 seconds, kitty kolbert, but the message you have devoted your book to, that you are commenting after the overturning of roe come the subtitle "what we must do now to save reproductive fedom," the most important things people can do? >> help women, get active politically, get involved in electoral politics. you may not like it, but you have to do it. and most importantly, make noise. we cannot let the urt continue to take away o rights without saying defiantly this is not ok.

amy: kathryn "kitty" kolbert, thank you for being with us, argued the landmark planned planned parenthood v. casey before the supreme court 30 years ago, which upheld roe. she also cofounded the center for reproductive rights and co-author of "controlling women." i went to thank michele goodwin, chancellor's professor at university school of law. we will link to your piece "no, justice alito, reproductive justice is in the constitution." next up, missouri became one of the first states to enact a trigger law. we will speak with yamelsie rodriguez about stilt opening of a planned parenthood clinic across the border in illinois as they close the missouri clinic. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "antipatriarca" by ana tijoux. this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman. we look now at how reproductive clinics are responding to the supreme court's overturning roe. that's right, the constitutional right to an abortion. at least 13 states have

near-or-total abortion ban trigger laws that are expected to go into effect within 30 days . just minutes after the supreme court decision came down, eric schmitt announced on social media the state's trigger law now in effect. >> the people's voice has already made clear we respective sing to the of human life. we believe without the explicit protection of the right to life all liberties are under attack, which is why the importae of this day cannot be overstated. i am humbled to be a part of this in the first attorney general in the country to effectively end abortion. as a long champion for the rights of the unborn and missouri families, i to continue to fight for our most fundamental right, the right to life. amy: missouri has for years been one of the most restrictive places to access an abortion, had one remaining clinic in the entire state, planned parenthood of the st. louis region and southwest missouri, which also shut down fried after the

state's abortion ban come the trigger law, went into effect. abortion rights advocates and providers enemas or have been preparing for the reversal of roe and in 2019, planned parenthood secretly built an abortion clinic in fairview heights, illinois, across the missouri state line, 15 minutes from st. louis. the clinic will now provide abortion reproductive health care to the growing number of people and in missouri and other states and in the midwest where abortion is planned. for more, we're joined by yamelsie rodriguez, president and ceo of planned parenthood of the st. louis region and southwest missouri who oversaw the stealthy opening of the clinic. welcome to democracy now! first, respond to the overturning of roe and immediately the attorney general of your state saying missouri would be the first state to enact its trigger law to ban abortion totally. >> thank you for having me. i want to start by saying today

and all the dates that led to the overturning of roe should be such a stain in our history. we must do better. when the decision came down last friday, i was with representative cori bush and u.s. secretary of health and human services becerra at the last abortion clinic in ssouri, holding a rndtable to discuss the dire abortion crisis in the state and discussing what abortion providers on the ground did as we were bracing for impact. what we have been preparing for a really long time, particularly thosof us that work in red states, for the end of roe, the decision was sobering. it did not make it hurt any less. but we have been preparing for this moment and we knew that

attorney general eric schmidt was going to put the trigger event in eect immediately. the decision came and close to 9:00 a.m. and by 9:22, abortion s effectively and in the state of missouri. we do what we have always done. we put the patient first and we immediately notify the state -- the fact we were ceasing abortion services that day and we moved forward to ensure we were doubling down on our capacity and moving the patients that needed access to abortion care from missouri to the health center you just talked about that is just 13 miles from our health center in st. louis, just across the river in fairview heights, illinois. amy: did you completely close the st. louis clinic, the

missouri clinic? abortion is only a tiny part of what is done there, isn't that right? >> abortion is one of the services that planned parenthood provided their for almost 50 years and we did it proudly and unapologetically. i want to be clear that our doors are still open and that health cter will remain open as you just said because we provide an entire suite of sexual and reproductive health services that include sti testing d treatment, bih control, transgender care services, and many, many other services is one of the safety net providers in the state of missouri. and we know that network is already frail and we are going to do everything we can to continue to meet the needs of people that need reproductive services in missouri in order to navigate those patients who are in need for abortion care to our

health center across the river in illinois. amy: how did you pull off building this stuff clinic that will serve how many thousands of people? >> we started being really strategic after we saw the writing on the wall in 2019. we were fighting to keep our abortion license at the last abortion clinic in the state of miouri. it was at that point we made the very intentional decision that we were going to continue to center patnts and we needed to find a solution long term because we knew the state of missouri was hell-bent in a limited access to abortion without even having to overturn roe. so we built an 80,000 sqre-foot facility in fairview heights. only open health center, we thought this was going to be a safe haven, an oasis for reproductive health care for

people who needed abortn om missri but immediately after the texas implementation of the six-week abortion ban, that facility saw an increase of over 121% the number of patients that were traveling from out of state having to flee draconian stricture -- rtriction law in their state. now the projections are that in a post roe reality were living today, that facility is expected to see an additional 14,000 patients from the midwest and the south and that is on top of about the 18,000 patients that come to our facility currently for abortion care. amy: your calling on the biden administration to declare a public health emergency? what would that do?

>> we are absolutely trying to ensure the patients that are in need of access to abortion have the resources and the tools to do that. one of the things we know that the biden administration can do is declare a public health emergency in order to free up funding for abortion providers to increase capacity. in addition to that, then have resources for patients -- navigation for travel accommodations, childcare. all of the challenges that will be for those most affected by the overturning of roe. we know those are low income people, people of color specifically black and brown communities, and of course, young people. amy: what about the overturning of the hyde amendment? explain what it is and how it affects people. >> the hyde amendment is one of those racist and discriminatory

policies that had been in place which prevent individuals from using their medicaid insurance cover for the cost of an abortion. there are states like the state of illinois that have made the decision to allow and cover the cost via state funding for patients who are and rely on medicaid to get abortions and that it is also one of those tools that can be expanded to ensure that people who are in most need and are most marginalized and oppressed -- again, because of discriminatory policies -- can seek the care they need. amy: finally, yamelsie rodriguez , and your clinic that remains open for other services, if someone asks you -- "i want to have an abortion, where can i go?" -- be sure clinic, or staff, or doctors, or nurses allowed to say, "well, there is

a clinic to minutes away, 15 minutes away in illinois"? >> we follow all federal, legal, state policies. i just want people to know we are here for you. we are not going anywhere. there are many, many tools you can utilize online in order to find the nearest abortion health center near you, like abortion finder.org. you can also call our health center in a fairview heights, illinois, and we have open a regionalogistics center so when you call that number, we are not only going to book you an appointment but we will screen and connect you with all of the practical support, resources you need. we can assist with our partnership with other abortion funds, we can provide financial assistance, we can provide transportation, accommodations,

stipends for gas -- whatever you need to ensure any person around the country who is now in a position of having to flee their homes taper abortion care and get the care with dignity and respect that every person deserves, no matter whyou are, where you live,r how much money yomake. amy: yamelsie rodriguez, thank you for being with us president , and ceo of planned parenthood of the st. louis region and southwest missouri. this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman. we end today show on a segments, find triggering in different way , lots of ways. we go to rhode island state senate democratic candidate jennifer rourke. she was at an abortion rights rally on saturday when her republican opponent jeann lugo, as she describes it, punched me multiple times in the face and there is video. jeann lugo is a providence police officer who was off duty at the time.

welcome to democracy now!, jennifer rourke. you are running. he is your opponent. explain what happened as we roll the video. >> i was de-escalating the situation with the counter protester in the jonathan -- chaos broke out. when i looked to my left, there was officer lugo and his fist and he punched me multiple times in my face. amy: he is your opponent for the rhode island state senate and he is a police officer. he punched you in the face? >> he did, multiple times. he is the republican in this race. he is no longer in the race, though. amy: so afterwards, he was,

at, suspended from the police force and then ultimately pulled out of the race? >> yes. he was put on paid administrative leave and then he announced via twitter he was no longer going to run for office. amy: do you think this would have happed if the video was not there? >> i am so thankful for the reporter who rorded it, but i don't think this would have happened if bill had not in there. amy: how are you feeling? >> i can't hear in my left ear. have a constant ringing. i feel better than i did saturday. amy: can you talk about why you were there on saturday? >> as everyone is talking about now on friday morning, the scotus decision came out to overturn roe and as a reproductive organizer, an orgazation that i am a part of, we had a rally set for 8:00

p.m. that evening. i was there as a board member of this organization. i was speaking on how overturning roe could lead to the reversal of griswold versus connecticut, lawrence co. especially loving. i am in an interracial marriage so i was speaking of how this could overturn the relationship of my marriage. amy: we were just talking about justice thomas said, not joined by the other justices, but it way -- well maybe, the direction the court is going that now they can move on to outline contraception as well as gay marriage. he did not mention loving, where you're referring to the name of the case for interracial marriage. he is married to ginni thomas, who -- that is a whole other story because of her involvement with the january 6 insurrection.

but talk about what you feel you could accomplish as a state senator of rhode island if you are elected. >> so when i get elected, we have the ability in the state to provide abortion access and reproductive care to those who are on medicaid and to state employees. currently if your state employee from rhode island, do not have access to reproductive care as far as abortion care if you need it. our previous governor had to choose one poly that did not cover abortion aess and they decided to choose nine. as a state employee, if yohave an app talk pregnancy or decide you do not want to star a family the time, you have to pay out-of-pocket to cover your abortion procedure when your insurance should cover it. as a senator, i will work hard to passive -- hard to pass the

act provide coverage on medicaid and state in place to have abortion care they need. amy: i want to thank you for being with us. the case you're referring to loving versus virginia. jennifer rourke, candidate for rhode island state senate. ñpsps■ ?

♪♪♪ greta thunberg: you have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. how dare you. all: what do we want? climate justice. all: when do we want it? now. barbara miller: when a swedish teenager began skipping school last august to call for tough action on climate change, no one could have imagined it would lead to this. [all shouting] if we don't get it, shut it down. greta: people are suffering. people are dying.

entire ecosystems are collapsing.