>> my thanks to you for watching thank you for watching the katie the katie phang show this morning. you can catch regional episodes on the things show msnbc this, morning you've never gop got every searched a must-see on peacock thursday and friday, don't forget to follow on twitter, instagram, facebook and tiktok. all of us see is next with the latest installment of velshi across america. >> good morning to you. it is sunday, august the 7th. i am ali velshi, welcome to a special edition of the velshi live from tuscaloosa, alabama, we have been giving you the latest edition of velshi across america, post-roe alabama. we are keeping a close watch this morning as well on capitol hill, where senators have been up all night voting on amendments to the democrats landmark inflation reduction act, which is eventually expected to pass. that will be a major win for president biden. we will talk to the staff in

michigan about it, all in a few minutes. but i want to start here in alabama, and the most restrictive and punitive abortion bans in the united country. anyone, whether or not they are a medical professional might be sentenced to prison for up to 99 years if they are found to have caused an abortion in this state. people here are also prohibited from helping someone access abortion care, or even giving out information about it. well, doing those things could be considered conspiracy under the states law, which is been in effect since june 24th. that is the day the supreme court overturned roe v. wade. later on in our show, we will explore this further in another installment of the last across america, featuring my conversation with former abortion care providers, clinics have, advocates and a lawmaker who are navigating through the new realities of living in post row alabama. but here is the thing. alabama is not an outlier. it is punitive measures, they are a feature, not a bug of the abortion bans which have already been enacted more than a dozen states. on friday night, indiana passed

the nation's first new post-roe abortion ban, which states that doctors will lose their medical license if they are found to have performed any legal abortion. it's a very different kind of punishment they want to have here in alabama, but both are extreme punishments for health care providers who are trying to provide basic and essential health care, that their patients need and want, and consent to about their own bodies. it is evident that but despite these abortion bans, they are still many people around the country seeking abortions, clinics and states where the medical procedure is still illegal continue to be inundated by out of state patients who are traveling hundreds, if not thousands of miles to get this reproductive care. according to a recent report, before roe was overturned, quote, the 14 planned parenthood clinics in michigan collectively performed a 50 merchants a week four out of state patients. in two recent weeks, that number climbed to 55 out of state patients. one provider said, they have seen patients come from as far

away as texas where abortion care has been severely restricted, and now completely banned for nearly one year. months before roe was overturned. and it is not just michigan. similar situations are occurring in colorado, illinois, minnesota, north carolina. the overflow of patients in clinics all over the country, meaning patients will face longer wait times on top of the deep fear of prosecution that many doctors now face, translates into worse health outcomes for patients. now, no pregnancy is without risk. so the radical change in reproductive health care, unfolding across this country right now will have dire consequences, especially if the united states in general, and alabama in particular, already lagging behind the rest of the developed world when it comes to maternal and infant health. the united states is one of the highest maternal mortality rates among developed nations, 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births. it's worse for black american

women, whose maternal material the rate is more than double the national average, at 55.3. it would be one thing if antiabortion states actually provided doctors and patients with the resources necessary for good reproductive health outcomes, but they don't. the six states with the highest maternal mortality rates in america all have abortion bans in effect right now. arkansas, kentucky, alabama, tennessee, louisiana and mississippi. abortion bans are not just unsustainable, they are dangerous. patients will suffer, waiting for care because state governments have tied the hands of the people, the trained, medical professionals who are best suited to handle these situations while performing their jobs to the best that abilities. let's talk about this a little bit more with michelle goodwin, a law professor at the university of california irvine, and host of the podcast on the issues, with michelle goodwin. she's also a award-winning author of the book, policing the womb. invisible woman and the criminalization of motherhood. michelle, good morning to you.

thank you for joining us. i guess i want to talk to you, because i've been talking to abortion providers, doctors. it's fair to say that doctors now have to trade in some states, a very fine line between medical malpractice and adhering to these antiabortion laws. >> these are not real risks that doctors have to interpret, but it puts a chill on the entire system. so some doctors will say, i can't take this risk right now, i don't understand what will happen to me if i do it. >> that is absolutely right. thank you very much for having me on your show. this is a period of a new jim crow. just a period of jim crow, what it was meant to do is instill fear, of course the laws themselves are quite brutal, these laws that determine where people can go, how they can go, what they can do, who they can associate with. so this is not new. this is something that black americans have actually experienced before, in the very same states that you flashed

onscreen. what we see now is a coming again of these kinds of laws, they are meant to terrify people. they are meant to handcuff doctors who want to do what they are medically trained to do, have spent their lives doing. that is saving peoples lives. i am glad you mentioned this alarming rate of maternal mortality, morbidity, and infant mortality in the united states. in this industrialized nation, we lead. it's safer to have a pregnancy in places where people, women are still beaten and stone probably, then it is in the united states. that's according to data that you can see posted on the cia's website. of course, this makes it very difficult for doctors who are now threatened with the potential of criminal punishment if in fact they try to save peoples lives. >> let's talk about maternal mortality and this issue of black women, particularly black

women in the south. there may not be access to abortion, but in many places including alabama, there is good access to contraception. if you are not covered by uninsured where you work, i was told that you have to go to a sort of county health provider, and the appointment for that, to get the pill could take 2 to 4 months? >> that is right. we are a long way from the period of griswold the connecticut, 1965, roe v. wade in 1973. in mississippi, the case that brought this to the united states supreme court, asking the court to overturn roe v. wade, a black woman's 118 times more likely to die in mississippi by carrying a pregnancy to term than by having an abortion. and in these very same states, arkansas, i've been in kentucky, i've met with prosecutors there. they have made it very difficult in that state to even

access contraceptive health care. mississippi as well. it is alarming what has happened. the reason why i mentioned we are so far from roe v. wade and resolve the connecticut, is roe v. wade was a 72 opinion. five of the seven justices were republican appointed, and justice blackman, wrote the opinion, was appointed by richard nixon. and when we think about contraceptive access, george h. w. bush shepherded title ten through congress, the law that provided contraceptive access to the poorest of americans. and when asked about it, when nixon was asked about it, they said it was basic public health care. this is a basic human right. so we see a far difference today. >> i want to be clear. people might be watching this, who know people who are seeking an abortion. the biden administration has issued guidance to let doctors know that under federal law, they can perform an abortion in emergency cases, even if states

have abortion bans in place, like alabama does. however, i spoke to a doctor, who performs abortions yesterday who said, unclear what an emergency case means. it is unclear what the health of the mother being at risk actually means. because if a state prosecutor over here feels like going forward, they will say that you interpreted that incorrectly, or do you deliberately interpreted that incorrectly in order to perform an abortion. >> this is perhaps one of the more chilling aspects of these laws. there are so many chilling aspects of them, a ten year old having to flee from ohio, and as you mentioned, indiana now rolling out the carpet. but, the biden administration has stepped in on executive orders, and also with guidance being provided from the department of health and human services, the justice department, et cetera. and what you are referencing, the emergency medical treatment and labor act, it is one that mandates that hospitals that

receive federal funding must stabilize patients who come in. they must provide some emergency care. and we have heard of cases involving women who have been bleeding for more than ten days, after an incomplete miscarriage, being denied care. that will be worthy of medical malpractice, that we something which is absolutely, and is counter to all that is ethical, bioethical in medicine. and yet, what has happened is that these states have now not only enacted these laws, but you see law enforcement, the attorney general's estate, district attorney, saying they will prosecute to the fullest, doctors who intervene early. so it is very difficult to intervene, and that your point is the 11-year-old going to die. this 23-year-old woman. this is what is horrible. you have people who do let have medical degrees, governing

medicine now. >> yes. that is exactly right. well, thank you for the depth, the detail you have on this information. because this is crucial, every day for people to understand as this continues to move. michelle goodwin is a law professor at the university of california, irving, and author of policing the womb. invisible woman and the criminalization of motherhood. i'm now joined by doctor david hackney, maternal fetal specialist base in cleveland ohio, chair of the ohio section of the american college of obstetricians and gynecologists. doctor hackney, thank you for joining us this morning. one of the things i learned here, because it is almost impossible to get an abortion in alabama, is if you do have to travel to get one, you can go to florida, depending on where you are in your pregnancy, north carolina, southern illinois, there are backups in being able to get one. you wrote in a new york times editorial op-ed last night, sometime soon, i'm going to meet a patient who has no ability to leave the state, and i'm going to have to tell her

that her baby has a lethal condition, and she is going to have to carry a pregnancy to term against her will. it might be tomorrow. it might be two weeks from now. but this is going to happen and i cannot stop it. has it happened yet? >> yes. i mean, i can't speak to my own patients out of privacy concern, but i can definitely say that as a group, for the high ob/gyn docks in my state, this is something we seen in the last month. this is something that i knew we would see. this is something we knew would happen, back when f b 23 was being mandated. there are cases of serious birth defects, including lethal birth defects, which do occur. i see them. when everyone supported this law, when everyone supported this law before the supreme court, and knowing that this law did not have any acceptance for fetal anomalies, including lethal fetal anomalies,

everyone knew this would happen. this is something we are seeing. this is something that is really hard. back when i wrote that op-ed, it was just after dobbs. i was looking forward to seeing what would happen, dreading what would come. i would say the big change over the last month is that we sort of doctors, especially the high-risk doctors in the state of ohio have not gone through the lived experience of having to have this happen, you know, having to see patients with serious birth defects, lethal birth defects in some cases, who have not been able to receive abortion care. you know, it is hard to respect how tremendously said it is. and you know, the big difference over the last month 's actually having to see this happen to, you know, people versus just having the change knowing that it is going. >> i spoke to the provider yesterday who talked about what

she fears is the coming criminalization of miscarriage. according to the american college of obstetricians and gynecologists, as many as 26% of all pregnancies result in a miscarriage. and in alabama, a miscarriage could be suspect. one could start to investigate is that really in his carriage? did you miss? carrie did you try to, did you do something to miscarry? >> part of the problem is that we don't want to come in the charters. even if we advocated. because medically we can say this is clearly a miscarriage. you only need someone on the medical staff to raise the concern. we don't know what prosecutors would do or not to do so let's say that we have a case which is a miscarriage, or could be defined as a miscarriage. but we find ourselves having to defend ourselves. many actors do not want to even get close to that one.

the handover criminal charges for doctors or, something that is entirely new. especially as a high-risk obstetrician. we live in a very stressful world. and when we live in the world in which there are legal litigation fears. but it is also one of the major problems is that medical malpractice is and not criminal charges. you know. you see people walking into the clinic and i punch someone. my medical malpractice is not going to cover that. so we could potentially be facing coverage issues, even for a nuisance criminal charges. it is clear that level of concern may not be doctors treating patients the way they should. they clearly didn't have -- on maternal health >> dr., hackney thank you for joining. us doctor david hackney is a maternal fetal medical specialist and chair of the -- and gynecologist ohio section. coming up at the, show

exclusive look at one alabama clinic is continuing to provide -- to stop providing abortions, or even referring patients for abortions. you can see in the bottom right of your screen, we are going to continue to follow the latest breaking news in d.c., with the senate continues the process of passing inflation production act. a massive piece of democratic legislation, focusing on climate description drug costs and taxes. we will have a live report from capitol hill, next. capitol hill, next ods "open". businesses "open". fields "open". who doesn't love "open"? offices. homes. stages. possibilities. your world. open. and you can help keep it that way. ♪♪ u.s. senators have been up all

night slugging through what is known as vote-a-rama. it is one of the last obstacle standing between the democrats and their landmark inflation production act. here's a live look at the senate floor. they are still added. this is not your average saturday night all nighter in d.c.. here is what has been going down. it is a process where senators can offer amendments to proposed legislations that need a simple majority in order to be adopted. with a way to slow down the

process of passing the bill. senator spent the evening offering into bathing amendments that have all failed so far. >> i want to take a moment to say a few words about the so-called inflation production act, that we are debating this evening. and i say so-called, by the way, because according to the cvs and other economic organizations have studied this bill, we will in fact have a minimal impact on inflation. >> the same people who told you than that they had it figured out for you, are now tell you something that i think is going to throw gasoline on the fire. that is a every -- will vote no. senator sanders is reluctantly going to vote yes. i'm going to enthusiastically vote no. >> it is also been an all night for another member of the ali

the club. correspondent potentially. the vote-a-rama started at 11:30 last night. it has been going on for about nine hours now. we are we in that process? >> still. going in frankly, ali, at a snail's pace. this is not one of your speedy voter on is where you are seeing a members get ticked through every 10 to 20 minutes. these are senators who are taking their time, even though as you mentioned, all of the roughly less than 20 amendments they've seen so far have all failed. in large part that is because democrats yesterday were having a conversation trying to talk about not rocking the boat on. this -- was talking to be about the bill that they've negotiated, here it is likely to, pass is really delicate. you and i all remember all the haggling in negotiating the needed to happen to keep modern senators on board, to keep progressive senators on board. even senator sanders, who is not thrilled about what the bill looks like right now. he is certainly not alone there. there are a lot of progressive

senators who want to see other items in this bill. but now that we are here, they really do believe that voting knowing sticking together all 50 democrats, to not vote you lisa movements the way that could change the bill and the sleet appeared as its passage, that was sort of a larger strategy here. it seems at least at this point that that is holding fast. in terms of where we go next. it is weather romantic isn't. we know that there are several more votes which are already locked in. senators at this point have largely stopped predicting when this is going to be over. and frankly, so heavily. because they are able to do unlimited amendments, we will discuss important things you know what porn they lock this in. >> ali, i will know with you an easy day or mattress, because neither of those are in the books for. you but thank you for your remarkable coverage. just get into the camera, and wave and yellow something develops that we need to know about.

we'll be on tv for a while yet. ali vitali, on capitol hill. by the, way she is the author of the book electable, why america hasn't put women in the white house yet. and we will be talking to her with another meeting of the ali v. club at the top of the hour. -- is we have discussed this important piece of legislation with, us coming up next. up next. riders! let your queries be known. yeah, hi. instead of letting passengers wrap their arms around us, could we put little handles on our jackets? -denied. -can you imagine? i want a new nickname. can you guys start calling me snake? no, bryan. -denied. -how about we all get quotes to see if we can save with america's number one motorcycle insurer? approved. cool! hey, if bryan's not gonna be snake, can i be snake? -all: no. >> the day you get your clearchoice dental implants makes every day... a "let's dig in" day... >> mm. >> ...a "chow down" day...

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you catch on quick, marshawn. it's subway's biggest refresh yet. tide pods ultra oxi one ups the cleaning power of liquid. can it one up whatever they're doing? for sure. seriously? one up the power of liquid, one up the toughest stains. any further questions? uh uh! one up the power of liquid with tide pods ultra oxi. as i was just discussing with you, we were talking to ali -- about what was going on in the senate floor, going on tonight. but nine after ten hour so far. it is called vote-a-rama, senators proposing an amendment to a large bill. the inflation production act, which only needs 50 votes to pass. none of them are passing at the moment. this is one of the final hurdles before democrats can get the bill passed. it is expected to find a

historic investment fighting for climate and the cost of prescription drugs. , and if it does get passed in the four minutes in right now, it is going to have a 50% mineral task on companies making more than a billion dollars per year. now, there were two tax elements that didn't happen here. one was a suspect 10 what we've colby carry interest loophole. that was something the democrats would have to get done for sometime. not only democrats, but even donald trump was trying to get rid of this. certainly a silly loophole that allows hedge fund managers and investment managers to make money and pay lower taxes on their income than most of us who are no age would. and that got taken out because it was an exchange for kyrsten sinema's support. for her -- she did not want it in, there so we got taken out. she has an excise task, which means companies that buy back their own stock to increase the value of that stock will have to pay a tax. in theory, that will bring in more money than getting rid of the carried interest loophole

woods. i'll be scent of -- not sure of that just yet. there were also a few other tax matters that were supposed to happen, tightening things up for corporate america. including his 14% minimum task. some of these provisions of that got softened of. it also because of senator sinema. democrats have decided that getting this bill done, they will not let perfect be the enemy to go. taking a break from the vote-a-rama's -- democratic senator of michigan. thank you for joining us this morning. you must be tired, but you are getting a lot of work done, there. >> i am very tired. ali. but we are in a really epic battle right now. with big pharma and big oil, standing with the republicans who are working hard to protect their profits, doing everything they can to slow down our efforts on this legislation. we are on the other side, after years and years of taking on

drug companies to lower prescription drug prices. and big oil. and we are at the cusp of being able to do something, something really important. and in the, and i think when all this is done, the american people will have one. >> the reason i wanted to talk to you in particular, because you live in this world of policy, you also come from michigan. where you know that a lot of michiganders take advantage of lower prescription drug prices in canada. part of this deal is that medicare can negotiate, medicare and medicaid can negotiate for certain prescription drugs. it is not as strong as you are wanted to, be but it is a move in the right direction. tell me a bit about this. >> yes. i will say, first you are right there in michigan. back, then u.s., house 1998, i was the first member of congress to take a group of

seniors owed everybody, this whom would've thought overheard detroit to -- to demonstrate that we could drop prescription drug prices by 40% at eye time. so this is going to get negotiating prescription drugs. it will phase out its ten top drug for the first year. then it will go to 20 more in the next, and 20 more in the next. so it will face negotiations starting with the top most to use prescription drugs. we also do really important things like kathy other pocket costs for seniors, to $2,000 a year. every senior within surrounds his paying $6,000 a year. so we kept at 2000. and then we also are in a situation where we are going to be able -- we have in this bill i monthly tab on insulin up $35.

and families are paying thousands and thousands of dollars a month. frankly, on a drug that was developed over 100 years ago, in canada, by the way. by two doctors who thought it would have been not ethical to take any money for what they had discovered. so for $1 they gave the patent to the university of toronto. over 100 years ago. and yet, we have seen the cost of insulin triple in the last decade. so, those provisions are critical. we stopped them from raising prices in the future above inflation. and this is such an important fight that democrats have been involved in four years and years. we are at a point now where the president when you see astley supports signing the bill, and democratic majority in the house and the senate no matter how soon they, are we're gonna get it done. >> also big for michigan, you

had some reservations about the electric vehicle credit. obviously, you have been able to reconcile those and move ahead, tell me about those were? >> well first of all, this bill is great for manufacturing. my battery production tax credit is in the bill, to produce the batteries we need for electric vehicles in the united states. there is an ev manufacturing credit, another 48 seat credit, that i originated back in the obama administration on clean energy. all really good. the way the consumer credit, to lower the price for the consumer, the way that has been designed, unfortunately, it is just not going to work. in the short line, it will take multiple years. so we will keep working, trying to figure out how to address that to make it work. but unbalance, what we have is manufacturing drugs, electric

vehicles, but only those with solar, all of the component parts. wind. we are bringing these jobs home, we will make it in america, build it in america. and the incentives in this bill, we are told by outside analysts, will actually create 9 million new jobs, on top of the chips bill, on top of the infrastructure bill that we have already passed. and we already have the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years, right now in this country. so 9 million new jobs by the time we get done with this. >> quite a bill. good luck, you have many hours ahead of you, maybe 50 new laws have already been added, senator, thank you for being time to take to talk with us, democratic senator debbie stabenow from michigan. still ahead, the abortion providers i spoke with -- thank you, yes, we appreciate that. the abortion providers i spoke with this weekend here in alabama are not even allowed to refer patients to a clinic where abortion is legal, that is how far the criminalization

of abortion has gone since roe v. wade was overturned. i asked them, what message they would send to the patients they have to turn away. >> reproductive health services as been open since 1978. and that is nearly 50 years of serving our community in alabama. i am so sorry to all of you that we cannot be there anymore. >> there are people out there that will help you. be persistent, get out on the internet. research. make calls and do not give up. i am sorry that we cannot help you at this time, but we are fighting. we will continue to fight so that we can help you at some point in the future. future. bring that sense of calm, really... so you come through, loud and clear.

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(fisher investments) it's easy to think that all money managers are pretty much the same, make mornings smoother but at fisher investments we're clearly different. (other money manager) different how? you sell high commission investment products, right? (fisher investments) nope. fisher avoids them. (other money manager) well, you must earn commissions on trades. (fisher investments) never at fisher investments. (other money manager) ok, then you probably sneak in some hidden and layered fees. (fisher investments) no. we structure our fees so we do better when clients do better. that might be why most of our clients come from other money managers. at fisher investments, we're clearly different. >> in states like alabama,

where i am, if you so much as tell a person way to go to get an abortion, you can be in legal trouble. if you are a doctor, abortion provider or an employee at a clinic, you risk your livelihood, your career and your personal safety. i sat down with a group of advocates and providers in tuscaloosa about threats they face and daily basis. from what they tell me, the and i abortion movement, backed by the state, will stop at nothing. >> so, when one thinks of

people who are involved in the provision of reproductive health care, and being targeted, there is a rich history in this country of violence towards people who do this sort of work. but now, in the context you have all been talking to me, being targeted in alabama as a reproductive health care provider looks like it could be two things. it could be violence, threats, things like that or it could be the surveillance and potential prosecution. tell me a little bit about what you feel, what you experience. where is the threat? >> or people don't realize, is when you get indicted, even if it is totally irrelevant, you still have to go through the process, you still have to hire an attorney. in the state of alabama, it's even hard to find in tierney that will represent you, because it is such a conservative state. and you know, it could be anywhere between a couple of months or years for you to go through the whole process, even if you are exonerated. so you are going through the expense, the emotional toll,

the integrity. it is really scary, these are things they've already done before roe is overturned. >> you could be overturned just for the sake of telling someone, where to go, where to get here. >> doctor, as a doctor, you experienced this all of the time, you are always afraid of being sued for something, now there's a whole different category of things to be afraid of being sued for. >> i already know that the state can legally take action against me, because they have. my license cost about $120, 000, to get back in legal fees. >> what happened that caused the state to revoke your license? >> i moved to alabama. >> sorry, i should not laugh, but it is really true. >> some physician i did not know, never met, never interacted with because it was my first day of school, 12 days after i am in the state, filed a complaint with the medical board. i said something in a video that he disagreed with. >> about abortion?

>> about abortion. protecting my patients is very important to me. what i said was, along those lines, he disagreed with it. filed a complaint with the board. i assume that turned the boards attention onto my application. i applied for the temporary license, it was granted. while i completed my permanent license application, my temporary license was revoked, my permanent license was then denied. i misunderstood a legal term on the application, and in the middle of a clinic day, the state walked in and took away my license. >> they called her an immediate threat to patients. that is what the immoral thing she said on youtube, and her misunderstanding some questions on the application, they called it an immediate threat. we have patients in the clinic that they who we turned away, because she could not see them, because the immediately revoked her license. they took seven months, three months of those were after the

hearing, because the only meet once a month. our clinic almost closed over that. and that was intentional. >> and this is something, that is not new. but abortion providers in the state of alabama are constantly targeted. where you have one person who could make a frivolous complaint, even though, no matter how frivolous it is, the board still has to investigate. so you still have to go through this process. this has happened to both of my doctors at why clinics. you know, they are exonerated, you still have to go through this long, extensive process. >> wow. in addition to this, the prosecution, the potential prosecutions for people who are involved in giving guidance to people who might be looking for abortion care. you have tails of just the difficulties of this state, back before it was illegal, before roe collapsed, in providing facilities, maintaining facilities. >> well back in 2012, 2013,

they came up with this health and safety guide. it was basically two parts. one was having physicians with privileges, which is very difficult, that means the physician has to live in the community, with the hostility in the south, most providers come in and out of town. >> so if they are from out of town, typically they would not have this? >> there is no way, no way they would be able to maintain these privileges. the second part of it was building codes. >> they came up with where you needed so many six feet hallways, you need to have a fire alarm system. you needed lights that state on 24 hours, all of these crazy things, that had nothing to do with the patient or safety. back in 2013, we were the only clinic in the state of alabama at the time to actually have a physician with privileges. so our facility got denied to be retrofitted to meet the

requirements. in the middle of that time, my physician, right before i wanted to go testify in federal court about how difficult it was to have physicians with emitting privileges, my physician got indicted on medicaid fraud. >> luckily, we were able to counter see, but it was a two-year ordeal. thank god for the law firm we had, that really saw that it was a sham prosecution, and we were able to fight the charges. but still it was a process we had to go through. it was tens of thousands of dollars we had to spend, just the toll, the emotional toll on myself and the physician. so we know at the state of alabama is capable of. >> i am so grateful for those folks for having that conversation with me. i continue my discussion, by the way, with robbyn marty, one of my panelists over the west alabama woman center. you will see that piece of the

conversation next week right here on velshi. still ahead, midterms are coming. the wisconsin attorney general josh kaul will join me to discuss what is on the line in his state, as candidates gear up to get a spot on the ballot, even if they don't believe certain elections are illegitimate. illegitimate open. it's a beautiful word. neighborhoods "open". businesses "open". fields "open". who doesn't love "open"? offices. homes. stages. possibilities. your world. open. and you can help keep it that way. ♪♪ i typed in grandma's name and birth year... and there she was, working at the five and dime. my dad's been wondering about his childhood address for 70 years...

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we have got an emotional meeting of the velshi banned book club coming up in the next hour, featuring the book speak. lori halls anderson's award-winning expert exploration of underage rape in the destruction that leaves behind. this is a book that sticks with you. we've had numerous members of the book of writing to share the effect that speak has had on their lives as a whole. and for many, their healing journey. like brooke, who wrote and say, i'm because of speak, i have found the courage to speak about why on sexual assault that has held too much power over my life for the past 15 years. speak for me that wasn't alone

and keeping quiet, that it is a normal reaction for coping with such a difficult time in my life. and quote. much ability this week has been dedicated to abortion access. we have known which states are not allowing abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. it is easy for that sentence to lose it to. meaning it is easy to forget that the person, sometimes a child or a teenager, being refuse the abortion is carrying another and possibly heavy emotional burden. the rape itself. a burden that could be made lighter with safe and compassionate access to abortion, and as speak teaches, the space to talk about it. you don't want to miss my conversation with the author of speak and shout. laura halsey anderson joins us later in the show. this is velshi w. this is velshi

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midterm elections, the next round of primaries kickoff on tuesday. connecticut, vermont, minnesota, and wisconsin. if you've been sleeping through these primaries, don't. if you miss tuesday, night you miss some big developments in america. three republicans fighting for a spot on the ballot to challenge senator richard blumenthal, representing the state for 11 years. only one of those three has experience in office. that is not the one who got an endorsement from the failed former president. he was zero levy, who claims that trump is not to blame for the january 6th attack on the

capitol. because that will get you endorsement from trump. for months gubernatorial race is likely to be issuing for the republican incumbent phil scott, but a whopping 11 candidates across the democratic republican and independent primaries are hoping for a tie chance at the soon to be vacated, seeing when senator patrick leahy retires. as soon as we stepped out of new england, things get a bit more dicey. the republican party is pulling back doctor scott johnson for the gop candidate for governor. he is a practicing physician who refuses to get the covid-19 vaccine. and claims that the number of covid deaths were inflated in skewed by people who would have died anyway. i suppose he has a point. we are all eventually going to die, so why -- anything, really. in case you are wondering how the potential future governor feels with election integrity, he addressed a group of republicans last year calling to make voting harder than it was last. year he said this about the big lie superspreader, and my

fellow ceo. quote, mike lindell is going to work his tail off to get rid of voting machines, and we should thank him for that. the big lie is also on the ballot in wisconsin. pence backed governor cleavage challenging tim michaels. both candidates have questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 election. michael is going so far as to say that he would not rule out overturning the results. if we were governor. joining me now is the democratic attorney general of wisconsin, josh kaul. he's a formal federal prosecutor. good to see you. last week in the primaries we had some states that we're dealing with the anti-democratic election shenanigans. and we have some states that we're dealing with the anti-democratic abortion restrictions. you actually have both in wisconsin. you've got two very important issues on the ballot. how do you see this play out? >> you are right about that. we have a 19th century abortion ban that was never repealed in wisconsin. so when roe is overturned,

planned parenthood was providing services in wisconsin, and they stop providing abortion services. republicans have blocked the efforts that we have had to repeal the 19th century ban. i brought a lawsuit, we are in court right now, fighting to restore access to safe and legal abortion. republicans are opposing that. in the meantime, there are but attacks formerly led by supreme court justice -- on the integrity of our elections. there were baseless, they were false. we're gonna keep backing up against. them but the 2022 election is both going to have a -- on taking access to safe and legal abortion. and when it comes to protecting our democracy. >> let's talk about ballet docs is an absentee balloting in wisconsin. both have actually saw a remarkable success in the 2020 elections. they were deemed fair and safe. they went through a court cases and evaluations. and yet, both of those things are now challenged in some places eroded by republicans in

the state. >> that is right. we had a really successful 2020 election, and we know that for a variety of reasons. we had a recount of our two largest counties. there have been independent audits as a result of our elections. and the process is that we had in place in 2020, making sure that wisconsin its had access to the ballot box. and there was miniscule fraud, just like there always is on elections. nothing significant, nothing that could potentially overturned the results of an election. despite, that we have now seen attacks on the use of ballot drop boxes. our state supreme court, unfortunately, recently ruled by a fourth vote that they can't be used. and this shows how admitted republicans are suppressing the. vote all republican leaders in 2020, including robbyn, vos the speaker of the assembly, we're promoting the use of drop boxes. now, donald trump's come out against them, there is been a big shift. the truth of the matter is we have still, despite that, a lot of ways to access voting.

whether it is in person early voting or through the mail or in person on election day. so the options remain, but unfortunately don't not have as many as we used to. >> let us talk about enthusiasm. it is the middle of, summer and yet last weekend in kansas we saw record turnout, not just for a primary, but election level interest. what do you want to happen in wisconsin? this is obviously something that wisconsin voters have followed very closely. these developments. particularly as they relate to voting access in voting rights. do you anticipate strong turnout? >> i do. i think we are going to a very high turnout results. one of the most competitive u.s. senate races in the country. we have an election for governor, we've my reelection campaign. and then, of course local elections. this is going to be the first big general election after the u.s. supreme court overturned roe v. wade. so this election is going to send a message that people in office are going to remember for years to come, about what

that means to voters. i think that voters in wisconsin and around the country are going to send a very clear message that they do not want to have their rights taken away. and that they want access to safe and legal abortions to be restored. over the next three, months we are going to see a lot of focus on that issue. we are gonna see how extreme republicans have become, opposing exceptions for cases of rape and incest. so there is a clear difference on this issue, i think people are going to vote based on that. >> what is the road to success on that front? other than electing democrats, which is what you had in kansas, the protection of an existing law that voters have to -- michigan, similar to wisconsin, has a 19th century abortion ban on books. they're gonna try to get that changed in november. what is the best option in this primary, and in november, for wisconsin voters who want to push a production? >> we do not have a binding referendum process in like michigan or kansas. does he referendum that wisconsin voters have our

critical elections. like the ag race, the governor's race, racist for judicial positions. we are challenging this 19th century ban, and we will see that plays out. but if a republican is elected in a angry, they can withdraw. if a republican were elected governor, they could sign legislation that would restrict access. so the election that we have on the ballot for 2022 is a social reform and as we have on -- >> attorney general, thank you for joining. josh kaul is a very general of wisconsin. we'll talk to you can. saying straight, ahead we'll go live to capitol hill where the snow will remain in session and voting on amendments to a major piece of democratic legislation. another hour of velshi live from tuscaloosa, alabama, starts right now. ight now >> good morning. it is sunday, august seven. i am ali vause, we live in tuscaloosa for a special edition of velshi across america.

post-roe alabama. during my time here, i was granted an exclusive look inside one alabama clinic, determined to provide care, forced to stop providing abortions, or even referring patients to abortions in other states. that is coming up later in the hour. but we begin this hour with the breaking news unfolding 800 miles away from where i stand. in washington, d.c., after working through the night right now, the senate is still working through the amendment process for the inflation reduction act. it appears to be nearing a vote on the full bill. the inflation reduction act is a major piece of democratic legislation, and generally provides new funds to fight climate change, reduce prescription drug costs and remove some tax loopholes. look at mentioned, i am in tuscaloosa for today's special edition of velshi. i have not been able to get through the 755 pages of the bill which was released late last night. like for us, nbc news intrepid news team has. i want to dive into it a little bit. upfront, the bill is the