Martha Plimpton Points Out The Realities Of Abortion Rights During This COVID-19 Crisis
Under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, attacks against reproductive rights have gone under the radar. Long-time abortion advocate Martha Plimpton is here to tell people where they can still seek help during these trying times.
Video Transcript
RICKY CAMILLERI: Because of our sort of myopic nature in regards to COVID-19, that certain governors of conservative states like Oklahoma are actually using it as a means to restrict abortion at this time, with really no basis in fact, other than the idea that, oh, we can do this in the shadow of this larger story that's happening.
MARTHA PLIMPTON: Right, you're absolutely right. It's Oklahoma-- and of course, Texas leads the way usually with things like this, and Greg Abbott, who's rabidly anti-choice and anti-bodily-autonomy for all kinds of people, not just people who identify as female. But there's also Alabama, Iowa, Oklahomo-- Oklahoma-- Oklahomo.
[LAUGHTER]
Them too. Them too. Ohio.
But Texas actually had theirs overturned. And then within a day, it was overturned again by the 5th Circuit. So abortion is now effectively banned in the state of Texas, which is a really bad thing. I mean, if you talk to people like Amy Hagstrom Miller over at Home Women's Health, which is one of the last remaining abortion clinics in the state, that very day, they had to turn away at least 150 patients.
And where are those people going to go? Many of them have probably lost their jobs, or are about to, if they haven't already. They're going to have to travel, and possibly have to endure waiting periods in other states of 25 to 72 hours. And then they're also restricted by the fact that they can't obtain telemedicine and get a medication abortion, which, there's absolutely no medical basis for this to be so restricted.
And in an 18 states, you're not allowed to use telemedicine to get a medication abortion. So it's putting these people in an incredibly difficult position, meaning either they're going to have to wait until, somehow, this gets lifted. But that means, of course, in Texas, there's a 20 week ban. So for all intents and purposes, it means they're going to have to be pregnant and have a child by force from the state.
Or they're going to have to travel and spend money they don't have or risk exposing themselves, during a global pandemic, to this virus.
RICKY CAMILLERI: I believe that in Oklahoma and Ohio, a federal judge has overturned the ban at the very least.
MARTHA PLIMPTON: Did they? Did they? OK.
RICKY CAMILLERI: Yeah, I believe so.
MARTHA PLIMPTON: I haven't heard that today. But that's good news if they have.
RICKY CAMILLERI: Yeah, I don't know if it's like a limited-- I think it's a suspension of the ban. So I don't know if that means it's going to--
MARTHA PLIMPTON: It's in flux. These other states, besides Texas, we're still waiting on decisions. They're either suspended, as you said, or we're waiting on decisions. But the point is, really, what do the leaders of these states do when they heard this global pandemic was going to hit the United States and hit us hard? What was the first thing they did?
They didn't go to their state legislatures and suggest expanding Medicaid, or the ACA, or broadening COBRA eligibility, or lowering COBRA payments. They didn't go to their states saying you know we've got a mandate free COVID-19 testing for all essential workers. No, that wasn't the first thing on their agenda, interestingly. The first thing on their agenda--
RICKY CAMILLERI: Some--
MARTHA PLIMPTON: Go ahead.
RICKY CAMILLERI: Sorry, some didn't even commit to a lockdown prior to doing that.
MARTHA PLIMPTON: No, I'm fully aware. And yet, they wanted to lock down women.
RICKY CAMILLERI: Yeah.
MARTHA PLIMPTON: They wanted to lock down women's bodies. They wanted to do everything they could to sort of put a wedge in between people and their right to bodily autonomy, their constitutional right. Now, you know, of course, we should remind everybody that no matter what these people try to do, whatever these governors are trying to do, abortion remains legal in all 50 states. The right to abortion is the law of the land.
It may not be available. But it is legal. And so let's remember that. So when you're having trouble obtaining the care you have every right to obtain, there are avenues, there are resources you can go to. You can go--
RICKY CAMILLERI: Right now--
MARTHA PLIMPTON: Yeah?
RICKY CAMILLERI: Sorry, no, go ahead. Excuse me.
MARTHA PLIMPTON: No, you can certainly always call Planned Parenthood. You can call the National Abortion Federation. That's a collection of OBGYNs and abortion providers around the country that sort of network and work together on how to make abortion available in states where it's highly restricted. You can contact the National Network of Abortion Funds. They're the ones who can help you get the money to be able to not only pay for the procedure but also the travel.
You can contact the Lilith Fund. And you can contact the Bridget Alliance. These are all groups that help access or obtain abortion care in other states, if you have to travel, if you need housing, all of these things, child care, things like this. And they can help answer your questions about what's available in your state if you're not clear on it.
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