Reproductive Rights

When season seven started in January of 2024, we set out to explore the progress and challenges in building a more equitable society. Anchored by milestone anniversaries — Brown v. Board of Education (70th), Freedom Summer (60th), and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (60th) — we discussed judicial diversity, justice reform, education, and voting rights, among other issues. Reflecting on these themes months later, we see glimmers of progress but are reminded that the work of building an America as good as its ideals is far from linear. This episode will consider what’s been accomplished in about a year’s time since our earlier podcast conversations this season. We will also discuss the work that remains with Leadership Conference advocates who work tirelessly to push the arc of the moral universe toward justice.

In this episode, we dive into the post-election political and policy landscape, analyzing how recent election outcomes will impact the future of civil rights in America. Our guest experts will discuss anticipated agendas from the White House and 119th Congress. They will unpack the major policy shifts, exploring potential executive and legislative actions that may impact voting rights, reproductive rights, criminal legal reform, and other civil rights. Guests will consider the potential for new alliances, as well as emerging divisions within Congress and between the executive and legislative branches. As we discuss the challenges and opportunities facing civil rights advocates in this new era, this episode offers a comprehensive look at what lies ahead for the nation.

On today’s episode of Pod for the Cause our host, Kanya Bennett discusses the intersectionality of abortion rights and voting and its impact on Black women with Marcela Howell, president and CEO of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Agenda.

Our host Vanessa Gonzalez is joined by Aimee Arrambide, Executive Director at Avow Texas; Leila Abolfazli, Director for Federal Reproductive Rights at National Women’s Law Center; and Nancy Cardenas Pena, Texas Director of Policy and Advocacy at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice to discuss how recent abortion restrictions ​and laws that are chipping away at the right to vote are rooted in white supremacy and how to fight against them.

Pod for the Cause host Ashley Allison, Alabama Senator Vivian Figures, and Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity (URGE), discuss the recent Alabama abortion law and the nationwide attacks on abortion overall. The conversation included how these attacks will harm people of color, women, and the LGBTQ community in addition to how we can rise up in defense of a women’s right to choose.