Breaking Down Which Voters Could Have The Chance To Legalize Abortion This Year
Kimberly Inez McGuire, the executive director of Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, spoke to ForbesWomen editor Maggie McGrath about a new effort to protect reproductive health access in the U.S.
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NewsTranscript
00:00You mentioned the abortion ballot initiatives and I want to spend some time talking about that because a number of different states could potentially see their citizens voting on abortion access in November.
00:14But the process of getting that ballot initiative all the way through in front of voters is a little complicated there are petitions and there are signatures and there's court certification.
00:26Can you break down where do we stand with these initiatives at this point in 2024?
00:32Yeah, so it is incredibly complicated and I'll say even more than complicated oftentimes getting a ballot initiative on a progressive issue in a state with a conservative government is actually a hostile process.
00:46I mean when we were going through this at Ohio it wasn't enough to just collect the signatures and get all the forms in on time. We actually had every state government agency actively opposing us trying to fight us trying to take us down every step of the way.
01:00So, I have so much love and respect for my comrades in places like Florida, where they are, you know, they have been building support all over the country they've been gathering signatures they've been, you know, doing through the whole process.
01:13They have an incredibly huge body of work to do to get this across the finish line. But what inspires me is the folks in all over the country, right, folks in Colorado, folks in Arizona, folks in Florida, right.
01:26I mean, there's multiple states where we may or may not see it make it all the way to the finish line but I think at the end of the day, what's important here is that voters are realizing that they have power, right, they have the ability to actually say,
01:40and where maybe, you know, a state legislature has failed because they've enacted a ban that goes against the will of the people in that state, that the people have a chance to respond.
01:49And in every time over the past two years that we have taken abortion to the ballot, we have won. And so I am wishing all of the success to our colleagues around the country, and the track record is really clear voters are angry about abortion bans,
02:05and they are outraged that their state governments are enacting these wild conservative policies or in some case resurrecting them from, you know, over 100 years ago, in a way that's totally contrary to what majorities of people in every single state in this country believe.
02:22It has been remarkable to see the voter turnout for the ballot initiatives that have happened thus far. It really is, as you said, a galvanizing issue. So at this point in time, how many states will definitely have a ballot measure that people can vote on in November?
02:38Well, I will not give a specific number on that only because it is so dynamic, and it can literally change day to day. Having been in that, I wouldn't want someone else counting my work out too prematurely. So I will wait for the announcements of success from each of those campaigns.
02:56Because I think that folks have a lot, they have a lot going for them. I mean, you know, there's a lot of hurdles, but there's a lot of support from the public. So I'm not counting anybody out just yet.
03:04Okay, you're not counting anyone out. Is there a call to action you have for folks in states where they're either confused about if they will have an abortion measure to vote on or if they want to be able to have their say in November?
03:18Absolutely. So I think really important, the two things I think people should do is one, get in touch with local abortion supporting organizations in your state, whether that's an abortion fund, an abortion clinic, a reproductive justice organization, get on their mailing list, because if there is a ballot initiative, they're going to tell you all about it.
03:35The second thing I'll say is, regardless of whether you have a ballot initiative or not, every single person in this country has the power to vote. And there are all sorts of races that have all sorts of power over our reproductive freedom. Folks, for example, may not know that many state Supreme Courts are elected.
03:51And those state Supreme Courts are currently interpreting the law to decide whether and how abortion restrictions are being enacted. So everyone should be really clear about their options when voting and recognize that there's all sorts of offices. You may not think of anything to do with issues of reproductive health rights and justice. But in fact, they actually do.
04:13You mentioned state Supreme Courts. I want to shift briefly to the federal Supreme Court, which just yesterday dismissed the Idaho emergency abortion case, which is quite complicated in its specifics, but effectively is allowing for now women to receive abortions in Idaho in an emergency circumstance. What is your take, Kimberly, on the court's decision here?
04:38Well, I'll tell you, I'm not handing out any gold stars to the Supreme Court on abortion access anytime soon. I think in many ways, this case is similar to the BIFA-Pristone case that came out earlier this summer, which is a very bad thing is being averted, but other very bad things may follow. Right. So, yes, it is true that for now, people in Idaho who are pregnant and experiencing an emergency will be able to get emergency care.
05:05That's incredibly important. As someone who myself experienced emergency complications with my own pregnancy, I know how scary it is to go through that. And I can't imagine being told I couldn't get lifesaving care because of a stupid law. Right. And there's a Texas case that is also considering this question. Right. So this Supreme Court has already shown that they were willing to make abortion illegal in half of the country. I do not trust them with reproductive health rights and justice.
05:32I'm glad for people in Idaho. I'm worried for people in Texas. This fight is not over. As with the BIFA-Pristone case where, you know, they dismissed the standing for that very specific case. That came with basically an instruction manual for how the conservative justices could the next time around take away abortion pills. So like I said, no gold stars for the Supreme Court. I want real durable abortion access for everyone in every state.
05:59A reproductive health lawyer told us relatively the same thing with the Miffy-Pristone dismissal, that it was dismissed, which was fine for now. But the breadcrumbs, how would you rate your concern right now based on the breadcrumbs we've received from the Supreme Court, that instruction manual that you referenced, or the fact that there's this case in Texas similar to the one in Idaho? One to ten.
06:26On a scale of worry, I would say I'm a 9.5. I mean, I, you know, there are justices on this court that have stood up for reproductive health rights and justice. Unfortunately, they are in the minority. And there are a lot of justices who seem giddy to take us back to, you know, 60 years ago on issues of gender justice, on issues of reproductive health.
06:52And even when the cases presented before them are so poorly put together by abortion opponents, some of these conservative justices clearly are looking to be co-conspirators with those who want to ban abortion. So I think we'll see more challenges to Miffy-Pristone where we are, you know, we expect we'll likely see another challenge to EMTALA. And all of this underscores, again, this is not sustainable. This is not tenable.
07:18People should not have to be watching the news every single day to figure out, am I going to die in an emergency room parking lot today or not? Are my pills going to come in the mail? Or am I going to have to travel 500 miles to get an abortion? It is outrageous that individual humans experiencing very real health concerns are having to refresh their computers to see what the Supreme Court said that day, to see if they're considered, you know, a full citizen and human being in this country.