Shah book youre the only one ive told. We are so happy to have you all here on crowd cast if you dont know skylight with the historic los angeles neighborhoods like echo park and downtown and silverlake. Our hours are 10 00 a. M. Through 5 00 p. M. Every day you can browse in a mask but would love to see if youre in the area. So a quick introduction of crowd cast there is a chat feature to the right of your screen you can introduce yourself comment on something from the reading also at the bottom of the screen you can ask the question so go ahead and post it in the ask a question feature with the green button at the bottom of the screen and donate to a bookstore im a bookseller at skylight. And to introduce the speakers and actress and producer and director and a mother living in los angeles and with the first short films including her work as a Steering Committee member from the los angeles board our author tonight dr. Meera shah a Family Medicine chief medical officer of planned parenthood in new york and is a strong advocate for increasing sexual and Reproductive Health and underserved areas and communities fellow with Reproductive Health to keep people from exercising autonomy and in 2181 by new york state and without further ado i will welcome them onto the stage. Hello. I havent been on stage and months. I know dr. Meera shah and i am so honored you asked me to be with you here tonight to interview you i have never interviewed you before. Thank you and congratulations on becoming a published author and i cannot thank you enough and to use that platform to voice all of the things that are going on in the Racial Justice movement and we do appreciate and it is really amazing to see you use your platform during this time so thank you so much. Im so happy to be here. My three yearold may make an appearance during the interview, you are welcome or i am sorry. Its hard in these pandemic times when she sees these interactions to keep it professional. [laughter] so lets dive right in. So what initially where drive you to sexually Reproductive Health as a doctor . I grew up in North Carolina with a good family. I was given the option as a doctor or lawyer or engineer what all asian parents tell their children. I became a physician and always was social justice. And then one of the things that struck me very early on was that in our culture we are told you cannot go to the temple when you are on your. Or if you do you cannot touch this so one week every month of your reproductive years you are considered dirty and a bad omen. So god made me and he made my. So to worship god at the temple so he should be okay with me having my period and going to worship. My aunts were just say no. But its so wrong but they couldnt give me a concrete reason why but it just was a belief. So i became in Sexual Reproductive Health from very early on. I wasnt until residency that as a young resident there is a lot of stigma and shame. And with that primary care setting if youre going to get a Birth Control prescription if you decide is not the right time to continue her pregnancy to term then lets address it right then and there. And then to be so drawn to that. As i did the work to learn about how geographic so that zip code that you live determines the healthcare that you get and it was not clear to me so organizations that i became a local advocate and learn to use my voice to call out these injustices. And i was inspired by the thing things. And to become a part of this community and you talk about this a lot in your book and its very important to talk about here, and and the family out in the world. Like i said i come from a really conservative culture community. There are certain things we dont talk about. It is unique with that regard but it does manifest in its own unique way. I remember as a young girl my he was concerned when her daughter would get her. I said have you gotten your. Yet and she said we cant talk about that. So just to say we dont talk about things, i was scared not that i wasnt proud of what i was doing but how my work would be perceived. And for my safety many have been harassed and i have been harassed. I know doctors have been killed for doing this work. That is very real. There were is a time they put in the address of where they work and on those messages on your behalf. That is very real and very right now. Abortion is healthcare. My father is a cardiologist when he goes into the cath lab he doesnt have to fear for his life. But yet those women are stigmatized and targeted and then to worry about things like that and it is not fair. And the sharing of your profession evolved over the years and can you tell us about this book and the compilation of stories . So in the book i talk about growing up with a conservative communities and states and culture and how my own community would perceive it was in a target and South Carolina and i had an encounter with a woman. So for the first time i told a complete stranger what i did and she shared with me she had an abortion and in that moment i realized the more open we are the more we have in common with people so this issue is so divisive. And its not a black or white issue. The stories in my book, even if you cant relate to any one particular person, i promise you can relate to at least to some aspect of their story whether their mother or parent or to hold someones hand to the procedure with they experience Partner Violence there are so many aspects in each one of the stories that you know people can relate to so finding common ground. And that is always the hope and then to open peoples minds. So thats the thought putting the project together. One of the most fascinating parts was this moment and stranger. The information she gives you that says you are the only person she ever shared this with. Obviously that is a huge thing with the book but it is an important part of the overall conversation because so many people experience abortion and need abortion which its healthy to put the stories together. The story of rose because of the culture. So the Research Shows that most people in our relationship to have that ability to procreate and produce are normally on the same page in general. So we should be inviting people who dont have a uterus to contribute so they benefit from Abortion Access and the other thing that not all people who have abortion our women. Trans men and non binary people who have a uterus are capable of getting pregnant and they need abortion care and i have provided them with abortion care. I wanted them to give the space and the voice that they deserve. So going back to your childhood and religion and your culture and religion playing apart and the stigma i thought this was a fascinating part of alexs story and i would like to read it to everybody more than anything saying being part of the community what it took to make them feel like they were forgiven got understands my situation i see echoes of similar feelings that same religion complex feelings of shame is also the same that provides a comfort after the first of ever experience something truly that controversial for the first time it opens up to the things that can happen to you. Such an interesting that what they drive to shame initially is the source of your greatest comfort like and abortion and you say you hear this from many patients that is interesting to me. To say that i will go to hell god will punish me and then afterwords of those other necessary productive healthcare and they come to terms with those one out of four women gets an abortion in her lifetime then that would mean one out of four women are published by god . So it is interesting to see that conflict to be resolved so i think that with the a lot of people that my father introduced us to and what it means is that no viewpoint can be 100 percent true so therefore there is some truth in every single viewpoint. You cant believe in individual is carrying potential life but you can also believe that same person is making the decision for their life and family and for some people they cannot wrap their heads around that. But it is true. And they need to think of that more. And in your story taking place 1972 as a College Student so with her view that while there was a conflict and the debate on her life in terms of the life she was growing versus a life she was protecting for herself that existed here in the world in 19 years old and how much potential she had in that life and could realize that because she didnt become a mom and her late teens. Definitely. I talk about islam so i brought in an anecdote from another patient that i had who came to see me less than 42 days in her pregnancy and she knew that and thats why i am here because the priest told her in the face the soul doesnt enter until after 42 days so it is allowed before then she is engaged in supposed to get married several months later and she continued the pregnancy on her wedding day should be showing in the fiances family would have disowned both of them but they were hoping to become parents afterwards but that is the reality of the culture to allow for her to do what was best for both of them. So this is how religion is that monolith. [inaudible] now we can carry on. [laughter] hands down people of color and low income people. I will tell you why 1973 it was legalized in all 50 states despite confusing media headlines abortion can be however is not accessible so a few years after the Hyde Amendment and federal funds that could be used to pay for abortion. So in other words the Medicaid Program so you have medicaid they can use that to pay for abortion. Now majority people seeking abortion care were low income so that basically cut off low income people of color from getting the care that they need you have 17 states in the United States where that is federally in statefunded programs we will allow the state portion of that california is one of those states so now in the states where there are waiting periods and insurance plans so in the midwest and the south with you were Health Providers that provide abortion care the people who are ultimately affected our black Indigenous People of color so what we need is federal protections for abortion care we need for patients to be able to pay through the Public Health insurance and unnecessary waiting periods and mandatory ultrasounds and also the elimination where there are more state Health Centers then there are the provided bushing care so they exist all over the country and then to continue the pregnancy these are former people so Abortion Access is layered and complicated and then to strip away access so if one was to seek out and abortion in alabama versus new york city and what that process would look like . So in new york if you want dad abortion care is also other independent abortion providers in the state you are pretty much guaranteed an appointment that day. You go in you tell them you are pregnant and for every patient we talk about the options to continue the pregnancy and choose adoption or have an abortion then we go though ways that could happen if it is 11 weeks or if at any point they can have a procedure in the first trimester is really quick and takes less than two minutes and it is incredibly safe. Patients can use their medicaid if they are undocumented or paying out of pocket there are resources no mandatory waiting. It is fairly simple so now in indiana patients cannot use their public insurance or private insurance they have to pay outofpocket for they are coming in and then coming back on a later day in those those other instances to pay for the care. They have a mandatory ultrasound and then a script written with abortion and depression and ptsd showing a series of images that correspond in the time and development of the fetus is that you are six weeks along this is what the pregnancy looks like inside of you. And then they have to go home and come back at least 18 hours later that was arbitrarily determined there is no evidence to support that and then they come back to get the pills were to have the procedure done some states is 24 hours but it is all arbitrary under the guise they are protecting Reproductive Health and Abortion Access that is not true. In some states they make you look at the image of the ultrasound or the heart tones. There is a lot to that. And in your story alex and the father went and listen to the heartbeat and he started crying moving it forward he called it their procedure and all of this information adds up. And alex had to take their father because young people have to have parental consent in the they tell their parents and that could be scary i love my parents and they are great but i would have been terrified. And alex was terrified. Definitely or they could go to a judge and have the judge tell them if you go to court as a teenager and then have the judge say you can have this procedure here is the documentation and then alex mentioned they have to write down some of my that they were abused or something and we encourage that . Im sorry we encourage parental input . Instead of having a trusted adult involved in your care but we know thats not a reality for so many i have young people who come in all the time asking for Birth Control and they are able to do that because they dont have to bring their parent with them but not all states are like that. So what does that surprise you . Because people dont realize that people look like them so choosing every demographic i see older people every racial ethnic religious background i see with every the demographic and then to highlight all of the different types of people but what i dont see a lot in the media i see stories of those people with abortion. You dont see them that provide that care see you know they exist . Definitely. So i speak a language that not a lot of people speak but there is a community right where i work. Now they know about me and they come and see me because i speak their language so we been talking a lot about Racial Justice and we have talked about increasing the people of color providing abortion care and to eliminate that implicit bias and with racism and then treating them to become abortion providers and that something a talk about in my book as well. And this is the end of our conversation. So what you hope this book will do . Thanks to you and your friends have a large platform i hope to get into the hands as many people as possible. We talk about changing peoples minds but even my most progressive friends. I have learned so much from this book its impossible not to learn from this book. What i have learned just interviewing these people who had abortions a have taught me so much it may patients teach me and guide me in the practice i hope to get my book and as many hands as possible especially with Reproductive Health and those who are also in between. I dont know what i believe i have had ants and uncles were super conservatives some of then supporting conservative administration sending me emails to say we have learned so much and then you take something away. And then open your mind to learning more. We will open to questions but that reminded me hoping that they learned something in a huge part of the story she didnt have Sex Education thats a big issue in her life and how easy it is to share information and make topics less taboo and more universal. Before we get into questions i thought maybe you were thinking about reading a portion of the book if you want to close us out with a reading. Actually are probably supposed to start with that. Sorry. There is a chapter to talk about later abortion because that is asked a lot about. Page 151 something that is overlooked during the abortion debate with the policy looks like beyond the page and affects the life so often designed to help people patients certainly know it the term lateterm abortion is bandied around by the Antiabortion Movement but rarely do we talk about what that actually looks like or feels like. Lateterm abortion is not usually a medical term but one coined the Antiabortion Movement to confuse and mislead and increase stigma in the state of the Union Address early 2019, donald trump repeated the worst myths. Lawmakers in new york with the passage of legislation to allow the baby to be ripped from the womb moments before birth. He then asked congress to pass legislation to prohibit lateterm abortion. The legislation he was referring to is the Reproductive Health act passed new york januar january 2019. On the 46th anniversary ten years after first introduced and it almost a 50 year history with the criminal code treating it as a medical procedure also allowed trained physicians and Nurse Practitioners to provide abortion also d criminalizing self managed abortion so it now ensures people in new york and have the constitutional right to abortion care including the right after the 2h week of pregnancy if the life or health is threatened or if the fetus is not viable. Prior to legislation i had patients find out then had to go long distances to get the care they needed. Its not how they see their pregnancy unfolding one cannot afford to travel outside of the state so she continued the baby naturally after birth due to brain malformation years later she cannot tell her story without tears. This does not mean after 24 weeks is permissible for the any reason but thats not how abortion care works its frustrating to constantly see to correct misinformation and then use it feels like the unnecessary push ample. My patients are already going through so much and should be allowed to in peace every pregnancy is unique we should have arbitrary restrictions if they dont follow the legislative timeline real life doesnt work that way circumstances are often very difficult for my patients pushing pregnancies into the later gestation making it far worse they did such a good job the rha gave pause even to the staunchest supporters with physicians and Healthcare Providers like myself can decide coming to later abortion to provide that compassion and beginning we dont know where they are coming from up there in the position to have an abortion we trust what they are doing for their family. Thank you so much. Do you have any final questions or thoughts before we wrap up . I hope everyone reads the book. I just want to say thank you so much for having me tonight also the proceeds will be donated to those working on the ground with the wellmans one the Womens Health alliance we are also contributing firsthand to the movement. Thank you. Thank you so much and to everyone for joining us. We hope to see you in person one day or at another virtual event. Thats it i will and the broadcast so thank you again for that conversation. A day i am Andrea Mitchell and it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 20th anniversary of the National Book festival presented by the library of congress to have our authors David Rubenstein who has authored a new book entitled how to read it is an extraordinary conversations on leadership especially these very special people. David and with domestic and the equity