Macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org. Park foundation, dedicated to heightening Public Awareness of critical issues. The kohlberg foundation. Barbara g. Fleischman. And by our sole corporate sponsor, mutual of america, designing customized individual and Group Retirement products. Thats why were your retirement company. Welcome. In the 40plus years since the Supreme Court affirmed a womans right to an abortion with its roe v. Wade decision, conservatives and the religious right have crusaded to overturn it, sometimes peacefully, sometimes not. Now in 1994, the violence reaches an alltime high. Thanks to a sustained legal strategy in particular, which includes achieving a Supreme Court majority of five conservative catholic men, all appointed by republican president s, they have been inching toward success. This session alone, the Court LimitedHealth Insurance coverage for contraception and made it easier for protesters to demonstrate outside abortion clinics. Meanwhile, several states have already passed regulations that effectively restrict access to safe, legal clinics. More than half the american women of reproductive age now live in states hostile to Abortion Access. Let me repeat that more than half the women of reproductive age now live in states hostile to their constitutional right. In washington, Senate Democrats have introduced the Womens Health protection act to counter those state and local restrictions on reproductive freedom. At a hearing this week voices were heard both for and against the bill. This is the newest tactic in a four Decade Campaign to deprive women of the promise of roe v. Wade. There have been, during those four decades, terrorizing physical attacks, clinics bombed, vandalized and torched, doctors and clinic workers murdered, and clinics blockaded. Today, womens access to Abortion Services is being blocked through an avalanche of pretextual laws that are designed to accomplish by the pen what could not be accomplished through brute force the closure of facilities providing essential Reproductive Healthcare to women of this country. At an alarming rate, states are passing laws that single out Reproductive Health providers for excessively burdensome regulations designed to regulate them out of practice under the false pretense of health and safety. The legislation this committee is considering is extreme legislation. It is legislation designed to eliminate reasonable restrictions on abortion that states across this country have put in place. And it is also a very real manifestation of a war on women given the enormous Health Consequences that unlimited abortion has had damaging the health, and sometimes even the lives of women. Well talk about these and other developments now with cecile richards. Since she became president of the planned Parenthood Federation in 2006, the number of its supporters has doubled to seven million. Before her current position, she organized lowwage workers in the hotel and Health Care Fields in california, and founded the Texas Freedom network to champion Civil Liberties and religious freedom in her native state. She also served as deputy chief of staff to nancy pelosi, the democratic leader of the house. Cecile richards, welcome. Thanks for having me. An impartial observer looking on could reasonably conclude that youre losing the political battle over abortion. I actually dont think thats correct. Now, i will say that in 2010 the elections where frankly the tea party swept into the u. S. House of representatives and took over state legislatures and they have had a very clear agenda which is to roll back womens access. But whenever these issues are actually on the ballot, whether in a candidate, or even, ill just give you an example. The state of mississippi where, you know, the far right tried to push the legislature, pushed a bill that wouldve outlawed abortion in that state. The voters of mississippi, not a progressive state i dont think wed say, they overwhelmingly, rejected that. Yet 14 years ago a third of women of reproductive age lived in states considered hostile to Abortion Access. Now more than half do. Why is that not losing . I dont think its the states, i think its the state legislatures. I do think the state legislatures have moved dramatically to the right, and not just on womens issues, on a whole, on Voting Rights issues, on a whole host of issues. Unfortunately, a wing of the republican party, the most extreme wing that believes abortion should not be legal, that believes Birth Control should not be available are really in charge of the primary process. Is it conceivable to you that your opponents have won the moral argument, that is theyve convinced enough people in conservative circles that abortion is morally wrong, leaving politicians that you talk about no choice but to go where the voters lead . I fundamentally disagree with that. People, look, and we at planned parenthood talk to voters a lot, talk to the public a lot. People in this country believe that abortion is a very personal and often complex issue. They overwhelmingly believe, though, again that these are personal, private decisions that women have to be able to make with their doctors, with their family, with their loved ones. And that the last thing they want is politicians making the most personal decisions for a family, that is, again, that crosses party line, that crosses gender, age. And young people in this country cant imagine going back to a time where abortion was illegal and not available. You put your finger on the paradox. Surveys show the majority of americans believe a woman and her doctor, not politicians, should be making these decisions. Sixtyeight percent of Young Americans believe Abortion Services should be available where they live. Why doesnt that translate into political success . I think it does. And ill give you a couple of examples, but we have a long way to go. I give you that. I, the last president ial election to me was quite interesting. I mean, that was by all, you know, was going to be a very close election by all accounts. But we had two candidates, you know, mitt romney who said he wanted to overturn roe, that he wanted to get rid of planned parenthood, president obamwho strongly supported womens rights. We had the biggest gender gap ever in polling in a president ial election. And we just saw this in the virginia governors race. Fascinating. You know, a race that i think folks thought was going to be very, very tough. Where you had two candidates. Terry mcauliffe, who supported womens access to Birth Control, planned parenthood. Ken cuccinelli, the sitting attorney general, who opposed basically all of womens rights. That, i would say that election was decided by women, you know . There was a nine point gender gap for terry mcauliffe. He won that race by about two and a half points. So its when women know whats at stake and they go out to vote, they can determine pretty much any election in the country. So given that, how do you explain that in our home state. Governor rick perry said that he intends to make abortion, a thing of the past. Hes succeeding there. Well, actually i disagree. Hes not making abortion a thing of the past. Hes making safe and legal abortion a thing of the past. And i think this is whats very distressing and is that what, of course, the impact of these regulations are disproportionately felt on low income women, on women who are, live in rural areas of the state. Were having women now go across the border to mexico because they cant access legal abortion in the state of texas. So again, you know, our goal at planned parenthood is to make abortion safe and legal and to help women get Preventive Care that they need to reduce unintended pregnancy in the first place. Unfortunately governor perry is doing away with all of that. When the governor and the legislature started going after Womens Health care in the state, ending the Womens Health program, dozens of Health Centers that didnt provide Abortion Services had to shut down because they served low income women and they didnt have the funds to continue. There was a story out of houston the other day that theres now an underground railroad for women seeking Abortion Services. Absolutely, i think what were seeing is preroe activities now of women trying to figure out how to get around the country because there are increasingly states where you may have a legal right to an abortion, but effectively you have no access. In texas its really in some ways the test case for all of these restrictions. Were going to, i think, this fall by september when all of these regulations come into effect, well see in a state as large as, thats as large as the country of france therell be seven, probably seven Health Centers left in the state of texas where women can access a safe and legal abortion. Down from what . Oh, dozens. But i think the thing thats important, bill, is that its far beyond that. Because the impact is certainly on the ability to access Abortion Services, but it also has been devastating on womens ability to even access Family Planning and basic Preventive Care. I hear you saying and you and others that the constitutional right expressed in roe v. Wade has hit the hard rock of political reality. Is roe being rendered null and void by politics . Well, were seeing some states, yes, where i believe the state legislatures are hollowing out the rights under roe in every conceivable way. I think this court as well is, has been more sympathetic to those efforts to undermine womens access. Again, not only to safe and legal abortion, but certainly to Birth Control as well. And thats very worrisome. Do you really think that Womens Health protection act that was debated this week could undo some of the damage being caused by this onslaught of regulations . Absolutely. And i think its so important. Essentially what the Womens Health protection act does is says you have to treat womens Reproductive Health care and Abortion Access like you do all other medical procedures, really to try to stem the tide of these extreme bills that are being passed that are created enormous barriers for women to just access basic legal rights. You heard senator cruz call it extreme legislation. He says the state restrictions on abortions are, and im quoting him, reasonable, and are intended to protect the health and safety of women. He also says its people like you and your allies who are waging this war on women by supporting unlimited abortion that has sometimes cost women their lives. Well, i just, i dont even know where to start. It is ironic that he comes from the state of texas where the restrictions upon womens ability to access again Preventive Care, Family Planning, safe and legal abortion have never been worse. What were seeing in texas is as radical as any state in the country in terms of eliminating womens ability to plan their families. And, you know, i would also say to senator cruz its really important to recognize this is not a partisan issue for women. Women, 99 percent of women in this country use Family Planning, okay. So thats a news flash, i think something he ought to look at. Ninetyeight percent of catholic women have used Family Planning at some point. So for women, Birth Control is not a moral issue. Its not a social issue. It is a basic healthcare issue. Its an economic issue. And women, men, the majority of this country supports roe, they support women being able to make their own decisions about their pregnancies. And they, i can absolutely guarantee whathey dont want is politicians making the most personal, private decisions that women and their families make. What is your response to what some of your opponents say that abortion is vastly different from other procedures and therefore needs higher medical standards . Is there any merit in that argument . Absolutely none. I mean, again, abortion is one of the safest medical procedures in the country. And so it is, this is, and i think it, look, its something i think we have to talk about is that it is, this is something that has, one of the most incredible things that i think that has happened since the roe decision, and i talk to doctors who were around preroe who said, you know, routinely Young Healthy women were dying in Emergency Rooms across this country simply because they had no access to terminate a pregnancy in a medical setting. So, look, weve have had politicians admit it. You know, they say that theyre for Womens Health and safety, but theyre not. They simply want to close down access to Abortion Services and as governor perry said, make abortion in his words, a thing of the past. If the Services Continue to be closed down as is happening in texas, why cant hospitals start taking up the slack . Couldnt they offer patients considerably more privacy, for example, than these Health Centers where there are protestors outside confronting the women . Well, i mean, look, im very grateful to hospitals that do provide Abortion Services. And i would hope more of them would be. I mean, as you know, many of the hospitals in this country now are owned by the Catholic Church or have catholic affiliation. They not only will not provide Abortion Services, they will not provide a whole host of Reproductive Healthcare. And so there has to be in this country a public Healthcare System that will ensure that women can get access to the care that they need regardless of religion. And that is boming increasingly a problem. And not only, its a problem in texas, its a problem across the country. Let me ask you this, this hobby lobby decision gives the owner of a business on religious grounds, the power to deny coverage of Birth Control to right. His employees. Saying in effect, that the religious beliefs of the owner triumph over the Preventive Health needs for women workers. Capital has religious rights, labor doesnt. Wheres this going to take us . I dont know. I mean, look, this is, this decision, which i know some people have described has narrow, is very troublesome. I mean, i think certainly Justice Ginsberg dissent is correct. This is full of minefields. I was actually there for the hobby lobby argument, and it was stunning to see the lack of regard for women. But from that decision, and other decisions that have, that, you know, certainly had the buffer zone decision, you know, its better to be a corporation today than to be a woman in front of the Supreme Court. And i think that the hobby lobby decision is just the beginning of giving corporations free license to obey those rules and laws that they agree with and not ones that they dont agree with. Giving the owners absolutely. Or the managers and share the ceos, thats right. Its the ceos. Thats correct they will be calling the shots more often . Thats exactly right. How could the rights of one ceo, you know, or the beliefs, the religious beliefs of one ceo and his family trump the right of thousands of women to make their own decision . Nothing about the Affordable Care act requires women to use Birth Control. But as were already seeing, millions of women are already benefiting from being able to make that decision themselves. To make their own choice about c what kind of Birth Control theyd like to use, if they want to use it, and to get it paid for and to help plan their families. Arent those owners saying, well, we cant provide it because of our religious objections. But they can get it from the government. Well, i mean, you look at this decision as if somehow that were going to just throw everything back to this congress to fix . I just think it is, i mean, its not even laughable because, of course, the future and the healthcare of millions of women are at stake. But i thats where i feel like the Supreme Court completely overstepped their bounds, which is this is a law. This is a law that was passed by congress, that is, that has now been in effect. Millions of women are accessing Birth Control. This is really opening the door to saying to employers, if you, or ceos, you know, if you have a religious objection to this or anything else, i mean, with you, its a slippery slope here, that you can actually, you know, well let the government try to figure out what to do about it. Have we opened another stage in the old debate in this country over religious liberties . I absolutely think so, i mean, we believe in religious liberties, but not the right of, to use your religion and enforce your religion, your religious beliefs on someone else. So why do you think hobby lobby erupted in the Public Awareness . What was it about that decision that caught the public imagination . Some folks arent necessarily following the day to day like you and i do perhaps on all these issues. And when they heard that the supre court had said that there were women who couldnt get Birth Control from their employer, i think people were just in shock. Really, disbelief, that somehow its 2014 and we are still arguing about women being able to access Birth Control . It just doesnt make sense. Again, you have every woman in the country virtually using it. They dont see this as a controversial issue. What do you think will come from the courts junking of the 35foot buffer zone . Well, were already seeing in massachusetts that absolutely, immediately after that decision eliminating the buffer zone we had record numbers of protesters outside of the following women all the way up to the door of our Health Center in massachusetts. These are not all kindly, elderly ladies simply whispering in the ears. And even if they were, it is the right of women in this country to be able to Access Healthcare that they need without harassment and without the advice of dozens of people outside their Health Center. I mean, can you imagine if, you know, if men in this country, before going into their doctor had to walk through a gauntlet of protesters telling them, you know, whether its not to get a colonoscopy or just go down the list. Its incredible. I think now well see challenges to buffer zones across the country. And look, i, its hard not to escape the irony of the enormous buffer zone that the Supreme Court enjoys in front of their court. And why we cant afford that same right to women who are simply trying to Access Healthcare, i just dont understand. Did you ever see that hbo documentary the soldiers in the army of god . Heres some scenes from it. Abortionists are murderers murderers should be executed i definitely felt that the lord wanted me to shoot the abortionists. We need a civil war that will kill a whole lot of people. Investigators say evidence places rudolph at the bombing. They arent sure whether others may be involved. I hate to quote chairman mao, but he was right kill one, scare a thousand. Dr. John britton and clinic volunteer jim barrett lay dead. Police arrested paul hill a half block away. Most people who oppose abortion wouldnt advocate that kind of violence. But how do you explain the passion that enters into this debate . Well look, i think this is always going to be a topic where people have strong personal feelings. But i do believe the rhetoric that is now, that is sort of tolerated, and frankly that we hear from elected officials oftentimes does encourage people to sort of put women in a certain place, certainly doctors in a certain place. And, you know, its very tough to watch this footage. But i think its important because, of course, this is why the massachusetts buffer zone was passed in the first place. This was not simply an intellectual idea, it was because women and doctors and clinicians were under enormous personal safety risks. And the two people were murdered there. Thats correct. And listen, in my eight years at planned parenthood, the toughest day was on a sunday morning when i got a call that George Tiller in kansas had been shot in his church. And amazingly courageous man who had cared for women in a, the most selfless and, again, always at risk for his own safety. We cant go back to those days. And thats where when you ask me where is this country, thats not where this country wants to go. And were not going to. Have you received any Death Threats . I try not to Read Everything that comes in over the transom. And the folks i really, i think when i get up in the morning, i dont fear for myself. But i take very seriously the safety of our doctors and r clinicians and our patients. And thats foremost in my mind all the time. Is there a war on women . Or has that become a convenient metaphor . Its not a term i use. But in some ways, if the shoe fits, you know, i feel like i dont like to think theres a war on women. But the evidence is that there is certainly within some, certainly some elements of the republican party, and unfortunately a lot of the leadership, and a lot of politicians in this country, folks who are uncomfortable, i believe, with women being equal in america. And, i mean, its why we cant seem to pass, you know, we cant pass an equal pay bill. We cant, we dont want to have women access to Reproductive Healthcare. And i just dont think young people in this country are going to let them get away with it. And thats what, you know, thats my hope, is that its our kids and their generation that arent going to go back to a day when women were secondclass citizens in america. Cecile richards, thank you very much for being with me. Its so good to see you, bill. Thanks for having me. At our website, billmoyers. Com, theres some essential reading on what weve just talked about, and a look at how the states and this years candidates are handling the issue of reproductive freedom. Thats all at billmoyers. Com. Ill see you there and ill see you here, next time. Dont wait a week to get more mers. Visit billmoyers for exclusive blogs, and video features. Announcer funding is provided by anne gumowitz, encouraging the renewal of democracy. Carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of International Peace and security at carnegie. Org. The ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide. The herb alpert foundation, supporting organizations Whose Mission is to promote compassion and creativity in our society. The john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org. Park foundation, dedicated to heightening Public Awareness of critical issues. The kohlberg foundation. Barbara g. Fleischman. And by our sole corporate sponsor, mutual of america, designing customized individual and Group Retirement products. Thats why were your retirement company. Coming up the surge of immigrant Central American children into the u. S. Saul gonzales reports on the challenges facing the kids, the courts and congregations. And a powerful fred de sam lazaro story on treating Mental Illness in india, the slow acceptance of modern medicine alongside traditional practices of faith healing and magic