Make is really important, and it doesn t happen if you don t have that representation of women and of women of color. and i think what she said there is so important, geoff, because we spoke with these three women who happen to be women of color. and the thing that they continue to hearken back to, especially congresswoman barbara lee who had her abortion before that landmark roe ruling, she pointed to the fact that she survived, she was lucky enough, in her words, to have a family friend who was a good doctor in mexico, even though it was a back alley clinic, it was a good doctor, she said. she pointed to the fact that she survived but how dangerous it was especially for black and brown women. that s the warning you hear still from reproductive advocates, if you go back to a time before roe, those are the women who would be in the crosshairs here. where does this policy push head next? the supreme court is expected to hear the mississippi case that bans abortion after 15 weeks
Today on capitol hill from some of the women of congress who told difficult stories of choice in two very different ways. these congresswomen shared their deeply personal abortion experiences into the official record all in the hope of changing the national conversation as abortion access nears a crisis moment nationwide. today s hearing follows a vote in the house last week to codify roe v. wade. and the introduction of abortion restrictions that is now the law of the land in texas and that are being considered by a number of gop-led states. it also comes as the supreme court prepares to hear a controversial abortion rights case next term. joining us now is nbc news capitol hill correspondent ali vitali. so ali, these congresswomen sharing their stories, this is all a part of trying to change policy. it s part of trying to change policy. the question i asked them when we spoke exclusively before their testimony is if they thought it would matter. i was struck, congresswoman cori
ali vitali, thanks for bringing us that regulatory. with us is one of the congresswomen who ali mentioned who testified at that hearing, congresswoman barbara lee of california. thank you for sharing some time with us this afternoon. you shared your story for the public record, uncharted testimony for you. why was it important to testify about your personal experience? thank you very much. let me say, having an abortion is my personal business, it s nobody else s business, it s a private decision i made with my mother and my family. so i have been very reluctant to talk about that because of just that. what is taking place in the country compelled me to talk about those days i remember so well, having a back alley abortion, and i survived. but you know what, we re getting back there if we don t do something and do something quickly. as hard as it is to talk about these grueling decisions that i had to make at age 16, i had
Before november, december, january. cold and flu season take effect, that s when we ll see an uptick again. a bit of calm before the storm there. let s talk about mandates. you spent a lot of time talking to employers and employees ahead of mandates convincing people to get the vaccine on their own. what do you make of these mandates and their effectiveness, as outlined by the numbers we ticked through by david leonhart? i m personally seeing people are asking more questions now. it was never the case that everybody who was yet to be vaccinated said, no way, no how. a lot of them were just putting it off, waiting and seeing. they wanted to ask questions. turns out, geoff, 20% of people in the country are still uninsured, many of them don t have the ability to ask directed questions. now they re asking them, they re seeking out information. a lot of people, geoff, just didn t show proof, they didn t provide documentation. of course now we re seeing especially in health care, people
How concerned are you about what may come down the line? well, i m very concerned. that s why we must try to fight at the state level to try to stop these laws, because you showed the map, how many states now unfortunately have abortion restrictions or are moving toward that. so we have to have we have some wonderful organizations at the local level who have to hold their officials accountable, who have to continue to file appeals and lawsuits which we re doing, and really make sure that we get roe v. wade codified into law, make sure that s the law of the land. and also we need to make sure that the hyde amendment, which i talked about today, is repealed, because i was here as a staff person for congressman rondell ron dellums. that hyde amendment, he said he would get the it in medicaid for poor women so they wouldn t have