LATONYAJOYNER-GREGORY: Good afternoon, everyone Thank you all so much for joining us for module 6 of the State LegislativeAdvocacyAcademy.Today, we are going to dive into our very first issue area webinar, where we are going to explore reproductive rights and bodily autonomy.And the goal is for us to really demonstrate how some of the concepts that we have been exploring sinceAugust are applied within the context of actual advocacy campaigns. So again, thank you all so much for joining us this afternoon
I just want to go over our agenda, really quickly, as usual.
We are going to start with some introductory remarks And then we're going to dive right into the presentation, exploring reproductive rights and bodily autonomy, advocacy in action. We will then have a quick chat about a brand new program that L4GG is launching, and I hope that you're going to be excited about it-- our StateAdvocacy Leaders Program We'll have some time for some Q&A, and then I will close this out with some brief closing remarks.
So today, as I said before, we are going to really talk about reproductive rights and bodily autonomy.
I am going to be one of the presenters for this afternoon, and I am joined by a colleague from L4GG and a friend, Khadijah Silver You all know me at this point pretty well And so I really just want to take a few minutes to introduce Khadijah. Just let me share a little bit about their background with you
So Khadijah has over 20 years of experience helping community-led coalitions unearth, understand, communicate, and uproot the causes of systemic injustice. Khadijah most recently served as Communications Director atTransgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, where they led narrative change strategy for trans and non-binary civil rights, working in strong, respectful partnership with national and grassroots organizations.
Prior to that role, Khadijah served as a health law and policy journalist with bylines at MedCity News,Above the Law, Law360, Institutional Investor, Popular Science, Refinery29, and more Before that, they spent a total of seven years as executive director of grassroots youth advocacy organizations ResilienceAdvocacy Project and BetterBio.
Khadijah holds a BAfrom Mills College, and JD from Boston University School of Law, and will complete an MPH in Health Policy and Management this year, in about four weeks, I think They are a member in good standing of the NewYork State Bar And on top of that, Khadijah will soon be supervising L4GG's first reproductive health staff attorney. So we are very excited about Khadijah, and I hope that you are excited about Khadijah as well
KHADIJAH SILVER:Thank you so much for having me, LaTonya I'm delighted
LATONYAJOYNER-GREGORY:Thank you for joining us this afternoon So at this point, I'll just provide a quick discussion overview of where the conversation is going to go this afternoon.
We're going to start really discussing the national landscape for abortion access And then we're going to take a look at a case study. Virginia is the state in particular that we will be looking at this afternoon.
We'll then transition and take a look at the national landscape for transgender healthcare And we will look at case studies.And that will pretty much wrap up the substance of our presentation for this afternoon.
Alrighty. So let's get started--Advocacy inAction-- Exploring Reproductive Rights and Bodily Autonomy So I don't know about you all, but last week, I was glued to my television screen for hours just waiting for election results.There are races across the country that I was really, really interested in
But on top of that, I was very interested in seeing how voters across the country were going to vote on reproductive rights ballot measures that were being considered.
I was very, very nervous to be perfectly honest with you but hopeful about the outcomes of those ballot measures, particularly as a result of what we saw in Kansas prior to last week's elections And so thankfully, we ended up seeing a bunch of headlines like the one on this slide right here fromThe Washington Post--Abortion rights advocates score major midterm victories across the US even in heavily Republican states.
And so for those of you who joined our prior webinar, where we heard from JenniferAllen from Planned parenthood, She told us about some of the work that she was doing in the state of Kentucky because Kentucky had a ballot measure as well.And even in a place like Kentucky when voters had the opportunity to weigh in on abortion, they weighed in favor of protecting access to abortion So let's just take a quick look at some of those ballot measures
Five states had abortion on the ballot during this midterm season.
So California, for example, had a constitutional amendment on the ballot-- Proposition 1 I can imagine that some of you had an opportunity to weigh in on that.And as a result of voters weighing in, the right to abortion and contraception are enshrined in the State Constitution in California, and that is pretty exciting to me
Michigan also had a constitutional amendment on its ballot-- Proposition 3 And voters weighed in and voted the right way from my perspective. So in Michigan, the right to abortion and pregnancy care are enshrined in that state's Constitution And that's a really big deal in Michigan
Michigan is one of those states that had a pre-Roe ban, and their ban dates back to 1931 Once Roe was overturned, the ban had been temporarily blocked but as a result of this constitutional amendment, that ban will never take effect So this vote in Michigan had an immediate impact
Vermont also had a constitutionalAmendment on the ballot-- Proposition 5 And so now, in that state, reproductive autonomy is enshrined in the State Constitution.This is a particularly
interesting action that ended up playing out because Vermont, at this point, is the only state that specifically protects reproductive autonomy.
In Kentucky, I just mentioned Kentucky a few minutes ago.There was a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would have explicitly stated that the State Constitution provides no protection for abortion.And voters rejected that soundly, which is very exciting. So this is the interesting thing about Kentucky though, abortion is still banned in most circumstances in Kentucky, but the fact that voters weighed in the way that they did on ConstitutionalAmendment
2 gives advocates a whole lot of hope in the years and the months ahead. I think that this vote may provide a foundation for advocates to gain additional protections for abortion
So a lot of the speakers who we've heard from over the months have talked about how a lot of these battles are multi-year battles.
Even in states that we consider to be progressive, you typically don't get everything that you want at the first bite at the apple. It usually takes two, or three. Sometimes even longer-- two, three years and sometimes even longer So this vote in Kentucky, I believe, is establishing the foundation for some interesting work to be done in protecting abortion access in the years to come.
And then there is Montana. Montana did not have a constitutional amendment, but there was a measure on the ballot that would have mandated that providers sustain infants born at any stage even those that are non-viable or face severe penalties. So in Montana anti-abortion advocates pretty much latched on to this false narrative of infants being born alive and aborted. We know that simply does not happen, but it's a narrative that anti-abortion advocates have been pushing for many, many years.And so it was really great to see that narrative be rejected in Montana
When it comes to the advocacy effort, there are providers who weighed in very vocally, very loudly, and said, listen, what this measure, if it's enacted, will ultimately do is put people at risk who have complications with pregnancies or who have pregnancies that involve fetal anomalies. So it was great, great, great, great to see the voters of Montana weigh in and reject LR 131
So I ended up being pretty excited lastTuesday night even though there were still a lot of races that were outstanding I was very happy about how voters weighed in across the country But this is the reality, despite all of those wins, despite the progress-- and it really is important progress that's been made-- abortion is heavily restricted across the United States.As of right now, we have 12 states with abortion bans that have virtually no exceptions.
And so this map in front of you is from the Guttmacher Institute. It's a wonderful organization that does very robust research on abortion access and access to reproductive healthcare in general And so they've created this map And as you can see, it's hard to miss Alot of those states, those 12 states that have the abortion bans with virtually no exceptions, a lot of them are in the Deep South, what I often refer to as the Dirty South So there's a lot of work that remains to be done
What Guttmacher has also figured out is that there are about 19 million women in the United States who live in a place where abortion is banned. And so the need to travel outside of the state is very, very real for those women and also for transgender and non-binary people who may need access to abortion.Anyone who lives in those states-- women, transgender people, non-binary people-- they are having a very vital part of their reproductive healthcare be denied to them, as well as their right to bodily autonomy So there's a whole lot of work that remains to be done.And I'm sure that I'm preaching to the choir, but I have to make the point nevertheless
And this is the thing, despite the progress that we recently saw last week, more bans are coming. We fully expect more states to pursue abortion bans So in fact, the day after the election, the South Carolina Legislature met to take up an abortion ban, but they ended up being unable to reach a compromise
And so as this headline from the Greenville News, down in South Carolina, indicates, we expect South Carolina to take up the abortion ban in 2023 They're not going to let it go You would have thought that maybe a message would have come through to them on election night, but no, they still want press for it the very next day They were halted but they're not deterred We fully expect this conversation to continue in 2023. In addition to that, we know that the Ohio Legislature is planning to meet before the end of this year to discuss an abortion ban
So what I'd like to do at this point is really lift up the case study that I mentioned to you at the top of today's webinar-- abortion access in Virginia So as you can see from this flyer from the ACLU, "Abortion is still legal in Virginia." Virginia is one of a few southern states, if not the only southern state at this point, where abortion is still legal And we've been making sure that we get the word out to people in our state and beyond because as you can imagine, there was certainly some confusion after Roe was overturned this summer.
But here's the thing about Virginia, the status of abortion being legal is not secure because there's no constitutional protection for abortion in our state.At any point, Virginia can end up looking like Texas All it really takes is one election
Right now, we have split control of the state legislature Republicans have control of the House Democrats have control of the Senate by a very narrow margin. and the governor is a Republican
And our governor has already said that he wants to see a 15-week ban on abortion in 2023. He wants it to hit his desk. He's even pulled together a panel of four anti-abortion lawmakers to work on crafting the bill language and the strategy in order to get an abortion ban in Virginia
So we already know a fight is going to be a hit In fact, the fight has already began here in Virginia when it comes to protecting access to abortion. So in the same way that the governor has come out very strong, very loudly, saying that he wants to see a ban on abortion, there are lawmakers and advocates who have been very vocal about their intent to fight any ban on
abortion and even to take a proactive move and to consider pursuing a constitutional amendment that would protect access to abortion in Virginia.
So that's where things stand right now, but what I'd really like to do is take a look back and see if I can thread some things together So I mentioned to quite a few of you before that I had an opportunity to work for Planned Parenthood.Afew years ago, I was their policy analyst. I did some lobbying on behalf of the organization as well, had a chance to work with some amazing advocates in the reproductive healthcare space here in Virginia
And the fact of the matter is we saw the writing on the wall with respect to Roe long before the Dobbs decision came down this summer. Back in 2017, 2018, we knew that it was just a matter of time before Roe would be overturned. And as a practical matter, we also knew is that in a lot of states there were serious restrictions on abortion In fact, in Virginia, there were restrictions on abortion that made it difficult for people to access the healthcare that they needed
With these restrictions and with courts holding up enough of those restrictions, as a practical matter, as you'll see here, nearly 1 in 10 people obtaining an abortion had to travel across the state for care even before Roe was overturned. And then just like everyone here, we were watching the Supreme Court The US Supreme Court We were looking at the makeup So we knew it really and truly was just a matter of time, a matter of when, not a matter of if , when it came to Roe being overturned
So the question is, all right, what did we do since we saw the writing on the wall back in 2017, 2018? What we did is try to begin getting some protection for abortion in place We considered pursuing a constitutional amendment back in 2018 but ultimately decided to postpone that particular effort because we needed to do more research in order to make sure that the amendment language was crafted properly And we also needed to do more work in terms of educating members of the public so that they would be fully behind a constitutional amendment.
What we decided to do instead is pursue statutory protection for abortion and Virginia. And so we did that in the form of two bills, or attempted to do that, through two bills-- HB 1231 and SB 910 Those bills, they were identical They were companion pieces of legislation That's what we call them here in Virginia.
They would have provided that a pregnant person has a fundamental right to obtain a lawful abortion and that no statute or regulation would be construed to prohibit the performance of an abortion prior to viability or if necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person. So we put a lot of our energy and a lot of our effort into trying to secure the statutory protection for access to abortion
What we did, first, and foremost and most importantly, is we decided to partner with other organizations for this effort. Now there are times-- or rather, there were times when Planned Parenthood would decide to push pieces of legislation independently, and then there would be other times when we would decide to partner There was always a very thoughtful
conversation that took place within the organization whenever we would make a decisions about how to proceed, rather independently or in partnership.
When it came to this particular effort, we decided that partnership was going to be critically important because there were lots of resources that needed to be brought to bear And we figured that it would be important for as many organizations as possible, who were willing, to come together and be able to leverage their strengths. So we worked with a coalition that's known asThe Virginia Coalition to Protect Women's Health And I still have very fond memories from that time, still have lots of respect for that particular coalition because each organization truly does have its own strength
So just to provide some examples, some organizations have great relationships with lawmakers that other organizations don't necessarily have. Other organizations within this coalition have legal and policy staffers who are able to do amazing research and analysis, and that's always important whenever you're pursuing legislation, especially something as important as protecting access to abortion And still, there were other organizations that had really robust communications departments or communication staffers who could craft amazing messaging, compelling messaging and disseminate the messages And then even more importantly than that, there were organizations that had really robust groups of volunteers who could be activated and mobilized
So by coming together, we felt that we had the best of all of the worlds we knew that we needed all of those things that I just listed out And we, as an organization, although strong, didn't have all of those things. We couldn't tick all of those boxes.And so by working in partnership with other organizations who care deeply about reproductive health and access to abortion, we put ourselves in the best position for this particular policy advocacy initiative
And so now I just want to talk about what our work actually look like as a part of this campaign In Virginia, the legislative session begins in January of each year but we didn't start working on our effort to get these bills passed in December We started early
The fact of the matter is that legislative advocacy is a year-round sport. There is something that needs to be done in every season It is not smart, it is not effective to wait until the last minute to pursue legislative activity because there's so much that has to get accomplished
So we did a lot of work in what I'll call the pre-session period The reality is most of our work, most of our hard work, was done during that pre-session period. So for one, we researched how states approach protecting access to abortion
The beauty of working at the state level is that there are 49 other places that you can look to get information about how to approach a particular policy issue And we always took to heart what neighboring states were doing, what states across the country were doing. Now, oftentimes, we would look at California, and NewYork, and Washington, and Oregon with envy, but we would look at them nevertheless because we always knew, OK, we can move or attempt
to move in that direction even if we can't get exactly what California, NewYork, and Oregon have right now.
In addition to doing that research on how other states approach protecting access to abortion, we decided on what approach we were going to take And that involved lots of conversations with our coalition partners. People often have their own ideas based on their experience, based on the research that they've done.And so we work through those conversations in order to land on the two bills that I've mentioned to you
During the pre-session period, we work together to craft bill language Now mind you, in Virginia and in every other state, there is a department that crafts bill language. Sometimes though, that particular department, if you don't give them enough information or you don't give them a sample indicating where it is that you want to go, we'll crank out something that's not exactly what you're looking for. So we came up with bill language, crafted that language, made sure that our sponsors had it to take to the division of legislative services, who then pretty much produce the bill the piece of paper that moved through the legislative process
It's during the pre-session period that we developed our arguments to support our position and develop the counterarguments to address the points that we knew anti-abortion advocates were going to raise. For the most part, especially in the abortion space, the arguments are not new, especially when it comes to the arguments put forth by anti-abortion advocates They've been singing from the same hymnal for years now so it's just a matter of taking the time to look at those arguments and to hone your counterarguments It's so much easier to do that in the pre-session period, which is typically less busy for organizations to engage in advocacy, than to try to do that during the legislative session when you may have 14, 15, 30, 40 bills that you're tracking or advocating for in one way or another
In addition to developing those arguments, we selected good sponsors, good bill sponsors, during the pre-session period. In Virginia, we call our bill sponsors patrons.And your bill sponsor really and truly can make or break your effort
Of course, organizations, who do legislative advocacy on a regular basis, have lawmakers that they form relationships with, lawmakers that they admire or respect for one reason or another And so it was important for members of this coalition to come together and really have a robust conversation about what lawmakers to approach to sponsor these bills.
It took a while, but we agreed and landed on a House member and a Senate member Both of them, interestingly enough, had the first name Jennifer. We would often tease them.They would talk about how they made up the Jennifer caucus They're amazing folks, amazing lawmakers, very smart, understand the issue of access to abortion, able to think on their feet, know the argument, and they had no problem with pushing back when it was time to push back.
The decision again, though, was made during that pre-session period. Once we made that decision, we were then able to talk to those lawmakers to get their OK and to provide them in their offices with the information that they needed to prepare for the legislative session They had plenty of time to do all of that.
Also, during the pre-session period, we identified key committee members that we needed to talk to, and we scheduled meetings with them, and we divided it up that workload. So usually, bills that fall within a particular subject area go to particular committees, and you can predict which committee the bill is going to go to.
And so being able to do that allows you-- or rather, it allowed us to really identify those lawmakers who we needed to talk to first and foremost before the legislative session began because in the same way that advocates are juggling multiple bills and multiple priorities, the lawmakers are juggling multiple bills, multiple priorities, trying to remain in contact with constituents during the legislative session So when you meet with them during that pre-session period, you really have their ear You have their undivided attention This is what we did as a coalition.
And then finally, during the pre-session period, we began making plans to educate volunteers about the bill and members of the community at large When it comes to an issue like abortion that is divisive-- we can still say that Apart of me still thinks back to election night, last week, and I want to say, hey, it's not divisive when you give voters an opportunity to weigh in.They weigh in favor of access to abortion But the reality is it's still a divisive issue
And so it does no good for Planned Parenthood, and [? NARAL, ?] andACLU to be the only folks who understand what the bills are and understand the arguments because it takes more than us to push these efforts forward. And so during that pre-session period, we began making the plans to educate the public and to educate volunteers about the pieces of legislation, what they would do, why they should support those bills.
So then that brings me to the legislative session, itself. What did our partnership look like during the legislative session? What action did we take? So the heavy lifting, as I said before, was done during the pre-session, but there was still plenty of work to be done during the legislative session, itself.
So on the most basic level, we had to track the bills. There are thousands, literally thousands, of bills that make their way through the legislative process in Virginia And oftentimes, bills are scheduled to be taken up in committee very quickly And that's not something that's unique to Virginia. So it's always an effort to track the bills, especially the ones that are most important to you, to make sure that you don't miss anything
In addition to that, we maintain contact with our bill sponsors and our staff. So while we had those early conversations with them prior to the session beginning. We want it to make sure that we had follow up conversations with them to see if they needed any additional resources, to find out if they were hearing anything in their conversations with other lawmakers and their conversations with other advocates that they felt like they needed to be better prepared to address or that we felt like they needed to be in a position to address We had those conversations on an ongoing basis during the legislative session
We also followed up with those committee members that I mentioned to you a few minutes ago during the legislative session for a similar reason. We made that first point of contact prior to session, but we made sure that we connected with them during the legislative session so that they understood full well the pieces of legislation and that they understood the energy and the effort the support that was behind those bills.
During session, of course, you have to activate your volunteers. It's not enough to simply educate folks.You have to inspire them and encourage them to take action, to contact their legislators, and to talk about how they feel about the pieces of legislation.At the end of the day, lawmakers want to hear from their constituents. I know that's not a new concept Our other speakers have talked about that a whole lot And I'm sure that a lot of that intuitively. But it is so critically important for lawmakers to hear from their constituents, the individual people who vote for them
During session, we also secure testimony for the bill hearings because we knew the bills would get a committee hearing And to be perfectly honest with you, we anticipated that the bills might not get out of committee.And so the committee was the opportunity to really make the case for the bills It was really the opportunity to get a good article and the press about these pieces of legislation.
And so we made sure that we had people who are impacted by not having access to abortion or would be impacted by not having access to abortion to show up on the days that the bills were being taken up in committee and to talk about their concerns, to talk about their experiences. Of course, we then track the committee votes during the legislative session You have to do that And we tracked what lawmakers said
So what happened as a result of all of this work? Well, unfortunately, as we suspected, the bills did not make it out of committee We had good bills, good bill language, amazing sponsors, great volunteers who showed up. Everybody put in the work.All of the coalition members who had their individual strengths, they operated and the area of their strengths and still, both bills died in committee on party line votes That is the way that the cookie crumbles sometimes, but that is not the end of the story.
Even though we didn't get the outcome that we wanted, in 2018, we continue to do the work. So what did that look like in the immediate post legislative session period? It looked like thanking the lawmakers who supported the bills because the reality is lawmakers take a lot of beating when it comes to the contentious, divisive issues So it's important for you to always thank lawmakers who share your position and who are willing to affirmatively demonstrate their support, whether that is by voting the right way or giving a committee speech or floor speech. It's important to express gratitude
In addition to that, we reviewed and analyzed what happened during that legislative session We knew going in that getting these bills passed would be a long shot, just given the makeup of the legislature at the time, but nevertheless, we knew it was also important to sit down and really
evaluate what played out at every stage of the game to see if there were some lessons that could be gleaned from the experience, to see if there are some things that we could do better, if there were some holes that we could plug
And then finally, we did that work of telling the story. We told the story. We made sure that our volunteers at Planned Parenthood, made sure that our volunteers and everybody connected to them knew what happened, who voted, what way, and why.And we prepared for the next year
And so here, I have a quote I'm sure that everybody has seen this quote, use this quote with kids, nieces, nephews. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."And that is so critically important when it comes to legislative advocacy, especially when it comes to an issue like abortion.
So I said to you before, we were talking about and really doing that work of trying to codify Roe or provide access to abortion in the code. We were doing it back in 2017, 2018.And the work continued in 2019, 2020, and here we are now at 2022 And there really is an opportunity, I think, for Virginia to pursue a constitutional amendment
In 2023, that will not be a novel idea because of the work that was done back in 2017 and 2018 The work of educating the public is not going to be the heaviest of lips in large part because of the work that was done back in 2017 and 2018 And then of course, you have this big intervening event with the Dobbs being overturned. And so there's so much more attention being given to the issue of protecting access to abortion than what's being given in 2017 and 2018.
To be perfectly honest with you, what I observed, when we were doing this campaign back in 2018, is that there was a lack of a sense of urgency among people who we were talking to. Now, I said to you, I saw the writing on the wall People who work at health centers that provide abortion care and who follow access to abortion very carefully, they saw the writing on the wall back in 2017 and 2018, but to some of the folks who we were talking to, we just sounded paranoid To be perfectly honest with you, that's the vibe that I got from some folks
Everybody now knows though we now knows that we were not just paranoid, that access to abortion has to be affirmatively protected, and that at no point can we just take for granted that access is going to be available. Even if you are in a state like Virginia that as of right now has access to abortion available to people who need it, you still have to be vigilant because on one hand, we make access to abortion available, but on the other hand, over the years, we've had legislatures to impose ridiculous burdensome restrictions on abortion
We even had a legislature-- and this resolution actually passed, and I think it was in 2017 A legislature passed a resolution establishing a date of two years to mourn the anniversary of Roe.That's actually a thing.And Virginia. So with that type of mix, and with the balance of power, [? and ?] the Virginia GeneralAssembly also often being so close, we have to be vigilant We have to always be ready to protect access to abortion
The big lesson for you all though, again, is when thinking about legislative advocacy, especially for issues like reproductive healthcare, is to understand that the battles are often multi-year battles Even when the issue is a no-brainer issue, even when the issue is one that has broad based support, oftentimes, it takes more than one bite at the apple to accomplish what you need to accomplish at the systemic level.And so at this point I am going to step back and have Khadijah step in
KHADIJAH SILVER: Well, that was just an amazing point and amazing transition And hi, everyone.Yes, I'm Khadijah Silver, they/them.And I am a senior staff attorney here at Lawyers for Good Government, working under Mika Fernandez, our incredible vice president of strategy and policy
So I plan to start off this presentation on the high note that we had 340 LGBTQ+ people elected into the legislature in states where there was no dreaming that we would ever see trans representation, largely thanks to incredible grassroots activism by groups that have dedicated bunch of money-- sorry, I'm trying to pull up the exact stats-- and centralized a lot of incredible LGBTQ+ power, including a really fantastic group called Victory Fund.
That's how I wanted to start. However, I got interrupted, so rudely interrupted by the reality of the legislative session in Ohio, which is starting off with a bang And for any of you Jeopardy fans, we have our beloved Jeopardy shero,Amy Schneider, who had to go from jeopardy to fly to Ohio and testify this morning on the new bill that would criminalize trans healthcare for young people
And one of the people who testified just moments ago is Stevie Beck And instead of talking about the urgency that brought people like Zooey and other amazing trans people into legislature and the need for us to be on the inside, I have to talk about the need for us to also be on the outside and the urgent importance of testimony So not only didAmy fly in, but Stevie Beck, whose estranged mother had testified on behalf of this new bill, House Bill 454, that they're discussing today, also called the SafeAct, which says it's there to save adolescents from experimentation, but would actually, as Stevie explains, erase the entirety of transitional and gender affirming healthcare as well as psychological safety for all trans adolescents in Ohio.
Now,Amy Schneider, Jeopardy champ, as well as Stevie Beck both testified rather incredibly powerfully today about the fact that were it not for gender affirming healthcare, they wouldn't be here, they wouldn't exist, their voices would not be in the room because the agony of being rejected as who they were was too much to bear, the agony of having to wake up every day pretending to be someone else was completely too much to bear. And I know that abortion access is a topic that is at this point relatable to the majority ofAmericans, but trans healthcare and bodily autonomy are not So that's why I just really wanted to open with a real-world situation that's literally happening at this very moment If we can now go to the next slide, that would be amazing.
So we had an absolutely incredible midterm total surprise shock. Many of us at Lawyers for Great Government were bracing for a very different outcome But I will say that it's a little bit different when it comes to bodily autonomy for transgender people than it is for abortion
because anti-trans sentiment knows no party color It doesn't fall along party lines as simply and cleanly. It's much, much more permeable.
In fact, many of the parents who are testifying in statehouses across the nation against affirming healthcare consider themselves to be leftist, progressive, feminist. And so it leaves many of us who are trans, and non-binary, and two spirit clenching our teeth during election season as to, OK, what's going to happen? What are people going to actually say?
So we were extremely excited to see hard-earned proposition one in Nevada pass, which is the state level equal rights amendment in Nevada, which includes transgender people However, we were also very disappointed to see pretty much immediately afterAbbott's win. Governor Abbott excitedly putting forward four anti-trans bills, two of which are specifically targeting healthcare and affirming the state legislative platform which, quote, "opposes all efforts to validate transgender identity."
So as you can see, there was not the sense of jubilance in among transgender people who are fighting to be able to get medication, get our needs met, not be discriminated against in healthcare settings, not be discriminated against in public accommodations It was a mixed bag of feelings, depending on where you sat on midterms night. Next slide, please.
And there's a lot going on not just in elections, but this week is a really intense time also on the state level as far as extra outside of electioneering activity So Florida, Governor DeSantis, who did just win reelection, has empowered the Board of Medicine, in a way that has never really been seen before at this level, to make a decision that goes, as many doctors have said, far beyond their legal bounds, similarly to howAbbott successfully targeted trans youth using the Child Protective Services in a way that had not been done and was not put before the legislature
The Board of Medicine met last week and voted to bar transgender people under 18 from receiving affirming healthcare. And now that is going through a rulemaking process instead of a legislative one, of avoiding sidestepping the political process.
And interestingly, also off-cycle, we had a lot of amazing legislative action happen out of session over the summer by supportive states such as Senate Bill 107, which was signed by Governor Newsom of California that protects transgender people It's basically a refuge law, protecting transgender people who come to California from being criminally prosecuted by their home state, also protects their health information, their mental health information That basically, anything that happens within California stays in California.
And Connecticut, a number of other states are taking similar action.And NewYork is currently considering a very similar law as well So this is all happening, again, outside of session, which is exciting Next slide
So I think we have to transition one more time to get a picture and we get to click There we go That's a pretty damn good picture.This is a trans youth die-in, just really showing the reality of what happens when you ban trans healthcare The reality is that affirming healthcare leads to a 73% reduction in suicidality.
So in three states, we have legislatures that have banned affirming healthcare for trans young people.And while these bans are currently being challenged and are under injunction in the courts, the political structure has still really shown pretty staunch support However, I will mention one exciting place that we're looking at isArizona, where there's a shift in governor to governor-elect Hobbs, and we do expect a sort of shift in the dynamic there as far as what legislation might be able to go forth And then as I just mentioned, there's bans being discussed literally today in Ohio, Florida, andTexas. Just next.Thank you.
So the hyperbole around abortion is so dramatic and it-- many of us scoff, I would say, when we hear people talking about the idea of keeping a fetus alive outside of a mother's body and just letting a mother die It just seems so radically dramatic and absurd to many of us who are pro-choice and feel passionately that the science and justice are behind that.
But I will say again, it's really important to remember that the great majority of theAmerican public is a little less unified on the subject of whether transgender people should be able to pursue healthcare that affirms their gender, especially at a young age
And so my colleague and friend, Gillian Branstetter said, "the authors of these bills are responding to trans kids as if they're responding to a contagion." Like it's something that's spreading When really, what we've seen similar to left handedness that, when you stop telling people that their state of being is wrong, that they're going to be a little louder about being themselves.
But it still remains true that the more people are themselves and affirm their identities, the more threatened many people are who don't have trans people in their lives or if they do, are very-due to religious background, cultural beliefs, et cetera, are really frightened of what that means.
And those people have been weaponized by a small group of very active and very rich interest groups that have put forth increasing number of anti-trans bills over the years peaking with 238 bills introduced last session Next slide
So what have we been doing in the face of this? So I was extremely grateful to join Lawyers For Good Government this summer.And as LaTonya said, it came fromTransgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, a k a TLDEF
And we took advantage of the amazing network of attorneys, volunteers that work with us, both individually and in the firms, to do some really incredible research for our ally organizations to figure out, OK, where are the places where we can take the most positive action, where are the places where we can take-- where we need to be more defensive What is the landscape
And that's exactly the kind of research that LaTonya was discussing is so important as a foundational step, right? What are we looking at here? Where are the opportunities? Where are the threats?
And so our colleagues at National Center forTransgender Equality,TLDEF, andTransgender Law Center asked us to do some research which we've actually deepened with our amazing partners at transformations project and other friends who are doing this legislative advocacy research.
And what we came up with is that given, again, this patchwork that you're seeing in the map the importance of having federal level protections. So we actually worked to help drive the right comments, right?The right testimony and comments from the most threatened states to the federal government during their consideration of theAffordable CareActs Rule, 1557. Wherein they work to make the protections for trans and other LGBTQ people more explicit, that had been gutted by the previous administration
However, another aspect of this that we are thinking about and keeping in the back of our mind the entire time is that, the same groups that are treating trans young people as some sort of contagion, are also funding litigation at the state level against Biden's efforts with expanding section 1557 of theAffordable CareAct
And actually last Friday, they had a pretty big win inTexas where they-- aTrump appointed judge ruled that the application of the Bostock versus Clayton County ruling by the Supreme Court was over extended to cover healthcare And instead of citing the majority opinion in Bostock, cited the dissent. Which I think tells you a lot about where they were coming from. But the point is that, as much as we would love to just be like, OK, we can just push for this federal level protection in one fell swoop and we're done, it's never that simple So we have to make sure that things are strong at the state level as well Next slide
So where does that leave us, right? Where are the states? So we have about 50% of the states in the United States that have nondiscrimination protections written into law in their code or the bulletin We have not too bad, right, 10% of states only, seems like a lot when you're a trans young person but still - about 10% of states that are actually banning affirming care.
And then, we now have growing-- actually, I would say every few months more states are signing on. In fact, this is already out of date because we already have a couple of more states, I think, just in the past couple of weeks who have expanded Medicaid coverage to include transgender people and gender affirming care. So that's the landscape.And this is the sort of analysis that we delivered to our allies this fall Next slide
So right around this time we recognized that while the rhetoric on the right has largely been about bathrooms and sports teams, that the real harm, the real question of whether transgender people could continue to exist lay in the realm of basic human rights, right? Basic access to healthcare Basic access to housing Basic employment, right?
So we did a lot of digging on where people were saying that the threats were And it's pretty dramatic when you look at how badly people who are trans, non-binary, or two spirit are being treated when it comes to accommodation, and when it comes to seeking healthcare.
They're literally just being outright denied healthcare by providers who are made uncomfortable by having to serve somebody who doesn't fit within their norms of a binary sex identity.And also when they do seek it, nearly a third are actually being denied coverage of care. And that's this year.That's actually a very modern, very new survey done by Center forAmerican Progress Next slide
And further, we found that not only is this happening, but it has a tremendous impact on the health and well being on the-- as we say, in public health land, morbidity and mortality of transgender people.
That actually almost half of transgender people are just saying, you know what? I've been treated so badly I'm not even going to go to the doctor There's just not a point Half are very concerned that if they actually disclose, that if they don't pass sufficiently enough, that they will be denied proper medical care.
Now the reason that's significant and why I want to pause for a second is, we are stuck in an absurdist reality where trans people are being told, you don't know who you are until whenever, right? Some states, it's 18, some states, it's 19, some states they're pushing for 25 You don't know who you are.
So you just have to hang in there.Try to make the best of it in the body you're in. But if you actually affirm your identity in any way, if you dress according to the gender that you are, if you just are in any way outside of, again, the provider's sense of what a normative binary should look like, I might just not see you. I might just not give you care.
However, they don't want to give them the care. So it's really putting people into a very bizarre bind that is resulting in almost laughable outcomes like inAlabama, where there is a requirement that you have not only chest but what we call bottom surgery, genital reconstructive surgery, in order to get a driver's license.
And yet, they have very recently passed a law that bans gender affirmative healthcare of any type. Be it puberty blockers, hormones, or surgery until the age of 19, which basically is pushing the driving age to far above 19.
So those are the sorts of civil rights outcomes that really concern us when we think about ability to drive, go to work, seek housing, any basic safety So that's why healthcare was really a foundational aspect to this campaign Next slide
So we've gone forth-- and we dipped our toes in the water with this initial research, the threat mapping research, for our allies at National Center forTransgender Equality,TLDEF, and Trans Law Center And we've gone deeper with data provided by some amazing partners at a pretty new organization, very similarly to Lawyers for Good Government, formed out of a need and a hunger to be able to do something with their skills,Transformations Project
NowTransformations Project has a live and very well curated LegiScan database that they analyze on literally constantly of bills and laws pertaining to transgender rights
And so we have been blessed to partner with them and have access to that To get a sense of what the threats look like in real time.And also, to start really strategizing what are-- how lawyers can be best of help in that And how we can tap into the skills and knowledge of our base to fight some of these efforts and fight for some protective efforts. Next slide.
So you might recognize this one.The model that LaTonya laid out is exactly the one that we want to use, right? Moving forward in the pre-session, right? What have we been doing?
We've been researching, deciding on an approach, looking at all the different prongs, right? Federal, state, local, I mean, down to the school board level Down to the Board of Medicine level. Carefully crafting the language that allies are telling us is most helpful. Developing arguments to support our position and counter-arguments to address the points made by anti-trans advocates
So we did publish a Lawyers for Good Government comment, which you can read on the Federal Register regarding section 1557 of theAffordable CareAct. And we want to continue doing that very badly. Especially, at the state level right now in Florida at the Board of Medicine where our voices are really needed
We helped our allies select powerful spokespeople to tell the stories of why trans health was so urgent at the state level. Identify those key states.And began making plans to educate volunteers about what you can do And that's where you come in Next slide
So as we move into the early days of-- I would say, we're now in that weird place, right? Just like we're in that weird place between fall and winter. We're in that weird place between pre-session and session where you can feel the rumblings.You can feel the tension building.And everyone's getting ready to actually go into session
Our to do list is making sure that we are just incredibly on point, on top of all of the bills coming through. Continue refining our strategy based on what we're seeing and hearing. Connecting with groups like Victory Fund who we've already begun conversations with and other groups to make sure that we have good relationships with Bill sponsors and their staff, which will be a lot easier now that we have 340 LGBTQ+ people in the legislature who actually want to take action on this issue
And again, just make sure that we're getting our allies who want to protect trans rights the research and information they need in order to move things forward quickly when the time comes. And also making sure that our base is extremely activated and energized to maintain those relationships, to be the voice on the ground, and work in partnership with some of our ally organizations. Next slide.
So the dual-pronged strategy is to on the one hand, promote and support these refuge bills that provide safe harbor to transgender people and their families to be able to live safe lives And in doing that, we want to make sure that we are using best practices as far as grassroots advocacy and partnership.
And I would say that the top, top best practice is to follow trans leadership So many multimillion dollar nonprofit organizations swoop in when it's opportune and say a lot of things about civil rights and LGBTQ+ rights.And as we call it in the movement, rainbow wash when it's helpful.And we want to make sure Lawyers for Good Government is never a part of that culture.
And then the other thing is, just being able to, just like we're doing with abortion, keep an ear to what people are saying Ensure that they're continuing with-- following through with commitments.And maximizing external pressure as far as modeling from other states, modeling from op-eds Everything from podcasts to letter writing campaigns, it all helps to make sure that people are actually following through on their promises
And one really great example of this is NewYork, which is where I live I live in Brooklyn And we have a bill that we're very excited about, which would turn NewYork into a trans refuge state Which you would think would be easy-peasy But as you saw in our midterm election, isn't going to be that straightforward
We actually had a really challenging midterm thanks to some sort of discord among our Democratic party internally.And some challenges just, again, in strategy. So we are coming from behind and need all the help we can get
And then, of course, on the other side of things is to make sure that these bills, like Ohio's this morning that I was sitting here reading on my phone, don't go further.That they stop. So we can support state level advocates in battleground states with talking points. We can support the infrastructure of these grassroots organizations. We can put pressure using business and other levers just like you see the movement for abortion rights doing with employers who are calling on states to change their tune because capitalism and anti-choice politics just don't work together anymore.
And again, the importance of just making sure that there's a sense that you're on the wrong side of history if you are a fighting to strip transgender people of their right to bodily autonomy Next slide.
And then we're-- same thing, right? Keep it moving.You don't ever stop until the battle's won. Keep thanking people who do support you Review and analyze every step of the way
We just had a major post-1557 comment period breakdown analysis of all of the organizations that were working on that All of the people working on that And the lessons to learn moving forward.And we keep telling the story and we just keep planning so that each time that we go into the arena, we are more confident, more strong, and more unified so we can win Next slide
And indeed, I have to close by saying that, "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again," is the best policy advice around. I've been doing this literally since I was 15. I started off.
I was on the cover of the NewYorkTimes as a youth organizer with the gay-straight alliance groups, and BostonAlliance of gay and lesbian youth, fighting for a state nondiscrimination protection for trans, and gay, and lesbian, and bisexual youth And we won that fight after two years.
And I can't-- that was a big win that started off it got me energized. But I then spent much of the rest of my career in public health and workers' rights where the wounds are a lot fewer and farther between, so [LAUGHS] I will say, just always keep good people around you, good energy around you, like LaTonya.And you can do anything.Together, I know we can. SoThank you
LATONYAJOYNER-GREGORY: Khadijah, thank you so much for joining us this afternoon At this point, before we move into our Q&A, I want to take a moment to talk about this new project that I mentioned at the top of the webinar, our StateAdvocacy Leaders Program.
One of the things that L4GG is very passionate about is, making sure that you all, our members, our partners have what you need in order to engage in systemic change at the state level
We develop the State LegislativeAdvocacyAcademy as a vehicle for providing you with some training and resources that would help you engage in legislative advocacy in your home state.
Well, the next step in our journey involves this program. The SLAA, State Legislative AdvocacyAcademy Leadership Program, is for lawyers and law students who are committed to engaging in legislative advocacy in their home state, number one. And number two, committed to helping to mobilize other lawyers and law students in their home state to achieve systemic change
It is so important to be able to work in concert with other people, to be able to work in partnership with other people when you are pursuing systemic change, especially, at the state level So this program is designed to really bolster what you have gained from the State LegislativeAdvocacyAcademy and pretty much take you to the next level
So if you decide to participate in this program, and I hope that you do, these are some of the benefits that you'll receive. High quality training and other educational resources to sharpen your legislative advocacy and organizing skills You'll receive regular coaching from L4GG staff and partner organizations across the country
This is a big one Early access to L4GGs latest policy reports and new resources Khadijah mentioned some of those.And you'll get additional tools as needed to help you engage in policy change efforts in your home state and mobilize other L4GG members to do the same.
We have an application process that we have developed for the program.The application is going to go live on Friday. I'm going to send out an email prior to Friday that provides even more information about this program
And I have to tell you, I'm trying to contain my excitement I'm smiling as I talk to you about this because I'm just so incredibly excited about the potential of the program, and the potential of having leaders across the country from L4GG community doing that work at the state level to achieve systemic change.
So please keep an eye out. Check your inboxes.You'll get more information about the State Advocacy Leaders Program.And I really hope that you will decide to apply and to join us in this next effort
KHADIJAH SILVER:And I will also say, before we dive into the Q&Athat, no, I completely buried the lead. I'm such a failed journalist. So I actually just shared in the chat the newest report on our work around transgender bodily autonomy and rights And the fact that many of the families that I know are now refugees in their own country
We have a mass of people calling me at all hours of the day, telling me the stories of people showing up at their doors at 2:00AM trying to take away their children.Their stories of providers shutting down and literally not knowing where to go
So that's part of what we're really trying to make sure that we have an incredible wellspring of support for those families so that they can continue to love, and protect, and support their kids as who they are.And so that those who didn't receive that sort of acceptance and support can build chosen families in secure and healthy and safe homes.
So again, very excited to have you all hopefully continue on this journey with me in 2023 And as I mentioned, in the Q&A, I'm delighted, delighted to hear any ideas about how we can move forward.And yeah, sign on up. Let's get to work.
LATONYAJOYNER-GREGORY:That sounds good.And so at this point, let us transition to our Q&A We do have time left for that I am going to take a look at the Q&Abox and also the chat If you have any questions, please feel free to post those. We're more than happy to engage in conversation with you
At this point, I'm not seeing any questions in the Q&A And so let me take a look at the chat
KHADIJAH SILVER:Yeah I apologize I didn't realize the question would disappear if I answered it But we did have a really excellent question come through in the chat-- or in the Q&A.
LATONYAJOYNER-GREGORY: - Please share.
KHADIJAH SILVER: So Dana asked, could a sanctuary state like NewYork become the site of a trans led center of excellence for gender affirming care And because insurance coverage is not likely to be available, salaried providers could make care affordable?
And I said that I think that's an amazing idea Thinking about NewYork and also Massachusetts where a similar sanctuary bill is under consideration where there is already in Massachusetts, actually, protection for abortion seekers and people seeking gender affirming care wrapped up in one.
But the question about how well that's going to be interpreted has got people a little nervous So there is the desire to enhance it. But that brings me to that there are amazing partners on the ground in those states. Fenway Health in Massachusetts. Callen-Lorde in NewYork, who could help to organize that sort of thing.And amazing policy staffs at both places.
And that also brings me to DC, which is also another sanctuary state that recently passed this exact-- just like California passed an amazing ConstitutionalAmendment protecting-- I'm sorry, no, not a ConstitutionalAmendment But protection for transgender people who come to their state. I mean, come to DC, to the district.And they, of course, have Whitman-Walker. So terrific idea
And yeah Also, yeah, the idea of regional centers absolutely And Dana also asked, what's a good contact address to continue discussing this? I would love to hear LaTonya how you'd like us to move forward with these sorts of discussions?
LATONYAJOYNER-GREGORY: So I will provide my email address.Alot of you all have that anyway You hear from me quite a bit So if you have any additional questions, comments, ideas, just email me, latonya@l4gg org, or latonya@lawyersforagoodgovernment org And we'll make sure to keep the conversation going.
And you can also, of course, always email me as well. But I'm just thinking as far as building this sort of group camaraderie and teamwork, I think it would be really incredible for us to build out some structure wherein we're continuing these conversations together.
Absolutely.Absolutely. I see a question from Linda.There is such anger among parents who are in denial. Do you have a place or resource for people who want to support teens?That's a good one
KHADIJAH SILVER: Such a good one I thinkTrevor Project is doing the work And they are under attack constantly by anti-trans firebrands, I would say. Really scary people who literally threaten them So I would look toTrevor
Also, even though, again, it's not specifically a trans organization, PFLAG has been absolutely incredible in supporting families, helping them on the journey to acceptance. And helping those families who've been isolated from other family members for accepting their children, so.
And of course, Human Rights Campaign, National Center for Transgender Equality, they both have family groups. Nice healthy, walled gardens where you can just scream-[LAUGHS] --among people who have your back And also learn the language to use with people who are coming from that place of anger and fear.
LATONYAJOYNER-GREGORY:That sounds great.And Khadijah, maybe I can include that list in my follow-up email to the group Or we can post it among the other supplemental resources
KHADIJAH SILVER:And then could you answer Lauren's before we wrap up? Lauren has a really great question.
LATONYAJOYNER-GREGORY:Yes And it's about theAdvocacy Leaders program So is the StateAdvocacy Leaders Program limited to certain topics of advocacy, ie, reproductive rights, gender affirming care, or does it provide structure for more broad based advocacy which could be utilized to advocate on any issue?
And Lauren the answer is, it's more the latter. More providing that structure that can be used to advocate on any issue. Because the bottomline is that, we want you all to feel empowered and supported to advocate on the issues that matter most to you.
So will there be opportunities to partner with L4GG on particular advocacy campaigns to work on particular issues?Absolutely. But beyond that, we are interested in making sure that you have what you need to do what you want to do most What you feel called and compelled to do most with respect to achieving systemic change in your state
KHADIJAH SILVER:And I also want to follow-up on that with the fact that, I'm not sure if all of you got the email, but we now have the relaunch of our app which is also going to be an amazing place for you to continue discussing your passions with one another.
And again, passing the mic back to LaTonya, I want you to tell a little bit more about the particular goodies they have in store
LATONYAJOYNER-GREGORY:Yes So there is going to be a special community designed for us. For people who participated in the State LegislativeAdvocacyAcademy. So we'll have a place to chat, to ask questions, to raise concerns, to share observations So much of the work that we do going forward in 2023 and beyond is going to be grounded in the app.The app is going to be our hub. So I'm very excited about the relaunch.Thank you for that, Khadijah.
And so at this point, I think this is a great time to wrap up.As always, I'm going to send an email that includes a survey I ask that you please complete the survey We love receiving your feedback. In fact, we need your feedback. It helps us to provide the programming that is going to best meet your needs and your desires So please be on the lookout for that
Again, you're going to get another email that provides additional information about the State Advocacy Leader's Program And I sincerely hope that you all will apply and join us in that particular effort.
Khadijah, thank you also-- thank you so much, again.And everyone thank you for carving out the time this afternoon to spend with us
KHADIJAH SILVER:Yeah Thank you for this incredible opportunity And yes, once the materials for the advocacy program are out, there will be copious opportunity to continue the discussion. So this is the beginning. We're so excited to work with you.