DC Statehood is a Reproductive Justice Issue

Did you know that in a 2016 referendum, 86% of D.C. residents voted in favor of statehood? Dr. Serina Floyd, OB/GYN and Medical Director/Vice President of Medical Services at Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. and Kory Stuer, Public Affairs Manager at Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C, sit down to talk with us about the importance of statehood for Washington, D.C., and what it would mean for the reproductive health, rights, and justice of D.C. residents.

Washington, D.C., is a district of more than 700,000 tax-paying residents, all of whom do not have basic democratic rights-- including voting representation in Congress. D.C. residents also do not have control over how tax dollars are spent at the local-level, meaning members of Congress can block or overturn any D.C.-based bills. D.C’s lack of statehood has a direct impact on the public health of its residents.

The district has high levels of inequity in health outcomes, with those who are most marginalized also experiencing the highest rates of health inequalities. For example, D.C.’s maternal mortality rate for Black residents is so high that it the district has the 5th worst overall rate in the country, 50% higher than the national average. The D.C. Council has introduced the Maternal Health Resources and Access Act, which, if passed, will respond to this crisis, and improve access through multiple mechanisms. 

The recent release of the President’s budget repealed the Hyde amendment and the D.C. abortion ban (this ban refers to a separate appropriations rider that prevents the District from using their own tax dollars for funding abortion care). In 2017, young people between the ages of 13 and 24 accounted for 41% of HIV diagnoses in D.C.; double the national average. Yet, members of Congress have routinely voted for bills that prevent young people from accessing sexual and reproductive health care without their parent’s consent and stymied needle exchange programs. Lack of D.C. statehood has no doubt impact the district when it comes to COVID-19. Black residents have made up 50% of COVID cases and 70% of deaths yet have only received 37% of vaccinations.

There is current legislation that has a historic level of support led by Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton in the House and Senator Tom Carper in the Senate. The bill, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, creates a new state out of the specifically residential areas. You can learn more about it here.

Links from this episode

Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C.
Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. on Facebook
Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. on Twitter
More information on the Maternal Health Resources and Access Act
More information on the Washington, D.C. Admission Act

transcript

Jennie: Welcome to rePROs Fight Back, a podcast where we explore all things reproductive health, rights and justice. I'm your host, Jennie Wetter, and I'll be helping you stay informed around issues like birth control, abortion, sex education and LGBTQ issues and much, much more-- giving you the tools you need to take action and fight back. Okay, let's dive in.

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Jennie: Welcome to this week's episode of rePROs Fight Back. I'm your host, Jennie Wetter, and my pronouns are she/her. So y'all, I cannot believe it is mid-June of this year. Where has it gone? It is just unreal to me to think that it is June 15th today. It is also like summer in DC already, and I am never ready for it. Listen, I grew up in Wisconsin until, and I lived there until I was 24 and, uh, you know, it would get like hot and humid in the summer, but it'd be like, you know, a couple days and then it would storm and it would cool off and you know, it would be hot, but it wouldn't be humid. And man, humidity in DC is like this whole other thing. And it was just so gross. Like you be sitting outside and it's hot, but like, it'll be so humid. You're just like sweating. It is just disgusting and I'm never ready for it. I've lived here 16 years and I am never ready for it. And, uh, yeah, it's just so gross. Ugh. I, I, but I'm really thinking of it because I've been able to go and start doing, you know, outdoor get togethers with friends and it's been so delightful and I've had a couple in this last week and it has just been so wonderful to see friends that I haven't seen in a year plus. And, you know, it's just been so nice to see people and, you know, I, I was getting, you know, kind of down, like I've been really emotionally drained. There's just been a lot going on with work and stuff. And I really needed the boost from seeing some friends in person. And it just made everything a little bit better. Also making things a little bit better is every time you see this new administration saying loudly and proudly that they support sexual and reproductive health and rights, all that weight that we've been hearing and talking about on the podcast for the last four years gets just like a tiny bit lighter. Like there's still so much work to be done, but you know, hearing them loudly support it on a global stage really does make me feel a little bit brighter every time I hear it. It's just such a turnaround. It's just wonderful to see. And I know it's not perfect. And I know there's so much that we need to do and we will talk about it all here. Don't worry. It is just, it's nice to hear. And it, it does make things a little bit brighter. Let's see… anything else exciting? Well, it was exciting cause I've had so many people who have been, you know, following me on social for, in friends, like who have been like begging to be able to, you know, taste what I've baked. Um, and so it was great to see some friends and get to share the baked goods they have been eyeing.

Jennie: I mean, I've been baking for a couple of years now, but for the last year I've been baking a lot. And so it was nice to get to share the baked goods and not just have them around my place for myself to eat. Um, so that was lovely. Yeah. And it was just good to see people-- I've missed my friends and it just made things a lot brighter. And also exciting is we're talking about an issue on today's episode that is extra near and dear to my heart because it's about DC statehood and I live in DC and this impacts me in so many ways. And you know, often when you hear the conversation about DC statehood, it's like firmly politically and often, not a lot of talk about what it would mean for the people who live here, what it would mean to our lives to have DC statehood. So I'm really, really looking forward to having this conversation, to talk about why DC statehood is a reproductive justice issue. It's just really important that everybody understand that it's not just a political issue, but it really does impact the people's lives who live here, especially people of color. And it's, it's so important. And I'm so glad we had Dr. Serina Floyd and Kory Stuer with Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC on here today to talk to me about this. And I hope you all enjoy the interview. And a quick before we go to the interview, just a quick note, that there was some construction being done, uh, near where Kory was recording. So unfortunately, in their audio, there is some banging that we weren't able to completely edit out. Hopefully it's not too distracting. It's because it's a really important conversation. And I hope that you are able to still hear everything that they have to say. So with that, enjoy my interview with Dr. Floyd and Kory.

Jennie: Hi, Dr. Floyd. Hi Kory. Thank you so much for being here today.

Dr. Floyd: Thank you for having us.

Kory Yes. Thank you.

Jennie: Do each of you want to take a quick second and introduce yourself and include your pronouns, Dr. Floyd, do you want to go first?

Dr. Floyd: Sure. So my name is Dr. Serina Floyd. My pronouns are she and her. I am a board-certified obstetrician gynecologist and the Vice President of Medical Affairs and Medical Director at Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC.

Kory: And hi there. My name is Kory Stuer. Uh, my pronouns are they/them and I am the Public Affairs Manager at Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC, or PPMW.

Jennie: Great. I am so excited to talk to y'all today about something that as a DC resident is very near and dear to my heart and that's DC statehood and why DC statehood is a reproductive justice issue. So maybe we should start at the beginning. So, DC isn’t a state. What does that mean for people that live in DC?

Kory: I can start with this one to say that essentially what it means is that there's more than 700,000 residents of DC who pay taxes and everything yet do not have the basic rights that we would associate with living in a democracy, being citizens. And so, something that, um, I try to emphasize, uh, as I'm talking with people about this is that as this conversation around DC, statehood has gained more and more attention at the national level that primarily has revolved around does DC have voting representation in Congress? And it's egregious that we don't, that we don't have any say in how our federal tax dollars are spent, but what is just as bad or sometimes even worse is that we also don't have control over our local government or how our local government spends our tax dollars. And so, this especially has some implications for reproductive health. Um, but it essentially means that Congress can block or overturn any DC bill they want. They can prevent DC from spending money on things, again, with our local tax dollars, not even what's happening at the federal level.

Jennie: Yeah. I think that's so important. Like I even run into some of those questions, like not being clear, talking to family, right? Like, “oh, you don't have a voting member in Congress? I thought you had a representative.” And like having to explain like all the steps. Cause I think most people just don't know, like it's gotten a lot more attention recently, but I still think a lot of people don't know, let alone getting to like DC, not controlling its own budget.

Kory: Yeah, for sure. I mean, we do have the incredible Eleanor Holmes Norton. I am so grateful for what she does every day fighting for not only for DC statehood, but for so many important issues. She's a real champion, but yeah, I mean, and we, we see this regularly that the Congress will try to meddle in DC's affairs and, and yeah, I think that when people hear about it, I know as I talked to my family and friends in other states they're shocked, they can't believe that, that just feels so wrong to them. So, I think that it's something that the more people hear about the more, I think that's good for the statehood movement.

Jennie: So how has this impacted public health in DC?

Dr. Floyd: Yeah. So I'm, I'm happy to take that one on and you know, I just, I want to stress again, the point that this fight is really one of the most important racial justice, civil rights, reproductive health rights and justice issues, um, in our region. Uh, DC, like a lot of other areas in the country, unfortunately has a high level of inequity in health outcomes with those who are most marginalized, often experiencing the worst outcomes at the highest rates. So, who is it that's disproportionately harmed? In DC it tends to be those who live in wards five, seven and eight, um, who are also primarily people of color and those who suffer from the lowest incomes and what that translates into from a health perspective, so, you know, I'm going to talk about a couple of specific health related issues, but just in general, when we talk about health is really important to take some time to talk about the social determinants of health. And so that is really incorporating the fact that health is more than healthcare, um, that your zip code can be more important sometimes than your genetic code for health. And that, you know, the choices that we make are shaped by the choices that we have. And unfortunately, in DC, what we see a lot of is that the individuals who are most marginalized, so 54% of DC’s population identifies as people of color with Black citizens making up the largest racial group and wards five, seven, and eight are the predominantly Black wards and also are the wards with the greatest inequities. And so, what that means in terms of healthcare is that DC has some of the highest national rates of STIs like gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis, some of the highest HIV rates in the nation, maternal morbidity, which I'm going to talk about in a moment, um, is also, is very tragic in DC. And even, you know, the life expectancy that the Black-white life expectancy gap is larger than any other state in the nation. And so, when we are considering the fact that policy often affects the ability for individuals, especially those who are marginalized to even be able to access care, that is… that's crucial. So, when we take maternal mortality, for example, you know, we know that Black and brown people in particular suffer from maternal mortality rates that are three to four times higher than white women. And when we talk about DC, we know that Black residents suffer a maternal mortality rate so high that the district has the fifth worst overall rate in the country, which is more than 50% higher than what the national average is. And, you know, that's for many reasons, but something really important to point out is that, you know, the Black community has historically faced the most barriers to accessing care.

Dr. Floyd: Communities East of the Anacostia river are home to nearly half of DC's Black population. Yet the region does not have a single maternity ward. And that means that pregnant individuals must travel significant distances to receive very important maternity care, and policies that result in larger institutions making the decision to not accept public insurance, right? Which is, you know, public insurance is often depended on by many people of color and individuals with low incomes. It means that they're not going to have access through that means. And essentially, you know, what this translates into is that those who are historically known to experience disproportionate levels of adverse health outcomes are put even further at risk. Now, you know, how this relates to statehood is, you know, for example, the DC council has introduced the Maternal Health Resources and Access Act, which if it's passed and is not interfered with or hamstrung by members of Congress (cause that's why we're having this conversation) this act actually takes is going to attempt to take several key steps to respond to this crisis. And it's through multiple mechanisms, such as a pilot program for Medicaid reimbursement of doula services; the services have been shown to be very important for improving outcomes, especially among those of color. It would require study of feasibility of establishing a birthing center east of the river, which of course we know is not there right now. And even providing transportation subsidies for rides to maternal health appointments for individuals, again, who don't have healthcare in their local areas where [they are] having to travel significant distances and, you know, maternal mortality is just one of the areas we talk about abortion access. And the fact that, you know, even though DC residents have repeatedly been in favor of using locally race tax dollars to cover abortion care, Congress passes annual legislation that prohibits that from happening. And so, you know, that in essence means that this long history of denying Black and brown people and immigrant communities autonomy with reproductive health is perpetuated since we know that Medicaid is the largest payer of reproductive health in the country, also because of centuries of systemic racism, is the form of health insurance that's used disproportionately by people of color. And so it's, you know, whether we talk about the COVID response to, you know, HIV rates and access to care along those lines, there's just a lot of ways in which statehood directly can impact public health.

Jennie: Yeah. I think that's a much there. And I have to say one of the things that really stood out to me is as many times as we had talked about Black maternal mortality on this podcast, I don't think I really… like I knew DC was bad, but I guess I didn't quite realize how highly ranked they were compared to other places.

Dr. Floyd: Yeah, it's scary. I mean, it's, it's surprising. It's, it's scary and it's extremely sad. You know, I, I definitely know of stories of experiences that individuals have had trying to access care and whether it's maternity care, whether it's abortion care, whether it's any type of care, when you are talking about individuals living in places where their resource support is just so low. And then we're dealing with a government that doesn't have full capability to manage its own budget, to be able to address some of those health outcomes and address some of those health issues, then it puts people in a really bad position.

Jennie: Yeah. The other thing was with the abortion access, which is really important to, for people to know, like DC always tries to get, to be able to use their own funding, to fund abortion within Medicaid and Congress continually blocks that. Good news because we should always celebrate small victories is the President's budget came out recently. And one, he got rid of the Hyde amendment, which prevent Medicaid from funding abortion. So that was awesome.

Dr. Floyd: Yes, yes.

Jennie: But he also got rid of the DC abortion ban, which both are very important.

Dr. Floyd: Yes, yes. Definitely worth celebrating the victories where we can.

Kory: Yeah.

Jennie: Now we just need Congress to do it. [Laughs]

Kory: Right? Right? Let's keep that energy for the whole budget. I know that I'm sure many listeners of this podcast are very familiar with the Hyde amendment, but I think you're right, that many might not be familiar with the fact that there's a whole other rider that Congress puts in every single year that specifically blocks DC, again from using its own locally raised tax dollars, um, in order to do this. And so, yeah, I think that while DC's elected officials recognize that abortion is healthcare and therefore trying to cover it as a healthcare service and our programs we’re prevented by doing that from politicians that are not accountable to the people of DC and we have no ability really to influence them.

Jennie: Well, another thing you mentioned was HIV in DC. And I feel like I remember there used to also always be a block, um, DC’s needle exchange program.

Dr. Floyd: Yeah. So, you know, aside from even the needle exchange program, like I think about another issue that comes to the forefront for me, which is HIV and young people, right? So young people are at the greatest risk to acquire HIV, yet they are less likely to be aware of their status. And in 2017 young people in DC between the ages of 13 and 24, accounted for 41% of HIV diagnoses in the district, which is twice the national rate. Uh, and you know, that's scary, right? And it's, you know, the fact that individuals may not be aware of their status, but then also the potential for them to have obstacles from being able to even, you know, get testing, to be able to initiate, uh, HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, what we call PrEP to prevent acquisition of HIV, the, you know, barriers like concern over whether or not explanation of benefit forms, which are basically forms that insurance companies send that outline when, when services have been received and get sent to the home. For someone who doesn't want to have a parent or a guardian or another family member be aware of what they're receiving, you know, um, what type of health care they're receiving, you have something like an explanation of benefit gets sent home, which is outlining on there exactly what they came in for whether it's abortion care, whether it's HIV care, whether it's, you know, a contraceptive care, if you've got something like that, going to the home, then that's an obstacle, right? So being able to ensure that those kinds of things don't happen, or, you know, just being able to access your own records without needing parental consent, you know, is something important. And then just kind of at the base of this as being able to provide your own consent, your own informed consent, to be able to make those decisions from the very beginning. And, uh, and so when we think about what, um, young people in particular in the district have to go through, or the obstacles they may be experiencing, or the fears that they may have, then it becomes not so surprising that we ultimately end up seeing these outcomes that we do. Doesn't, you know, obviously it's still terrible circumstance, but, um, but there's definitely things that can be done to help move that into the right direction and, and bills that can be proposed, like the Minor Consent to Health Care for HIV and AIDS bill is one that, you know, obviously it's, it's great to get it through the DC council, but then we've got that next extra step. And if you've got members of Congress, you feel like, you know, minors shouldn't be able to consent without parental involvement, or they shouldn't be able to have access to certain things without parental involvement. Then that just sets us right back to where we were, where these individuals are having to face these, these constant challenges.

Kory: Yeah, I can, I can say that's something we are always having to think about whenever we're thinking about a proactive campaign to expand access to healthcare in DC, you know, the campaign doesn't end, like it might in other places with it passes through the legislature and it's signed by the executive. No, we have to go through a whole congressional review period where Congress can just overturn it. And then they got another chop the next year, if they just want to defund it through the budget. But I'm really glad you also mentioned the needle exchange program, because for me, that is one of the most stark examples of how the lack of statehood has impacted our community's health and wellbeing. I think for me, I didn't know that it was so much tied to the rates in DC of exchange through transmissions that were attributed to injection drug use. So since 2007, when Congress finally lifted that ban after decades of having it in place during the height of the HIV epidemic, the rates have fallen more than 99% in terms of the transmission. So, it went from 150 cases in 2007 to, in 2019 only two cases that that can be attributed to the injection drug use. And so, for me, that just really encapsulates so clearly how the health and wellbeing of our community has been politicized. And we can't take the actions that we need to promote our community's health, because again, politicians in Congress are, you know, playing their, their political games so that they can say that they, you know, blocked funding for DC needle exchanges.

Jennie: Well, and I think another big thing was, I mean, obviously this last year with COVID, how has the lack of DC statehood impacted COVID in DC?

Dr. Floyd: Yeah, that's, COVID obviously is front of mind for a lot of us as, as we are still in midst of the pandemic. And although things are fortunately taking a turn, it's still for certain, for certain populations, certain groups, it's still not looking as great as it is for others. And, you know, if you take vaccination, well, just take COVID in general. We know that in DC, Black residents have accounted for nearly half of COVID-19 cases and nearly 70% of deaths yet have only received 37% of vaccines. And, you know, part of this, the issue is who the vaccines that DC has been allotted to receive, you know, who those have been going to. And unfortunately, a large proportion have been going to those who are non-residents and to federal agencies. And so that means that, you know, these federal agencies and the non-residents are receiving these crucial vaccines while residents of the district are going without, and that's, you know, not even to speak about just when the federal government was allotting support funds to different states and awarding amounts of it, you know, on those level of billions to other states. But for DC, I think it was only 500 million that was received the pandemic from the government. So it just goes again, to show that when you are not, when the distrcit is not recognized as a state, as it should be, it really has consequences for what the district can do for its own residents on the healthcare front.

Jennie: Okay. So, let's move to solutions. What do we need to do what needs to happen to make DC a state?

Kory: Well, the good thing is that there is legislation, uh, and it has a historic level of support right now. So in the House that's led by again, the incredible Eleanor Holmes Norton and in the Senate by Senator Tom Carper, and that bill passed the House, it was actually passed the House for the first time last year, I think represents how strong the movement for DC statehood is becoming. And it passed again this year in April. So, we're onto the Senate now, and that's where the fight is. And I think that what I'll say about that bill is that it does not just take what is currently all of DC and turn it into a new state. It creates a new state out of the space where basically the people live. And so, the parts of DC that especially people who do not live here, associate with DC, like the National Mall and Congress and the monuments and the White House that would all be within a new federal district. Meanwhile, the rest of the community would be in a new state known as Washington Douglas Commonwealth, after the great abolitionist, Frederick Douglas, who called DC home for many decades. So that's what we're working towards. We want that bill to pass and, you know, we've again, have a historic level of support, but we're still, especially there are, is more need for support and conversation and engaging a lot of those senators who have indicated they're still undecided.

Jennie: Yeah. It seems like we're building so much momentum. The conversation has gotten so much louder. Like I just remember when I moved here, like, I don't know, 16 years ago now, like most people didn't know or understand outside of DC, what lack of DC statehood meant, but it's become so much a part of the national conversation and seeing it get a hearing, seeing it passed the House last year and this year, like, it was so exciting to feel like this change could actually happen.

Kory: Yeah. And while it does feel new for, I think a lot of people at the national level, it is not a new fight.

Jennie: No [laughs]

Kory: This fight is hundreds of years old. And, you know, there are, um, there are groups, especially Black-ledgroups that have been working just constantly, constantly over that time, uh, to lift up that this is a racial justice issue, that this is, you know, an issue of basic civil rights and voting rights. And so while we're really excited that it's getting more attention than ever, uh, you know, I hope that folks are aware that this is not a new fight. It's not something that's, you know, happening for political expediency. This is something that's being driven by the people at DC; this most push did kind of, you know, people do tie it to in 20 16, 86% of people in DC voted for statehood in a referendum. You know that that's a pretty resounding yes. In terms of people wanting statehood. And so…[audio cuts out].

Jennie: Yeah. Thank you for raising it as a racial justice issue and something that's been around for a long time. Cause I do think you're right for so many people, it feels new and like tied to politics. And I mean, it is in a way, but like people not seeing the much broader implications and why it's a race issue. I think a lot of people just don't understand.

Dr. Floyd: Yeah. I mean, that's a really important thing to highlight. You know, we already spoke about the percentage of the DC residents who are individuals of color and particularly who are Black individuals. And when you talk about nearly half of the residents being Black, you know, if DC were to finally become a state, it would be the first day with paralysis plurality of Black residents. And so it's very much a racial justice issue. Uh, and when you look again to see who was being most affected by Congress's interference in DC's ability to legislate itself, you know, who was being most effected by that the individuals, um, in DC who represent those different groups of color, particularly Black individuals, and it it's been a long-standing fight. And I think we're definitely at a time where we need to start to see a change. And, you know, in terms of things that, you know, folks can do to, to try to support those efforts, I think first and foremost is, you know, as we've been talking about, learn more about it, like, what does it mean for DC to have statehood? We've talked to a fair amount during this interview about it, but just doing more research on one's own and, and really learning what it means. And then once that education or that awareness is there, bring attention to it, you know, and bringing attention to it on the national level. So whether we're talking about media opportunities and writing op-eds, or again, really advocating with lawmakers in other areas to, you know, urging representatives and senators to support statehood. So in supporting those groups that are, um, fighting for statehood, like 51 for 51, for example. And so there's lots of ways that we really want it to include others who are even outside of the district to help in this fight with us. And, you know, I, I do want to raise up, just kind of again as the provider on the phone and, um, being a provider at Planned Parenthood and a provider who does abortion services is here in DC. We have something called the DC abortion fund. And when we talk importantly about abortion access issue, which is affected by DC's lack of statehood, I think it's really important to raise up that since individuals here don't have the support that they would need through the means that they should for being able to access care from a financial standpoint, then that is definitely one way that can help being…supporting the DC abortion fund. Uh, financially making donations really can help the patients that we serve here at PPMW, as well as patients who are seeking care and other facilities here in the district really help them to get that care. And, and I highlight this because it particularly brings to mind a story of a patient who, you know, I saw not too long ago, who was a young person, you know, who found out that she was pregnant and came in for an abortion here at our health center. But, you know, unfortunately we determined it during the course of her evaluation that she was too far along for us to be able to perform the procedure here. And so we had to refer her to a hospital setting and, and you know, this patient, as well as her parents who are there with her, it was just this gut wrenching, emotional reaction with her dad, even, you know, with tears in his eyes, because he's like, we just, we can't afford that. Like we can't, you know, they had Medicaid, right? But because of an inability for that, their insurance to cover in a hospital sending, which is often more expensive than in an outpatient setting, they sat there kind of looking, you know, looking at me and it, it tore my heart out. Cause I'm trying to think, and I'm racking my brain, what can we do to help this family? And there just aren't unfortunately, a lot of options. And so, things like the DC abortion fund and other, other support services for individuals, they need to seek care. It's so important that we support those because those are exactly what the patients like… I want to just mention, you know, what they often be relying on.

Jennie: Yes. And it is towards the end of Fund-a-thon. So it is definitely time to donate to DC abortion fund or your local abortion fund right now. But always, but also right now,

Dr. Floyd: Yes, always is great.

[All laugh]

Jennie: And if you can, monthly.

Dr. Floyd: Yes. Regular donations are definitely appreciated.

Jennie: It helps them plan. And it's, you know, as Dr. Floyd just showed it's, it's a really needed service for so many people. Well, I think you already hit my last question, which is always what can the audience do?

Kory: Yeah. So I think that as Dr. Floyd said, educating yourself about DC statehood is one of the most important things and educating others. I think, especially if you are living in the state or, you know, people who live in the state of Arizona, Maine, West Virginia, or Alaska, because those are where the target Senators currently are who have indicated that they're undecided about statehood. These are Senators from both parties that, that we just want to be hearing more from both their own constituents and as well as the people at DC, why statehood is important. If you're trying to learn a little bit more about the history, I'm not sure if I, if I can plug another podcast while I'm here, but a 51st from one of our local radio stations, it was a really great introduction to kind of the long fight for DC statehood. And the last thing I'll say is that we're expecting this month during June for there to be a Senate hearing on the statehood bill. And so, especially, it will be really important to engage those undecided Senators at that time to make sure that they're hearing from folks about why this is so important and paying attention, because what's been my experience is, there's more statehood is talked about the more the arguments against it, just fall away that they're either revealed as racist and paternalistic, or just foolish nonsense, like saying that we don't have a bowling alley

Jennie: Or a car dealership.

Kory: We do.

[All laugh]

Jennie: So I just thank you both for being here. I had a great time talking to you.

Dr. Floyd: Well, thank you for having us. I enjoy this conversation as well.

Kory: Yeah. It's been great talking.

Jennie: Okay. Everybody. I hope you enjoyed the conversation I had with Dr. Floyd and Kory, like I said, it's an issue that is especially near and dear to me as a DC resident. It's so important that DC becomes a state because it really does impact our lives, not just our political lives, but our day-to-day lives. And, you know, that's something that the pandemic really did lay bare and you can also see very clearly and reproductive health outcomes. So, you know, they raised a lot of really important issues. So I hope you all learned a lot and I will see you all next week. Next week, there is a big week of action happening around permanent repeal of the global gag rule and why it needs to happen. So to do our part, rePROs Fight Back is going to do a special bonus episode, talking about why we need to pass the Global HER Act, which would permanently repeal the global gag rule. Why it being not in effect by executive action is not good enough, why we need a permanent solution to this. So you can hear that next week.

Jennie: Thanks for listening everyone. And we'll see you on our next episode of RePROS Fight Back. For more information, including show notes from this episode and previous episodes, please visit our website at reprosfightback.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at RePROS Fight Back, or on Instagram at reprosfb. If you like our show, please help others find it by sharing it with your friends and subscribing, rating and reviewing us on iTunes. Thanks for listening.

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