rePROs’ 50-State Report Card: The Looming Storm and How the New Administration is Primed to Make the Human Rights Crisis Worse

rePROs Fight Back released its 13th annual 50-State Report Card on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. The United States, overall, received an ‘F’ grade, while 5 states received an ‘A’ and 25 states failed. Jennie Wetter, Director of the rePROs Fight Back initiative and host of the rePROs Fight Back podcast, sits down to discuss this staggering loss of rights and the continuous fight for our right to bodily autonomy with Tarah Demant, Interim National Director of Programs, Advocacy, and Government Affairs at Amnesty International USA.

While 2024 had some bright spots, including abortion-related ballot measures passing in 7 of the 10 states where they were on the ballot, we are still experiencing the fallout of the 2022 Dobbs decision. The human rights crisis unleashed by that decision has led states to continue restricting abortion access and has emboldened anti-rights advocates to increase their attacks on gender-affirming care. Using 11 criteria, the 50-State Report Card ranks each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia on three broad indicators relating to reproductive health and rights: prevention, affordability, and access to services.

Links from this episode

rePROs Fight Back on X
rePROs Fight Back on Instagram
Jennie Wetter on X
The Looming Storm: New Administration is Primed to Make Human Rights Crisis Worse; A 50-State Report Card
Press Release: New Report: Reproductive Health Care Now Severely Restricted in 31 States

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Transcript

Jennie: Welcome to rePROs Fight Back, a podcast on all things related to sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. [music intro]

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Jennie: Hi rePROs! How's everybody doing? I'm your host, Jennie Wetter, and my pronouns are she/her. So y'all, I'm recording this just after getting a haircut and color. And I had a while before, since my last one, so my hair had, like, really grown out. And so, my hairs last and I were talking. We decided, we're looking at pictures for inspiration and decided to go super short, which I know I have a pixie already. But, like, we went really short and decided that, you know what, if we're gonna do super short and cut, we can go super bold in color. Y'all, we went real bright red. It is gorgeous but it was, like, such a change that it was really shocking. It took a minute to grow on me and, like, [laughs] I think she got a little worried sitting watching me in the chair 'cause I was like, it took a minute for me to adjust to such a big color change. But it looks really great. And I got outside in the sun and it was like such a vibrant, bright red. It's just stunning. So, thank you, Leah. It looks beautiful. I love it. And I'm so happy to have my super short pixie cut back because it really had gotten long and out of control andI need to not let that happen again because it was, it was bad. It was bad. Y'all, I think I'm just gonna stop there because we're doing something a little different today. I'm the one being interviewed. So with that, let's just throw it over to Tarah.

Tarah: Hello podcast listeners. I bet this was not the voice you were expecting. Hello, my name is Tarah Demant and my pronouns is she/her and I am not Jennie Wetter, the host of rePROs Fight Back. I am, however, a grateful colleague of Jennie's. I work at Amnesty International USA and I'm really excited to welcome our guests to the podcast today who is...Jennie Wetter. Jennie, can you introduce yourself and your pronouns and a little bit about why you're here today on that side of the microphone?

Jennie: Yeah. Oh, first Tarah, thank you so much for doing this. I am so grateful that you were able to jump in and play host today. It's always so much fun and also weird to be on the other side of the microphone. But anyhow, I am Jennie Wetter. My pronouns are she/her. I am coming here not as the host of rePROs Fight Back, but as the director of the rePROs Fight Back Initiative at the Population Institute. And I am here to talk about our brand new 50-State Report Card that just got released last week when you all hear this.

Tarah: So, one taste of your own medicine being on the other side of the mike. So, now you know how other guests are so excited to talk about these things and to have those questions asked. So really grateful to talk to you around these things. Not just 'cause of the broad work that we all do, but particularly as, like, a human rights practitioner. The idea of reproductive rights in the United States is of a huge concern, obviously, to the human rights community and to hopefully all communities as we're seeing what's happening. So this report card launched last week, if you're listening, but on Wednesday, March 19th. Tell us a little bit about the scope of this. When, when we say this, like, report card launch, what is it that actually came out into the world?

Jennie: Yeah, so, we started doing this report card. This is our 13th annual report card. And we wanted to start doing it to fit into that gap of people were familiar of some of the egregious attacks that were happening at the state level, like, if something in particular was bad was kicking off, like for example, in Texas. But if you had conversations with them, they were less familiar of: what the laws were around sexual and reproductive health in their own states, you'd be like, did you know your state doesn't mandate sex ed? And they had no idea. So, we wanted to make sure to kind of fill that gap to give people a tool to see how their state compared to other states, which is why we started doing the 50 state report card. And I also think it helps fill some of that gap of so much of our work falls into silos, right?

Tarah: Mm-hmm.

Jennie: So, this person talks about birth control, this person does abortion work, this person works on Medicaid—but all of these are integral to people's sexual and reproductive health and rights. And we need to make sure that we are talking about them as one thing that they all work together or, and are interrelated. And not just, this is really bad abortion stuff that is happening. But we also need to talk about, well, that state also doesn't mandate sex ed.

Tarah: Mm-hmm.

Jennie: They also have these affordability issues. We wanna make sure that people are getting that whole big picture and not just the like separate single silo attacks.

Tarah: What are the things that you're covering in the report card?

Jennie: Yeah. So again, like I said, it's kind of a big thing. So, I think the best way to think about it is in categories. We have three main categories of indicators we look at. We look at prevention, and that's things like sex education. Sex education varies widely from state to state, honestly, from school district to school district.

Tarah: Mm-hmm.

Jennie: You need to make sure that young people are getting a comprehensive medically accurate sex education. I've talked about my experience before going to Catholic school and having sex ed from a nun. So, like, I know the, like, longer term harms of getting inaccurate sex education and not comprehensive sex education and how that sets you up for failure later in life. The next thing we look at under prevention is access to emergency contraception in the emergency room. Making sure that ERs are not only telling sexual assault victims it's an option but also giving it to them if they want it. And then the last prevention thing we look at is making sure that minors are able to consent to birth control. And that's really important to make sure that young people are able to access care. The next category we have is affordability. Access doesn't matter if you can't afford the services, right? So it is a really important category. And three of the indicators we look at under that relate to Medicaid. Medicaid is a really big program covering so many things, but it's really important to remember it also plays a big role and sexual and reproductive health. It covers family planning and other sexual and reproductive health services. Right now, more than 40% of births in the country are covered by Medicaid and maternal healthcare. So, we wanna make sure that states have expanded their Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. We wanna make that states have expanded their family planning coverage beyond what the base coverage is. A lot of states do that by expanding based on income. And the last one, and honestly y'all, this is the one like true good news story in this report card is: Medicaid decided that states could expand their maternal health coverage for one year postpartum. And at a time when we have a maternal mortality crisis, particularly for Black women, this is huge.

Tarah: Yeah.

Jennie: And I thought this was gonna play out like Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, where lots of states were just gonna refuse to do it. But as of right now, only Wisconsin and Arkansas have not made that one year expansion. Like, honestly a truly good news story, which again, we all need that bright ray of hope somewhere, right?

Tarah: We all need. So, what's the last quarter? You have prevention, you have affordability. What's the last bucket?

Jennie: Access. So, we look at abortion restrictions like gestational bans, making sure that states don't have waiting periods, which make people come to the clinic twice. Again, making sure that young people are able to access care. So, making sure that there aren't parental consent and notice laws. We also wanna make sure states don't have trap laws or extra regulations on medication abortion. So, who can provide a medication abortion or making sure that people come in person. We wanna make sure that states aren't doing that. And then the last thing we look at is making sure that states aren't banning best practice gender affirming care. We wanna make sure that young people are able to access that lifesaving and life changing healthcare.

Tarah: Let's dive in a little bit. You've talked a number of these categories and the way that young people particularly are implicated. So, around prevention, you know, two of your three categories, sex ed and then access for minors. And then when you're talking around access: can young people access abortion related care? Can they access other types of care? Can they access gender affirming care? Where do you see young people showing up in this type of report card? Do you see differences in the way that a state treats younger people, young people or minors? So let's say, you know, 17 or younger as opposed to the way it treats people the age majority adults, you know, 18 or over?

Jennie: Yeah. I think, you know, parental consent laws are, like, really widespread in so many states. I can't remember the number off the top of my head. Sorry y'all. But it is a shocking number of states have parental consent laws for abortion. And so I think that is like one place. I think this comes down to people still feel, like, a way, like, icky or uncomfortable talking about young people and sex. And that's not fair to young people, right? They need to be able to have the tools they need to make healthy decisions about their lives. And they're set up to fail often from the beginning by not giving them comprehensive sex ed. And, and this is one of those things that I will say continues to surprise me every year of the mixture of states that don't mandate sex ed, right? It's not just the ones you think. And even in some of the states that are failing, they do require sex ed or some forms of sex ed. But then you have a state like Massachusetts or Colorado that doesn't mandate any at all. So, you know, you can't just assume, you know, what states are doing for young people. And I think that is again, the core, the place to start is looking at sex ed and then looking if minors are allowed to consent to accessing services. And again, that's one of those that you do see some like states where you wouldn't expect allowing it and some states that you wouldn't expect not allowing it.

Tarah: Yeah. I mean I think you get to where there's just an ickiness people feel around the question of youth and sexuality and-

Jennie: Yeah, for sure.

Tarah: And then also, like, a hard line in the sand for who gets rights when, right? At 18.

Jennie: And, like, the [idea that] parents should be able to have that say, and like, I think we see that around, you know, pushback we get around not having parental consent laws or, and this is a place where you can see the anti-rights movement really trying to peel people off, right? They use the young people as the gateway to start chipping away at access. So that's really where you started to see abortion bans coming in with putting in parental consent laws. And then once you started there, well, there were other ways you could chip away at abortion laws and now you're seeing that play out again with gender affirming care, where you see people targeting minors' access to gender affirming care. Because again, there's that, like, discomfort and people don't have the familiarity with trans people in general, but particularly young trans people. And so it's...easier doesn't feel like the right word, but it's like that way to start chipping in and also knowing it doesn't stop there.

Tarah: Right. I mean, there's two things you're sort of talking around. We can talk more topics, but I'm really interested in this because I think one is, you're exactly right, like minors are a much quote unquote "easier" target to take away rights, right? They're a much easier target to reduce these rights because people across political spectrums will have a different reaction-

Jennie: Yeah.

Tarah: -than they will to rights being taken away for adults, right? Legal adults and particularly around sex and sexuality, right? So, this becomes a way in which anti rights actors can begin to take away rights. Like, they're taken away from young people, but as a way to test balloon how they're going to take away rights overall. So how are they chipping away at our sexual reproductive rights in general? Well, let's start with parental consent laws because you can get across the, you know, aisle agreement on these things. I, the other, and I, I think it's, it's a real challenge in that the way that rights, language and law in general, right, is, is based on the age majority at 18 or wherever your state the government of being the, the federal government or state government sets the age of adulthood, right? And therefore, before that exists this sort of legal space of a variety of types of understandings of rights. And that's, you know, true in the human rights space as well, particularly under sexual and reproductive health and rights. That, like, there are differences in maturity between adults and minors, but that young people still have rights and there is a moving maturation, right? This understanding that, like, it may be different for a five-year-old than it is a 12-year-old, but it's not, it's not that then the answer is completely opposite of what an 18-year-old has for rights. And I think that becomes a trickier spot, but also a place that we see the beginnings of rights being taken away and, like, the rights that are taken away when you are young will dramatically impact the rest of your life, right? And you talked about sex ed. So, I actually wanna zoom in on sex ed. You and I have talked on this podcast before on our different experiences or similar experiences in very different states around sex education. So, I noticed that my home state, the golden state of California received an A category and I'm always, there's such good work going on protecting rights at the state level and a lot of law and policy. And I grew up in California and went to school, a public school in California and received abstinence-only education at my public high school in California. So, and that, that was clearly not this year of our Lord 2025. I mean, I hope not. Like, some or two years ago being 30 years ago. But like, but like the laws around how education gets rolled out is very different. So what does it mean to give a state like California an A grade when the reality is, and I know this for a fact at the high school that I went to, they still don't teach sex ed. They teach abstinence-only. And there's obviously a huge religious bent to that, but so what does it mean to give a really good grade where there's going to be actual real failures?

Jennie: Yeah. I think this is so important that the utility of having a statewide report card of seeing how your state fares when it comes to other states really hides things, right? Like, access really depends on where you live. And that can be, like, the state you live, it can be the county you live within that state.

Tarah: Mm-hmm.

Jennie: You may have a state like California where there are pockets where you are further away from clinics. You don't have that same type of access. Or even just thinking throughTarah and I both being from like small towns of, okay, so minors can consent to birth control, there wasn't a Planned Parenthood that I could get to real easy. So, if I had gotten a prescription, the pharmacist knows my parents.

Tarah: Right.

Jennie: Like, there's not like that, I mean, I'm sure, I'm sure some, a lot of pharmacists will hold that confidentiality, but like in a small town, things tend to maybe work a little different. And like, so there are things that definitely hide within that. So, California is doing great compared to other states, but that is not to say there is not work to be done. I mean, again, this is, like, the losing sense of time. I think it was last year had on someone from ACCESS Abortion Fund in California, Jessica Pinckney Gil, on to talk about where California needed to change and all of the ways that there are things that need to be done to increase access in California. So, that is the downside of doing a state-by-state grade is it does hide some of those things or kind of even the reverse of, like, having, like, bad states. But there are pockets within that state where they are doing good things. You hear about cities in Texas doing really trying to do things to help increase access.

Tarah: Mm-hmm.

Jennie: Or, you know, developing a fund that's gonna help people travel out of state to get care. So, there are things that inevitably will get hidden within a state grade, but I still think it is a really useful tool for people to see how their state is comparing to other states. And, and one thing we did this year that is different, we have an interactive tool on our website where you can see the report card and that's reportcard.reprosfightback.com. And so you'll see the state maps, you can see how your state overall compares to other states, but then there are also toggles on the side. And so you can go sex ed, how does our state compare when it comes to sex ed? And then the map will change and you can see how it relates on all of the indicators. Which is also just fascinating to take some time and play around with to see where your state is succeeding 'cause no state, like, got zeros, right? There are states who are doing real bad, but like nobody got zero. So, there are places where states are doing things well, and I think that is also useful to acknowledge. We can't just have everybody failing, although we try-

Tarah: I mean, we can, and we'd prefer not. I do think that's a, I mean this gets into one of the questions I have is like, what is the point of scorecards and how do we use that? And I think you spoke very well to, especially with this new interactive site, which is very cool that you can go in and, like, actually break down what this grade actually means, right? As opposed to, like, what it doesn't mean California is like 'A++, no work needs to be done.

Jennie: Correct.

Tarah: Every single person has access to all these rights,' right? Like, that is not actually what this means, [laughs] it is talking around law and policy and then it can show you within law and policy. So, in that way it's a, it is a baseline setter, right? This is around the laws and policies and like what is the baseline that you need? Then you cannot make these things happen without law and policy. Or if you can ring us up and tell us how, because we don't know.

Jennie: Yeah, nobody got 100, right?

Tarah: Yeah. No one gets [inaudible]. Yeah. And like, so what is, how do we then, what does this tell the folks who are in California versus the folks say in Louisiana, which had a very different score? What is it that you hope- first of all, who do you hope is seeing this?

Jennie: Yeah. And I think that's a two part thing, right? So, we do wanna policy makers in those states to see ones who want to make their state have good sexual and reproductive health and rights access to see where they're failing compared to other states or where they're succeeding. I think that is really helpful to see, be able to compare hopefully in a good way to, like, make things better. And then I also think it's a really important tool for advocates to use to be, like, there are ways that we can be pushing our state to do better. In a state like California, like, right now, California has a viability ban, so that's a place that they're losing points. There's, like, some little things around sex ed as well. So there are, everyone has things that can be done in Louisiana. I think it is finding groups on the ground who are doing that work, right? We're not an on-the-ground group doing that work, but there are lots of abortion funds and other reproductive justice groups on the ground to connect with, to find ways to push state policy makers to make the changes you need to make sure that you are given the tools to have fulfilled sexual and reproductive health.

Tarah: When you think about the tools for advocates, I mean, one of the things I know we all hope is that folks who are listening to this podcast take this resource and are able to make changes for the common good in their state, right? And the way that, like, the change you make in your state can and will have a knock on effect for better or for worse. Like, and this is like when states make bad moves, other states will follow. When state meets good moves, other states will follow. Yeah. and I think can offer some hope in the sense that like, our country is really going in the wrong direction in overall in terms of, of human rights and particularly sexual and reproductive rights. But we can see opportunities where, like, actually government is working for good and trying to predict rights and here's what it could look like and here's what it looks like in your state. I do think it's really interesting. Like no, no state receives a zero. Like, there's no zero.

Jennie: No.

Tarah: There are two states to receive 15, which is not mocho. Right? And that's Florida and Alabama. And, but even there, you can point to here are things that actually get 15 points, these things. Maybe that's somewhere to build on that. Like, folks can look at that and say like, we seem to have agreement at least on this. How can we build on that? And then also to show, like, what does it mean to the people of Florida that like if they happened to live in another state, they would have more sexual and reproductive rights? And how can that also be a galvanizing tool for a state to understand, like, this is about what impacts your people and the way that, like, you're actually not measuring up not just to some theoretic ideal, but to what other states are able to achieve. And you're not better or worse than that another state. There's no reason you couldn't do that, right? That that's, like, these are like political choices. So, I'm really excited about that possibility. I do wanna raise to you a very existential question and thinking about as you and I already are is, like, okay, now what do we do with this? And how do we make this real and, and, and matter, which is the question of someone's listening to this podcast and is like, this is such great information, this is so good. Also, it looks incredible. It's very well designed.

Jennie: Oh, thank you.

Tarah: It's easy to navigate and the fact sheets are easy to use, which is really key, right? But oftentimes people in the opposition to human rights often locked down into very ideological positions as opposed to a difference of opinion based on facts. That doesn't mean every single person who doesn't support, you know, a sex ed is somehow fully oppositional to facts. And we have seen that increasingly folks that have become entrenched in ideological opposition are not just having a difference of opinion. Like we all kind of want the same thing, which is safety for our children and ourselves and our loved ones, and we disagree about how to get there. Right? Instead what we're seeing is here's facts and people being like, no, they're not. [chuckles] Right? So this is a question of like, why do facts still matter when...what do we do with the fact that facts don't actually help in persuading others in a lot of, in a lot of discourse in the United States. And increasingly as, you know, we've talked about before, that increasingly actually facts do the opposite thing is that they actually hurt because they cause people to entrench. They don't help them, they cause 'em to entrench. So if someone hears a fact that disagrees with what they think, they then entrench further into that non-factual opinion that they have based on not facts, certainly, right, so...

Jennie: I know right.

Tarah: And this is a very complicated question. If you could just solve this for America really quickly, that'd be awesome.

Jennie: Great, Tarah, thanks for, like, not giving me, like, a really hard question.

Tarah: But, like, with the report card in mind...

Jennie: Yeah.

Tarah: I mean this I think is the real question of our time as advocates. It's like, what does it mean to take this report card into a conversation where facts decreasingly matter? Why do we spend our time still talking about facts in our line of work? Oh

Jennie: Yeah. That's hard. And, and one because I do inherently believe that facts matter and that's maybe the like, you know, a little bit of type A, like, I can convince people to like...

Tarah: The bias.

Jennie: Yeah.

Tarah: The bias that facts matter.

Jennie: Yes.

Tarah: The left leaning bias that facts matter. [laughs]

Jennie: Correct. but I'm also gonna do something else to like tap dance for a second of like, hey, we forgot to answer...'we,' like, like I'm gonna blame you. I didn't do, like, one important part in the overview as we were talking, so let's just, like, work it in now.

Tarah: Oh, yeah, yeah.

Jennie: And then I can, like, maybe marinate on why facts matter and have a better answer.

Tarah: Think it's also okay by the way to say this helps inform us and then we have different strategies.

Jennie: Correct.

Tarah: Like, I don't think there is an answer. Yeah. It's not a [inaudible].

Jennie: So, we talked about, like, the overview and like all the indicators and stuff we looked at, but we didn't do the, like, ta-da! So the ta-da—for the sixth year in a row, the US received a failing grade. We only had five states getting an A this year-

Tarah: Wow.

Jennie: -which Is...that it feels like it, it kinda holds pretty steady, which is sad, but like nobody backslid from, I mean, I don't think anybody backslid from an A too much, but we have 25 states that are failing and 31 states that got a D or lower. So, I think it's just really important for people to understand kind of the landscape we're talking about. There are only 16 states that got a B or higher. So, we're really failing when it comes to sexual and reproductive health at the state level. I mean, even at the national level, right? And it's really important that we know that it's not stopping here, right? There is clearly this big storm looming on the horizon that is the current administration that things are probably gonna get worse. We've already seen these proposed humongous cuts to Medicaid that would be absolutely devastating. We've also just heard rumors this week of slashing HIV funding in the states. So, you know, there is this storm looming and it's not gonna stop there. We know we are all prepared for more attacks on sexual and reproductive health. So, just with all of that in, in context of like where we are right now, and I do think it is really important, even as we do seem to horrifically live in this, like, "facts don't matter," world, which is wild, that it is important that the people who care about the facts are armed with the facts. So, maybe I'm not gonna convince people, right? But April in Oregon reads the report card and finds things and talks among her friends and she can convince some of her friends that like, "hey, there are these ways that Oregon can be better," or some of my friends from back home, maybe they see like, "ooh, look at all these ways Wisconsin is failing, we can push," and talks to their friends about it. So, I do kind of feel that like big picture facts and like coming from like a big NGO maybe you're right. Like, I think I might not change people's minds, but people that I am arming with the facts can help educate the people around them. I mean that's kind of why I do the podcast, right? Is that-

Tarah: Yeah.

Jennie: I can help give people the tools they need to have conversations with their friends and their community so that they are prepared to, if this comes up in conversation, they can correct people if they are comfortable, they can see someone is mentioning their kids taking sex ed and they can be like, oh, did you know that, like, Wisconsin doesn't mandate sex ed and that your kids are probably getting abstinence-only? Like, I think that is really important is that, like, personal level where you can really, I feel facts can matter more. And I'm sure that's not complete, but-

Tarah: Just because the opposition doesn't think facts matter doesn't mean facts don't matter.

Jennie: Correct.

Tarah: Like, and I do think one of the questions, right, is: will a fact convince someone who is embedded in ideology that is anti-factual?

Jennie: Correct.

Tarah: But how are we actually also making sure that we are embedded in fact-based learning and fact-based change, right? So, that we don't become like we have ideologies too, which are like pro-human rights, right? But like, so how do we make sure that we're centered and that what we're trying to find as solutions is spent centered in the facts. And that the way we talk about this, then we might think around narratives and values that we can bring to people. Like, we share common values. Like we said earlier, like, we all wanna keep our kids safe.

Jennie: Yeah.

Tarah: That's why I make sure that they know about sex ed, right? That we can talk in values, but we are rooted in facts. Like, why does it matter that sex ed isn't fact-based? It matters because rates of unintended pregnancy go up. It matters because rates of cervical cancer go up. It matters because in the long term, it affects people's ability to move between classes, right? So that's the reason we care about that. And therefore then we make strategies about that 'cause we are based in fact. Yeah, I didn't, I didn't think you could naturally solve.

Jennie: And, like, facts doesn't mean that you need to know all the things, right? You don't need to know everything. But if a conversation comes up around sex ed and someone's worried about, like, the information their kids are getting, I know that I could be like, hey, if you wanna learn more about what good sex ed looks like, SIECUS has some really great resources. Advocates for Youth has really great resources. They have a great video series for young people called AMAZE and AMAZE Jr., like, great tools. I don't need to know all those answers, but I know that I can point them to these organizations where they can get the good answers. And so, that is a useful tool.

Tarah: Yeah. We trust those organizations because we know they're based in fact and learning, right?

Jennie: Yeah.

Tarah: Yeah. No, it was, you know, it's a tough overhaul question. How do we deal with this moment in time where facts don't matter...but I, I do think it's, they actually do matter and they still matter to us. And if, like how do we make sure then it's making, it's shaping our understanding. So, we've talked a little bit about what you hope comes from this report. We've talked about why we still base our work in fact, even though we are increasingly seeing, you know, American discourse move away from fact-based discourse or abandon it completely. In some case, we've talked about what it means for states to get rid of good grades but still have places to grow. We've talked about what it means for states to have failing grades and still be able to show places we can build from progress. What is it that your audience can do with this information? First, there is a report card and then also whatever they find and show in the report card, like, you're waving your magic wand to your amazing podcast listener who's listening right now. And after they get up done with this podcast, they do what?

Jennie: I want them to go to reportcard.reprosfightback.com and play around on the interactive site, right? I think find out how your state is doing, see where the gaps are, and then once you see that and see where your state has, where they can grow and improve, find ways that you can get involved to make that change. If it's calling your local lawmakers and telling them, 'hey, our state doesn't expand Medicaid. That's bonkers. We need to make sure that everybody who could be covered under Medicaid is covered right now.' Or, 'hey, I believe in comprehensive sex ed. Why doesn't our state have comprehensive sex ed? Why don't we make sure it's medically accurate? Or teaching about consent or healthy relationships. Like, these are core skills that young people need to learn.' And so, I think there's like a lot of nuggets where you can push your state lawmakers on and showing them that people care, that people want to see these improvements made.

Tarah: Mm-hmm.

Jennie: Tell your friends if, you know, I'm in the group where I have lots of friends with kids, so like to make sure that you are advocating for the best sex ed. And like I said, it varies state by state, but even school district by school district. So, we don't get it to that level—that is too granular for us. But like it gives you another place to dig in to like, one, make sure your state is mandating it right? And to make sure that your local school district is teaching it. Like, it's definitely worth keeping an eye on those school board things, right? Sex ed comes up a lot, banning books, or talking about trans students or things like that. Like, those are just really good places to keep an eye on. And just remember that, like, policy, there's national level policy that is impacting access to sexual and reproductive health. There's local state level, but there's also local local. So, just finding where you can plug in and get involved. And then the other thing that I think is really important, and I really want people to take away from this whole report card is: you can care about one or more of the issues, like, really passionately, but we need to talk about all of them together. We need to make sure that people are having access to all of this, right? If you don't get good sex education early, you have a hard time making healthy decisions later in your life. You can't access care if you can't afford it, if you don't know that service exists. You can't access care if states are putting up restrictions to block you from accessing it. All of these interrelate and intertwine. And it's really important. And it's really important to remember the thing, the other thing I always point out is not everybody's gonna feel this equally. Unfortunately, those who are already marginalized are gonna be the ones who feel all of these restrictions, the most cruelly. And so, when we are talking about this, we need to make sure that we are speaking up for Black people and Indigenous people, other people of color, those with disabilities, those with low incomes, young people, the LGBTQ+ community, and those with multiple intersections of those identities because those are the ones who are gonna be the most impacted by all of these restrictions.

Tarah: Yeah. I mean, and this is so related to the conversation we just had on facts, right? Which is one of the reasons we have to see these things together and talk about them together is not to exhaust us or say, 'you have to care about one thing more than you care about it,' but because it actually arms us with the way to look for the right solution, right? Like it, again, you're not, you don't have to be as passionate about X as you are about Y, right? But, like, we're not gonna fight for the right solutions if we are not based, one, in fact, which is what this report card is reporting out, which is the facts. And then two, in understanding the reality and the fact that these things all work together. And so, we have to understand that to build our strategies to fight for the things we do care about or care the most about. One of the things I think is most exciting about the report card, and I'm so grateful for your work on it, Jennie, is, you know, folks may have noticed that we are in a, what I'll call Bananagrams time [chuckles]...just a really, really existential time for the United States in which our entire national identity seems to be on the edge of a knife. And there's really huge existential questions going on about: who we are as people, who we are as a country to ourselves, what type of country we are, what does democracy look like, or will it look like or will it look, will it be? And also like how we're showing up in the world on this global stage. And the assaults that are coming not just on rights and laws, but on, like the very idea of rationality itself are just so overwhelming. And I can't imagine that any single one of the people who's listening to this right now needs that explained to them. Like, we are all feeling this like in our physical bodies. And having to get up in the morning and still somehow operate in capitalism or whatever it is, you know, you have to do every day. And this report card is a reminder that, like, in a time where I think it's so natural to feel very, very powerless that actually we have a great deal of power and we have the ability to understand complex questions and to get to and understand the facts and, like, use this website as a way to find out things about your state—what's cooking, what's not cooking, what needs to be addressed—and then to take that information and do so many things about it on so many levels, right? Whatever makes the most sense for you and your community and the things that are important to you or what's firing off in your state or local community. Like, this report card reminds us that we are very, very powerful actually. And that's one of the reasons that this current government is coming and attacking all of our rights, right? It's because we are powerful. They wouldn't do it if these rights didn't matter. So I do think this is actually a very hopeful thing, even if you're looking at your state report card and or District Columbia, and shout out to the 51st state—

Jennie: Yes.

Tarah: Thank you, Jennie, for that inclusion—that if you're looking at your state report card and it is a, you know, it's a failing grade that is good: now you know. Like, now you know, and you have that power and you can think about the ways to talk about these issues and then think about what to do next. And like, you are not alone in this and you're not alone in this. Not only because you can see other states that have higher grades, have done that work and have had to put in the same exact work that you're gonna have to do right now and that you're doing right now, but also you're like not alone in your state and people are fighting to make that happen. And so, you can take this information and now, like, do something with it as opposed to like another piece of good or bad news. Like, it's not good news to get an A+ in California, and it's not bad news to get an F- in Florida. It is the basis of the reality from which you have to fight. And now you can take that and go and like, make the difference where your community needs that difference made and where you need that difference made in your life. And like you said, Jennie, like there's, there's so many places we can reach out as individuals across, like, doing Google search is gonna be real helpful for you in your state. But like every state has an abortion fund. Every state has an LGBTQI rights organization or solidarity organization. Like, every state has people working on these issues. And, like, now's your chance to like join them and, and fight forward for the things we know matter, so.

Jennie: Yeah. And I think the battle cry right now is really: your reproductive health, your sexual and reproductive health should not depend on where you live and it really does right now. But on top of that, it doesn't just depend on where you live, it depends on what resources you have and that's a real tragedy. Like, your ability to access your sexual and reproductive health should not depend on your, on how much money you have or what you...you can, what, you know, like we need to make sure that everybody, everybody has access to full reproductive freedom. They have the ability to make those same choices around their sexual health and have the freedom to access all the care that they need without the state interfering.

Tarah: Yeah. And with the state enabling, right?

Jennie: Yeah.

Tarah: The state's obligation is to enable. Yeah. Well thank you for this report card and this incredible work that helps us do that and helps us in that fight. Thank you for joining me on this your podcast rePROs Fight Back, for-

Jennie: Thanks, Tarah!

Tarah: For more information, can you remind people where they should go to find the report card and to start finding out what's going on in their state and how to get involved?

Jennie: Yes. So, if you go to reportcard.reprosfightback.com, it will take you directly to our microsite where you can learn all of the information.

Tarah: Amazing, Jennie, thank you so much. Thank you to your incredible community around rePROs Fight Back and all the work and everybody keep strong and keep the faith.

Jennie: Okay, y'all, I hope you enjoyed my- Tarah's interview with me, not my interview. I had so much fun doing it. Tarah, thank you so much for agreeing to host and ask me all the questions about the report card. As always, I had such a wonderful time talking to you. It was the best. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And I will see everybody else next week. [music outro] If you have any questions, comments, or topics you would like us to cover, always feel free to shoot me an email. You can reach me at jennie@reprosfightback.com or you can find us on social media. We're at @RePROsFightBack on Facebook and Twitter or @reprosfb on Instagram. If you love our podcast and wanna make sure more people find it, take the time to rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform. Or if you wanna make sure to support the podcast, you can also donate on our website at reprosfightback.com. Thanks all!