Reproductive Rights Are Always on the Ballot

Reproductive rights aren’t only attacked on the federal level; in fact, the case that overturned Roe v. Wade was an abortion ban out of Mississippi. Individual states set the precedent for their own abortion laws, sex education, shield laws, and more. Jillian Riley, North Carolina Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic sits down to talk with us about how reproductive health, rights, and justice can show up on the election ballot in a variety of ways.

While individual states are determining state-level access to reproductive health and rights, State Attorneys General defend state laws, choose not to defend state laws, or sue the federal government over laws. Governors, meanwhile, sign off on state legislation that attacks or protects health and rights. In addition, the judges we elect have a say in judicial bypass for young people, enforcing state constitutions, redistricting decisions, and more. School board elections inform curriculum, which informs sex education, LGBTQI+ inclusive-education, and available library books. City council and county commissioners also play a large role in funding for doulas, lactation specialists, and maternal health programs.

LINKS

Vote in the Signal Awards
Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic
Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic on Instagram
Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic on Bluesky

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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, happy spooky season. I am very much feeling my fall vibes right now. It is cooled off in DC a bit. So, it has been lovely to spend some time outside and enjoy the weather and, like, walk places and not immediately start sweating, which is delightful. I have been picking up like all of the cozy, spooky season books uh that I want to read this fall and starting to think about that. I have quite a few on my e-reader, like witchy, cozy romance vibes and other spooky season type reads. So, I'm very much looking forward to checking a bunch of those out, but I am always open to suggestions. If you have any ideas for some books I should be reading this spooky season, send them my way. I am always excited to get book recommendations and things that I should be reading that I haven't. Yeah. So please, please send them my way. I can always, I can always add more to my list of what I want to read this fall. I've also been thinking of doing some baking. I feel like I have been really focused on doing cross stitch over the weekends and stuff when I'm having my chill time. And so, I've really kind of backed off on the baking. I just haven't done as much recently. And I miss it. I miss my place spelling like the thing I baked. I miss being able to eat the thing I baked. So maybe this weekend or next weekend, I will do some baking. I'm thinking apple crisp or maybe something with pumpkin. I don't know. Those are the ones that I am thinking about. I'm leaning towards apple crisp. I just have a really special place in my heart for that. It is like my happy fall-eat. But I also really love pumpkin. So, we'll see. We'll see what I feel like getting to. Because I had also been thinking I really wanted to make zucchini bread. Clearly, I am feeling the not baking because I'm just thinking about all these things that I would like to make. So maybe I'll get some of that done this weekend. We'll see. With that, I think those are like, there's not really much happening. I feel like I have been really busy and have not done anything super exciting to talk about.

Jennie: So, maybe I'll just go to this week's episode because I think it is a really important and exciting conversation. We are going to talk about the upcoming election and why it is important that we think about abortion up and down the ballot as you are voting, that it is not just thinking about it at the top. We need to think about it all the way, all the way down. So, I'm very excited to have Jillian Riley with Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic to talk through why we need to think about sexual and reproductive health and rights and abortion at many different places on the ballot. It was a really interesting conversation, and I hope it helps you think about why it's important to think about abortion all the way from the governor all the way down to your local city council. And with that, let's go to my conversation with Jillian.

Jennie: Hi, Jillian. Thank you so much for being here.

Jillian: Hi, Jennie. Thank you for having me.

Jennie: I'm so excited to talk to you today. Before we dive into this week's conversation, would you like to take a second and introduce yourself?

Jillian: Yeah. So, I'm happy to be here. Jillian Riley, I use she/her pronouns. I am the State Director of Public Affairs in North Carolina for Planned Parenthood Votes, South Atlantic.

Jennie: Awesome. I am really excited to have this conversation. It is not something we have done before, and that is abortion shows up in lots of ways on the ballot, not just directly, right? It's not just ballot initiatives, which are happening in several states, but there are also a lot of elected positions that can have an impact on your ability to access sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion. So, I thought a great idea for today's episode would maybe to not talk about any specific necessarily races, but to talk about positions that people should have abortion and sexual and reproductive health in mind as they are voting.

Jillian: Yep.

Jennie: And I'm so excited to have you here to do that with us.

Jillian: Yeah, we tell people all the time, like, we don't have a ballot initiative in North Carolina. Getting a ballot initiative is really hard. There are a lot of steps to it. You know, some people could go, some states go out there, they get all these signatures, and then they are able to put something on the ballot and vote for it. People ask us, like, when can we do that? And I'm like, that is so far from our reality. That is not how it works in North Carolina. But abortion is still on the ballot. Reproductive rights are still on the ballot this fall, even if we do not have a ballot initiative. And getting people to understand that is part of what we do.

Jennie: Yeah, it is one of those things that, you know, so many people think about it when they think of federal policy. And yes, some restrictions could happen at the federal level, but a lot of the action happens at the state level. So, I guess one of the first places we should talk about is state legislatures. How can they impact access to sexual and reproductive health?

Jillian: So yeah, I mean, with the overturn of Roe v. Wade, I mean, the case that ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade started in Mississippi with a state law that banned abortion after a particular point in pregnancy. The state of Mississippi passed the abortion ban, an abortion provider sued to block the case. It bounced around the federal court system until it ultimately went up to SCOTUS, the Supreme Court. And as we all know, hell broke loose, right? And that's a case that started in the state, in the state legislature, and then had national impacts on abortion care. So, when we talk about our state legislators, like we have to think about that, like not just the impact that they have in our state, in the future for our state on reproductive care, but what they're planning could happen, right, in the larger anti-abortion movement, how that could impact the care nationwide. Which is a lot to think about. It's daunting.

Jennie: So much. And like it's not just abortion, right? Like states set what their sex ed policy is for their state.

Jillian: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, even on the pro-reproductive healthcare side, right? There's a lot of positive things happening in state legislators with pro, you know, reproductive freedom and those champions. And a lot of those things we don't really know. I mean, particularly when it comes to shield laws and proactively protecting not just patients, but also providers of both abortion care and also gender-affirming care. Like we have no idea how those laws will play out. In the court system, like, it's all happening in real time. They are leading the way in what that looks like. And it is the state legislators that we are relying on to lead the way and ultimately help set new standards and hopefully new precedent for what could happen when we think about federal changes, when we one day have a pro-reproductive healthcare, pro-reproductive freedom Congress. Maybe one day.

Jennie: Yes. We can dream.

Jillian: We can dream.

Jennie: So, you were talking about the case that overturned Roe v. Wade, it came out of the state out of Mississippi. And that leads me to think about another position we should talk about, and that is attorney generals. They are the ones who are often suing the government or defending these cases in court. Why should people care about attorney general races?

Jillian: Yeah. I mean, attorney generals are your state's lawyer, right? Like that's what that's what they do. And so, they are the ones that are able to kind of help determine whether or not they need to sue the federal government, which our attorney general does pretty much all the time. Or also what it looks like to be a part of cases at the state level with state laws. I know for us, there have been many times when we've had an abortion man that had, or the one time that we had an abortion man that passed recently after Roe v. Wade fell, and we had a friendly attorney general. So, I think really what that looks like is the way that they are involved in certain cases will really differ, right? So when it came to our anti-abortion bill that passed a couple of years ago, I mean, they're involved in the case, but they're gonna take a lot more neutral of a stance than what it might look like for another bill that passes, right? And so what happens is then our anti-abortion leaders in the House and the Senate, they also have to get their own legal team and be a part of the case and go head to head with us, which is just really important, right? To have an attorney general that is going to stand up for the rights of North Carolinians and for your state, when you have a state, you know, supermajority like we do, that's anti-abortion or anti-reproductive freedom, that is quite literally doing the opposite of what the majority of people in the state want. And so knowing that you have someone that's going to stand up for your legal rights, even if the avenue for what that looks like doesn't mean necessarily overturning an abortion ban, they're still going to be part of the team to do what they can to either improve the law, not make it as bad, or just be part of the legal conversation, knowing that like the rights that we have, knowing that we don't have our the national constitutional rights anymore, what can they do at the state level to still protect reproductive freedom across the state?

Jennie: Okay. So, I think those are some of the big ones. And I think a lot of people also, you know, they think federal, we talked about the importance of state legislature, AGs. Also, you need a governor that is going to sign good policy or bad policy. So again, another position that can have big implications.

Jillian: Yeah. And also, a governor, they oversee state agencies. I mean, that's even when it comes to a governor overseeing the Department of Health and Human Services. For us, like the grant money that goes to anti-abortion centers is all funneled through the Department of Health and Human Services. So, our governor and our AG in particular, like, they can also help create systems to determine how grants are given to do more accountability for that money for anti-abortion centers. Now, have they done that in North Carolina? No, they haven't. But we keep asking for it. And it is something within their power. And so figuring out okay, if the most that my governor can do is veto the law, which sometimes is all they can do, like, can they also help figure out how this other funding, how our tax dollars are being used for other programs, whether it's anti-abortion centers or even just like, you know, childcare subsidies, all these other things that support parents and parenting people, like what does it look like that they can do and be a leader on, even if it's behind the scenes? And thankfully, we do have a governor who is outspoken on supporting reproductive care and abortion care. And certainly, our last governor, he was, I mean, having known that he had our back during the big abortion ban that passed in 2023, just like at a minimum gave us all hope. Hope that, at least the most, you know, titled person in the state was standing with us. And it definitely led to some victories, I think, even in the next election that we had.

Jennie: I feel like one of the places that I try to bring up every once in a while on the podcast is that I think a lot of people don't think about the ways that they can have impacts around sexual and reproductive health, and that is judges. And a lot of states and places judges are on the ballot, whether it's state supreme court or more local, like you can often vote for judges in your state.

Jillian: Yeah.

Jennie: Why should we be thinking about sexual and reproductive health as we are voting for judges?

Jillian: Judges, I think, are finally getting a little bit more media attention than they maybe ever have. I mean, I feel like people go to the ballot box, they have a plan, they know they're top of the ticket and who they're gonna vote for, and then they flip over the ballot because it's like two pages, and they're like, who the heck are these judges? Like, yeah, and that's what happens. Like, you know, they don't, they don't get as much media, like, you know, it's not the same as, you know, certainly like president or even governor, but they are so incredibly important. I always feel like my, like, group chat is popping off when it's like, okay, who's voting for these judges? Like, who are we voting for? Who's important? Does anyone know anything about them? And then obviously, I think what happens is like sometimes it's hard to find the information. It's hard to find the information. Their websites have, I mean, typically been sometimes non-existent or really minimal. Yeah, and it's just like not the same topic of conversation. And so, I also feel like I mean, people when they think of when you think of a judge, like you think of traffic court or like or like a divorce court or something. Like you're not thinking about how a judge can have a huge impact on whether or not a law becomes a law and it goes into effect. But that's also what they do.

Jennie: Yeah. Or I always like to talk about, you know, real basics like judicial bypass for young people and whether a young person is able to get the abortion they want by using the judicial bypass system and how painful the process is. You hear some of the wildest stories from young people for questions that they have had to answer from judges trying to get through this process. And that can make the process really painful and really hard for young people to navigate.

Jillian: Yeah, no, I agree. I mean, having a friendly judge, even at the local level, that understands the importance of reproductive freedom, I mean, it's critical. And those people are elected. I mean, that's what it is for a lot of people, you know? Yeah. And I know for us in North Carolina, our judicial elections are now partisan. I know not every state is partisan, but our judges have an R or a D next to their name on the ballot. And being a really purple state, I mean that could go both ways. Right. You know, and how that and how that impacts who gets elected. And then I yeah, I mean, I feel like people will go to the ballot and they'll, you know, we always say like vote the whole ballot, and then they get to the judges and they maybe leave it blank and they're like, well, I voted most of the ballot. That should be fine, you know. And then for our I mean, for us, the state supreme court is absolutely critical. I mean, the state supreme court for us is in North Carolina, like down the line, we’re gonna have a couple more seats open up. And uh that will ultimately lead to redrawing our district maps, potentially an end to gerrymandering in North Carolina, which would be a huge win for like the entire South, literally. Yeah. And uh, you know, and it comes down to these judges who quite literally have eight-year terms. So it's like if you go to the ballot box and you skip the judges because you don't know who they are, it's like, okay, well, we just maybe elected someone that will be there for eight years, nearly a decade, and they have the ones to determine whether or not bill that the state legislature passes is unconstitutional or rubber stamp it, and just keep it going. I'm like, we gotta, we gotta do a little bit of homework, y'all, when it comes to everything on the ballot, but definitely when it comes to the judges, we gotta do that homework.

Jennie: Yeah, as somebody who is originally from Wisconsin, like I can tell you the importance of a judicial election can really sway your ability to access sexual and reproductive health care, right? Like because of the way the elections went in Wisconsin, they were able to strike down a law from the 1800s that was blocking abortion access in the state. So, I mean, it can make a huge difference in people's ability to access care.

Jillian: In Wisconsin, didn't y'all you have the judge that won... that was a big national race, I feel like.

Jennie: Oh, yeah, they were pouring so much money into that. Jillian, one of the things you mentioned as we were talking about judges was redistricting. And I think we have a pretty good handle on why it's important to talk about redistricting in judges and regional health, but maybe you could just do a little bit of further clarifying on why that is important.

Jillian: Yeah, I mean, so the way it works in North Carolina, right, is our state legislatures, they get to redraw our voting maps. So, they're the ones that are tasked with that. And then who basically has a handle in making sure that they are constitutional and approval improves them, is part of our Supreme Court, state supreme court. Not every state works like that. I know in some states the governor is the one that is in charge of redrawing them and approving them. So, it really just depends on your state, you know, how your state works. But for us, I mean, the judicial branch, right, is about checks and balances. And they're the ones that get to determine, okay, like what's happening at the governor's, you know, gubernatorial branch, is that constitutional? Is what's happening at the state legislature branch? Is that constitutional? They're the ones that oversee that process. Yeah, I mean, like we always say, judges are the last line of defense. And I think for us at the state level, that's definitely true. Especially because right now, I mean, SCOTUS, like when it comes to reproductive health, obviously we don't have the votes. It's the same, same judges and same court that overturned Roe v. Wade. And so, making sure that we have judges with values that we share at the state level is really critical right now. Okay.

Jennie: So, I think another place that people maybe don't think about, but there is a lot of action that can happen that has implications on sexual and reproductive health is school board elections. Why do people need to think about sexual and reproductive health when they are voting for the school board?

Jillian: The school board has become so much more contentious in the past couple of years. I mean, we in North Carolina literally have a group that trains and recruits people to run for school board who are anti-LGBTQ. I mean, that is what they do, which typically goes hand in hand with anti-abortion, anti-reproductive freedom, right? And so, when we're having people get into office at the local level in that way, and then combined with anti-LGBTQ bills that are being passed at the state legislature, I mean, a lot of the bills that they pass that are anti-LGBTQ are these quote, you know, don't say gay bills, right? They have implications into public schools. How you can talk about sexual health, how you can talk about sex education, you know, opting in versus opting out of sex education. We know that like having an opt-out policy when it comes to parents having to say, no, I don't want my kid to be a part of this. Well, typically that's, you know, a more ideal situation versus an opt-in when it comes to having parents, you know, sending home something in a school kid's backpack and asking them to bring it back signed. Like, you know, it it doesn't work out well. And so that's something that's really critical is like making sure that we have school board members that are going to help defend kids and families and stand up to some of the anti-LGBTQ and anti-reproductive freedom bills that are passing at the state level. I know for us, I mean, we had a bill pass, a couple bills passed in 2023. And as of now, they don't have any accountability structure to that. So, like they're telling county school departments, you know, to take certain books out of libraries, what teachers aren't allowed to talk about in the classroom. But teachers still have a right to, and they still have the ability to create a creative environment. And there are some school boards that are standing up for their teachers and for their public schools, saying, we’re gonna comply with some parts of this, but we're not gonna overcomply. And then we're having other school boards say, well, I know you said this one book, but what if we did all of these books that are also kind of like that and they're over complying with laws, even though there aren't any accountability structures? So, like for example, school boards and teachers right now aren't fine. If they don't comply with certain parts of the law. So that's really critical. I think having champions and I kind of think about it like having people that are going to stand up to the bully, you know, like sometimes that's what it looks like, whether, you know, it's a state legislator or it's a school board member being like, we're not gonna, we're not gonna implement these laws that are like literally bullying of families and kids. That's what the anti-LGBTQ bills are.

Jennie: Yeah, I've been thinking about this one a lot because I mean, one, it's banned books week as we are recording this.

Jillian: Yes.

Jennie: So, and we have really seen this huge onslaught against books with LGBTQ inclusive themes, but also just like authors of that are people of color. Like there has just been this really wide-range attack on what young people can read. And school boards are like one of those places where those conversations are really showing up.

Jillian: Yeah. And I think too, like parents are, I feel like we always have parents who are active in our schools and making sure that we are communicating with not just our teachers and principals, but also our local school boards. School boards really help pick public instructors or I'm sorry, superintendents, you know, when it comes to finding your superintendent for your county. And so just making sure that we have people in local office that when these bills are passed at the state level and they are being told to implement them, that we have some someone in power saying, wait a minute, let me look at this, you know, and doing what they can to fight back, even against, you know, the implementation of it.

Jennie: Those are all the positions that I've been thinking of, like at the top of my head, as ones that we want me to make sure people are keeping in mind as election day draws near. Are there any other positions you're thinking about as we move forward?

Jillian: I would definitely say city council and county commissioners also play a really big role in a couple ways. I mean, you know, one, like when we think about how funding is trickled down from the federal level to the state level. And then we have counties and cities literally apply for federal funding for things like lactation specialists or doulas or first-time mommy programs or parental support programs. The reason that we have those programs at the state level, I mean at the local level, is because we have the priorities for county commissioners and they're for county staff. And so we don't get that funding if it's not a priority for them. And so making sure that those values are aligned as well and getting the money when we can, especially because a lot of that federal funding is dissipating in front of our eyes. And so getting it while we still can is important. And I know what we see in North Carolina are county commissioners passing these symbolic anti-abortion resolutions, which for us, like I said, they're symbolic, they don't necessarily have any legal rights and they, you know, they can't declare their county or a total ban on their county. That's not how that works. But like they are creating a culture of hate in their county, and they're saying, and they're, you know, to say, like, oh, their county does not believe in abortion care, does not believe in reproductive care, which also like is in a county that like may or may not even have a hospital. Like, come on, you know, like and so we want to make sure because these people run for higher office. That's how it starts. Like our previous lieutenant governor started at the local level. And then he went from local level straight to lieutenant governor. You know, he ran for governor last election. And yeah, I mean, he believed, you know, he was anti-abortion all the way. So that's how, you know, people get their start as also at the local level. And so yeah, I think it can, it's important that we create or that we elect people who support our values at all levels of government and definitely have people in power that are going to create opportunities and focus on the things that really matter and not focus on something like a hateful, symbolic resolution.

Jennie: Jillian, thank you so much for this conversation. I think it has been really helpful to think about all the different ways we need to think about sexual and reproductive health and abortion up and down the ballot. I was on the episode asking, like, what can the audience do? I mean, if this feels like one big episode of like what you can do, but it feels wrong to not ask. So, what are some things you're thinking about, ways that people can engage?

Jillian: I know it’s so annoying to say voting. I'm like, we hate that answer. People ask us all the time, like, what can I, what's the most important thing I can do? And I'm like, unfortunately, it's literally voting. Yeah. But, you know, I mean, like, we need to knock every door. We need knock every door. We need people to make phone calls and send text messages and ask someone who is a receiver of door knocking and text messages and phone calls. Like, I get that it can be a lot and overwhelming for a lot of individuals, but there are people out there that that is what they need to get to the ballot box. That is what they need, is they need someone to call them and say, hey, have you made a plan to vote? And that's what studies show, and that's what tells us that, you know, we'll get someone who maybe votes occasionally to actually get to the ballot box. And I feel like I talk to people all the time about that. I mean, I talk to my Uber driver, you know, during this time. Like I'm constantly having conversations with people about it. Like, you know, like, are you planning on voting this election? And a lot of people feel like their voice doesn't matter and that their vote doesn't matter. And I relate to that. I'm like, yeah, I'm not voting for these bad bills to be introduced. These aren't my values either. Like, sometimes I feel similarly, you know. But in order to, like my South Carolina colleague says, in order to change the plays, you gotta change the players. And that's what this comes down to. And also voting doesn't take that long. It takes like 10 minutes, especially if you go early voting, and then you get a little sticker you get to wear and let everyone know that you're better than them because you have a cute little sticker and you voted. I'm like, peer pressure works, it just does. And yeah, if you have a little extra time, like you don't necessarily have to volunteer, like we love volunteers, obviously, but like just talk to your neighbors. Like, hey, do you want to go vote together? I love that. I love putting together a little group to go vote.

Jennie: I just picked up my ballot from my mailbox, so that is what I will be doing later today. DC has mail-in voting, so gonna take care of that sometime this afternoon.

Jillian: I'm like, what is that like to have to have mail-in voting that actually works well? We have it too, but it's yeah, it's ever changing and um it doesn't work that well. So, you have to have, like, two witnesses or a notary. So...

Jennie: Oh really?

Jillian: Yeah, it's a lot. It's confusing. It's at this point, it's like actually I can just drive you. We can just go together. So yeah, and if you do have mail and ballot in your state, I love that for you. Similarly, like then you have all the time to research everyone that's on your ballot. Yes.

Jennie: No, that is really nice. Jillian, thank you so much for being here. It was so wonderful talking to you. Thanks, Jenny. I had a blast. Okay, y'all. I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Jillian. It was so wonderful to get to talk to her about why abortion and sexual and reproductive health matters up and down the ballot and why it is important that we get out and vote for our rights. With that, I hope you all enjoyed this week's episode and I'll see you 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 rePROs Fight Back on Facebook and Twitter, or @reprosfb on Instagram. If you love our podcast and want to make sure more people find it, take the time to rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or if you want to make sure to support the podcast, you can also donate on our website at reprosfightback.com. Thanks all!