Welcome to Gator Talk, a collaborative CalState podcast that brings city and statewide perspectives to SF State news.
On June 24, many Americans woke up to the news of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision among partisan lines to overturn Roe v. Wade, a court case that for over 50 years established that the Constitution protected a woman’s right to have an abortion. This decision sent shockwaves across the country, leading to mass protests and closures of abortion clinics across the country. Breaking News Editor Emily Calix sat down with Magda Cholewinska, a lead organizer of RiseUp4AbortionRights’ Bay Area chapter, to gain additional perspective on this issue.
Check out the story here at Gator Talk.
Intro
Isabella: Hi, Gators! This is Isabella Vines, incoming diversity editor of Golden Gate Xpress. Welcome back to another Gator Talk, the podcast that we didn’t forget about during summer break.
With me today is Emily Calix, Xpress breaking news editor and today’s guest.
Emily: Hi, everyone.
Isabella: For more information and coverage, check out goldengatexpress.org OR @GGXnews on all social media platforms.
Preview of the show
Isabella: Today’s main story focuses on a local activist’s outlook on the decision made by the United States Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 court decision of Roe v. Wade.
[archival audio begins]
Protestors: (chanting) – is healthcare, abortion is healthcare, abortion is healthcare.
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Isabella: We sat down with Magda Cholewinska, a lead organizer of RiseUp4AbortionRights’ Bay Area chapter, a national abortion rights advocacy group.
So let’s get into it.
Main Story
Isabella: So Emily, give me a little background on how the state of California has responded to this decision.
Emily: The majority of local and state leaders condemned the decision. Many Californians took to the streets publicly expressing their disapproval of this move.
Isabella: And what was Gov. Gavin Newsom’s response?
Emily: Newsom said that he does not agree with the decision and that he will make California a sanctuary state for nonresidents seeking an abortion.
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Newsom: Women are treated differently than men period full stop; that’s fact that’s not fiction that’s not hyperbole that’s not a political statement that’s a fact. and for whatever reason, we’re here with the Supreme Court that believes women should not be treated equally, that they should not be free. They don’t believe in life because if they believed in life, they would be doing all the things to support those after they’re born.
[archival audio ends]
Isabella: So, how is the Bay Area feeling about this decision?
Emily: Some people here have expressed in many ways that they aren’t in favor of this, including Magda.
[interview audio begins]
Magda: The majority of Americans don’t want this, but the Supreme Court has sort of pushed it through in this way and so now we’re in this position once it’s been overturned, to wage this fight to have this kind of unrelenting protest that really needs to show Biden and the rest of the government and the Supreme Court that we’re not going to stand for this that we’re going to bring society to a halt before we allow this to stand.
[interview audio ends]
Emily: According to the Pew Research Center, 57% of Americans didn’t agree with SCOTUS’ decision.
Isabella: With the right to an abortion still being authorized in California, how does the overturn affect people here?
[interview audio begins]
Magda: Of course, we should utilize our resources and welcome people who want to get abortions here, and sure, contribute to abortion funds, but that doesn’t get to the underlying problem. The underlying problem is that there’s these conservative Republican Christian fascists on the Supreme Court who want us all subjugated – not able to control our bodies.
[interview audio ends]
Isabella: And what about the accessibility of abortions between Californians and those traveling here to get one?
Emily: Well, Magda referred to herself as a communist…
[interview audio begins]
Magda: I mean look, I’m a communist, right like, I think everybody should have all of this for free at the end of the day, right? Like if I got to erase the slate abortion rights would just be legal for everybody all over the country and free.
[interview audio ends]
Isabella: And with that, we’re going to take a quick break.
Break
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Cont. Main Story
Isabella: And we’re back. So Emily, what will the future entail for other minority protection laws? Does Magda think they’ll be overturned as well?
Emily: Actually, she believes that the Supreme Court is after other civil rights acts such as gay marriage.
[interview audio begins]
Magda: Clarence Thomas put on deck, he was like ‘I’m coming after all these other precedents.’ He said he’s coming after contraception, he said he’s coming after gay marriage, he’s coming after the right to just even have queer sex, and it’s not going to stop there. It’s gonna go to interracial marriage, right and voting rights and all this stuff. They want fascism. They want control over us in this way. That is really intense and that people kind of in a lot of ways don’t see coming.
[interview audio ends]
Isabella: With these forms of intersectionality, like being a woman of color, how would this decision affect those belonging to this group?
Emily: Madga believes that people belonging to these groups should not be targeted because of their gender or their ethnicity — that we should live in a world of equality.
[interview audio begins]
Magda: First of all, fuck that. F those people that believe that.
We’re going to fight for a world where there’s not kids in cages just as much as we’re going to fight for a world where women and other people can get access to abortion for free on-demand legally, whenever the hell they want. And those things are intertwined.
[interview audio ends]
Isabella: There are a lot of controversies around lawmakers and politicians being from an older generation while impacting future ones. How does Magda feel about that?
Emily: Magda said that age isn’t the biggest factor, but it points mainly to politics.
[interview audio begins]
Magda: You know, maybe these folks have been exposed to some regressive ideas that are sort of in line with their generation, but I think the more primary thing is the politics themselves because certainly there’s people who are in their 60s and 70s, who have radical left politics, right. Like, I work with a whole bunch of them, so I don’t think it’s just about their age. It’s about their politics.
[interview audio ends]
Isabella: So why did Magda get involved with RiseUp4AbortionRights in the first place?
Emily: She wanted to be a part of a protest movement where she and others are able to be vocal against the decision made by the Supreme Court.
News brief
Isabella: Here are some other things that happened this week:
The UC and CSU systems have been working toward providing abortion pills to all students on campus by Jan. 1, in accordance with new state law. This effort comes after the reversal of Roe v. Wade and intends to alleviate the influx of demand from out-of-state patients.
A newly released surveillance video shows Uvalde police waiting in the school hallway before taking out the gunman, renewing anger towards the Uvalde Police Department two months after the elementary school massacre that took the lives of 19 students and two teachers.
An Ohio man was charged for allegedly raping a 10-year-old girl. She was denied an abortion in Ohio, following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, and was forced to cross state lines for care. She’s recently been the center of conversation in the national abortion debate.
End
Isabella: And that’s all for today! This is Isabella Vines, diversity editor.
Emily: And Emily Calix, breaking news editor for Xpress.
New episodes will premiere every other week starting this upcoming school year, so keep an ear out.
And with that, continue to have a great summer break!
