Forty percent of those who get abortion services in the U.S. are African Americans. Would you know it from the media coverage of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe vs Wade? S. Mitra Kalita and Sara Lomax-Reese of URL Media join Laura for this month’s “Meet the BIPOC Press” to consider what has changed in the coverage — and the organizing — around reproductive justice in the years since Roe. Are abortion seekers of color still a sidebar in reporting or has journalism finally reached a tipping point on inclusion? What difference are BIPOC-owned-and-operated media making in this moment, to our understanding of what's been lost, and to the debate over what is needed now? Our hosts are joined by Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, from Queens, NY, and La’Tasha D. Mayes, Democratic Nominee for the Pennsylvania Statehouse from Pittsburgh.

“Abortion is not about life. It is about power and control over our bodies.” - Jessica González-Rojas

“The strategy to protect abortion access in our nation was misguided. We were not protecting Roe to the degree that it needed and that while it provided basic constitutional protections it was always the floor for basic human rights . . . Black women, folks of color and poor abortion seekers have been living in a post-Roe world for years.” - La’Tasha D. Mayes

Guests

Jessica González-Rojas: Assemblymember, District 34 in Queens, NY; Former Leader, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice

La’Tasha D. Mayes: Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania House of Representatives; Founder & Former CEO, New Voices for Reproductive Justice

S. Mitra Kalita (Co-Host): Co-Founder, URL Media

Sara Lomax-Reese (Co-Host): Co-Founder, URL Media

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