SEGMENT 1: INTERVIEW WITH ASSEMBLYMEMBER JESSICA GONZALEZ-ROJAS

Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas will discuss the inclusion of the "Reproductive Equity Act" (REA) in the recently passed New York State 2022/23 Budget and what it will mean for women. She has sponsored this bill and pushed it over the finish line and into the budget, where it is now statutory law.

SEGMENT 2: JESSICA MASON PIEKLO ON THE REPUBLICAN GAME PLAN

A discussion with attorney activist Jessica Mason Pieklo on how the, during the Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmation hearings, Republicans laid down their game plan winning future elections.

WHAT DOES THE REPRODUCTIVE EQUITY ACT DO FOR WOMEN?

During a period where the right to abortion is being shut down in so many states, and may even be lost federally if Roe v Wade is overturned by a right-wing Supreme Court this Spring, it is important to realize that in some other states, reproductive rights are not only being protected--they are being expanded. 

New York State just passed its 2022/23 Budget and tucked within its many sections are some surprisingly good changes for women in the state. Chief among these is the inclusion of the "Reproductive Equity Act" (REA) in the present budget. This Act, championed over years by Assemblymembers Deborah Glick and recently pushed over the finish line to become part of the NYS budget, by Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, removes the obstacles that presently exist for women trying to access abortion through private insurance policies in New York State.

The most far-reaching and progressive provision mandates that insurance policies that include maternity care must also provide abortion services WITHOUT A CO-PAY, in other words FREE OF CHARGE! It also mandates that insurance companies cannot refuse to pay for abortions they deem "medically unnecessary"--a regressive concept that forces a woman to justify an abortion, despite the fact that women can legally get abortions under Roe v Wade for any reason (although not during the third trimester). This will make abortion far more accessible to women who hold insurance policies (through jobs as well as individually) and will move abortion rights forward on one of the many fronts in the abortion struggle: insurance policy.

Assemblymember Gonzalez Rojas will also discuss other advances in policies that affect women and that are included in the 2022/23 NYS Budget. These include an expanded childcare credit and raising the hourly wage for Home Care Workers--a highly feminized occupation. She believes these advances represent "a start" but is disappointed in the outcomes this time around.

REPUBLICANS LAID OUT THEIR GAMEPLAN FOR FUTURE ELECTION FIGHTS DURING THE HEARING FOR KETANJI BROWN JACKSON

During the Ketanji Brown Jackson hearings, Republicans, knowing that Judge Jackson would be confirmed, decided to use the public platform of the televised hearings to spread scare/propaganda tactics with an eye to winning U.S. Senate and House in 2022 and the presidency in 2024. Themes of 'pedophilia', 'hijacking the education of children' and why 'Roe v Wade Iis not an unchallengable legal precedent' were all trotted out. Hear this lively conversation with Jessica Mason Pieklo, one of the best legal analysts around.

In this program, we'll also play 'catchup' with worldwide feminist news stories that we've been missing in recent weeks when we have not been on the air.

 
JESSICA GONZALEZ-ROJAS / BIO

Jessica González-Rojas is the New York State Assembly Member (Democrat/Working Families Party) for the 34th Assembly District, which includes the diverse Queens communities of Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, Woodside and Corona. She is an unapologetic social justice leader fighting for the values of dignity, justice, and equity. Jessica has dedicated her life - on both the local and national level - to fight for immigrant rights, racial justice, and gender equity, and she is ready to take that fight to Albany.
For 13 years, Jessica served in leadership at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (formerly the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health), the only national reproductive justice organization that is dedicated to building Latina power to advance health, dignity, and justice for 29 million Latinas, their families, and communities in the United States.

Jessica has held leadership roles in numerous local and national organizations that promote social justice advocacy. For 12 years, she served on the Board of Directors of New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE), a Queens-based non-profit whose mission is to ensure that immigrants can build social, political and economic power.She served as Vice Chair of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of the most prominent national Latinx civil rights organizations in the country, and co-chaired its Health Committee and Latina Task Force. She has worked in the field of early childhood education, higher education, disability rights, veteran’s health, and racial justice. Jessica is a featured expert on the Women’s Media Center’s SheSource and an alumnus of their Progressive Women’s Voices program, in addition to serving as an Advisory Member for several organizations and coalitions, including If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, Raising Women’s Voices, and the We Belong Together Campaign. She has also served as a board member for Medical Students for Choice and the Latina Political Action Committee (LPAC). She is a frequent commentator in outlets, such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, El Diario/La Prensa, The Boston Globe and The Daily Beast and makes regular television and radio appearances on MSNBC, National Public Radio, PBS and others.

Jessica served as an Adjunct Professor at New York University’s (NYU) Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and the City University of New York’s (CUNY) City College and has taught courses on Latinidad, reproductive rights, gender and sexuality. Jessica holds a master’s degree from the NYU Wagner School, with a concentration in Public and Nonprofit Management and Public Policy. Jessica lives with her partner, Danny, and their young son who attends a local public school in Jackson Heights.

JESSICA MASON PIEKLO / BIO

Jessica Mason Pieklo is a Senior Vice President and Executive Editor at Rewire.newsgroup. She is also the co-host of the Rewire News Group podcast Boom! Lawyered.

Jessica has over a decade of experience as a former litigator, and taught law for four years before transitioning to journalism. She was part of the SCOTUSblog symposium on abortion rights following Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt and won the Excellence in Online Journalism award in 2018 from the Association of LGBTQ Journalists. She has participated in numerous panels including at NYU Law School; University of Arkansas; University of Colorado; University of Utah, among others. Boom! Lawyered won Podcast of the Year in 2017 from the Population Institute.

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