Name: Most Powerful Women 2022 - A Business FAQ On Reproductive Rights
Uploaded: 2022-10-11
Duration: 9 min 35 s
Description: Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Most Powerful Women 2022 - A Business FAQ On Reproductive Rights

A Business FAQ On Reproductive Rights

now to an issue that's been top of mind for many women across America and around the world over the past several months and already the subject of a lot of conversation here reproductive rights and june's landmark Supreme Court decision overturning roe v wade. In just a moment, we're going to hear from Alexis. McGill johnson, president and Ceo of planned parenthood Federation of America in May at R. M. P. W. Dinner in new york, Alexis gave crucial advice to our community and that was before the Supreme Court's ruling was official. Now that it is and that we've had a few months to see the immediate fallout of the ruling. We've asked Alexis to update our community about what she's focused on, what's changed in her view and what advice she would give to business leaders who want to support reproductive rights for their employees, their customers and their wider communities. Please join me in welcoming Alexis McGill johnson to the stage. Thank you. Thank you so much for having you. Hello. It is somewhat ironic. I have to confess To be here at Fortune's most powerful women. When three months ago the Supreme Court took away our constitutional protection to control and govern our own bodies. Our right to make decisions about whether or not we wanted to start or complete our families, a right to address the impact of sexual violence and a right to privacy a right that one in four women has uh exercise in a lifetime before age 45 and the majority of whom are already mothers In less than three months. We have seen 17 states have abortion bans and restrictions in place, which affect one in three women. And I have to tell you, I've traveled across the country. These bands are working exactly as they were intended. They're sowing chaos. There are providers and patients as these bands get lifted and reinstated, appointments are scheduled and rescheduled. And so just the chaos inside of managing health centers have been um traumatic. There's a tremendous amount of confusion and fear providers don't know what what will make them non compliant after the effect. Um, patients don't know who they can share information with because of some of the, you know, quote aiding and abetting laws. Pharmacists don't know what prescriptions they can fill. And there's so much fear right now, we're talking about criminal penalties. We're talking about 99 years in jail. We're talking about $100,000 fines and loss of licensure. So the reality of what is happening on the ground and so many of these states um is quite insane. We have patients who are traveling upwards of 400 miles one way to a state where they can get access to medication, abortion, taking the first pill legally in state And then driving 400 miles back while they're um pregnancy is terminated. That is what we are grappling with right now. And we've seen lawmakers double down on the extreme right. It's not just about abortion access. We are seeing them vote for bands with no exceptions for rape incest to help his mother. We're seeing bands introduced around traveling across state lines. We are seeing uh limiting access to birth control, including I. U. D. S. And of course that means implications for other things like Plan B. And I. V. S. And we've also heard that if um, there becomes an anti reproductive health majority in our Congress, we're looking to see the introduction of a national abortion ban. Okay, so that means not just the states that the 25 states that we expect to totally ban abortion in the coming weeks coming year, but actually, uh, 50 states, so we will no longer be protected in north new york and California. So my immediate focus has been over the last few months on doing exactly what planned parenthood does every day, right? We get up and we provide care to people and we get people to care. We have been focusing on um, the third states right? Making sure that the upwards of like 40% increase that we're seeing, um patients are getting access to the care they need. We're converting to telehealth. We are Patients and supporters about why they can't get the access to care that they need. Um, we are suing uh, all 17 states currently and we will be doing more um, that litigation has proved to be crucial in terms of establishing our rights, reestablishing our rights and we're doubling down on health equity in particular. We received a significant gift from Mackenzie Scott Earlier this year and we're using all $50 million 7% to 24%. So that's the work that we are doing. The question though, is what are you all doing? So we are here in the conference title, Alright, is about realizing our own power, right? We are among fortune's most powerful women. So our call to action is to stand firmly in the power that we have. We may have lost the power to control our own bodies right now. But we know that the fight for this movement and our freedoms is not lost. I know there's so many of you are in rooms where you are not in the majority, right? That's one of the reasons why we like to be here together because you all are in rooms where you are holding literally the uh, the power of, of of so many in that space. So I want us to be more confident in our power and talk about what that looks like. The majority of people across this country support access to sexual and reproductive freedom, including abortion. You should feel confident in your power knowing that the majority of people believe your employees, your consumers and your investors now is not the time to stay neutral. We cannot have bystanders. It's time to get off the fence and make sure that we are using our power to grow power. So there are a few obvious things to do. Many of you are already doing them. And then there's some hard things to do. The obvious things to do. Our look and act on data and live your values. So many of you have been talking about gender equity for decades, right. That has been part of what you have brought in your leadership throughout. But we can't talk about gender equity without talking about accessing health care. We know that our very ability to stand in this room for many of us has depended on our access to sexual and reproductive health care. Access to birth control is responsible for one third of our wage gains. Access to abortion has allowed us to transition to higher paying jobs. And when women lose the whole economy loses abortion restrictions that were enacted last year led to 9% earning loss in the in the private sector and estimated to be $105 billion dollars annually. You have to take care of your workforce. We have to make sure that your benefits are top notch the travel policies have been great, but we have to make sure that the benefits are as expansive as possible. When we lose access to abortion. We have to double down on birth control and IVF and adoption and on sexual reproductive health care, we have to offer relocation. Make sure that your employees that need to travel. Um, can, can also be free talk to your employees. We are hearing that employees want to hear from their senior leaders. They want to hear, they feel nervous about sharing information about how they feel about these bands. And so as senior women in your organizations, if you don't talk about it, they don't have the permission and the courage that we're hearing them. Um, as well. And when you talk about abortion, you're actually normalizing. Um, the fact that abortion is in fact healthcare now, quickly on the heart thing, The hard thing that we have to do as a collective is to put our money where our mouth is. Corporate influence comes in all kinds of forms. And there are many ways in which corporations are actually complicit in perpetuating the loss of our freedoms. So how about this? Let's start doing business with states that aligned with our values and let's not do business in places that don't align with our values. We've seen banks support climate efforts by not lending to coal. We've seen companies support LGBT rights by not holding conferences. We've seen eli lilly go on record saying they will no longer expand their workforce in indiana, but it's really important that um, that another company that I've been working with has not only done all of these things, they have stopped building offices and studios and band states and they've also stopped giving political contributions to lawmakers who support bans on sexual reproductive health care. And they are lobbying members of Congress to do the same things. These are hard things. These are uncomfortable things. But the reality is if we don't do them where corporations sit in this moment, is going to leave the footprint for what the future of abortion access will look like moving forward. So I really want to encourage us to have a much bolder, much more brave notion of how we collectively can fight back. Let's make sure that if we are going to realize our power, we are going to realize it in ways that help us secure our freedom. Thank you.