Sex Ed Is Reproductive Justice

This week Alda Santana sexual health educator and coordinator of the City's peer sexual health educators program joined me to talk about sex education as a necessary component of reproductive justice. neither can exist without the other.

Happy 43rd Birthday, Roe v. Wade!

This week Amanda Williams of the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity and Genevieve Cato of NARAL Pro-Choice Texas joined me this week to talk about the first 43 years of Roe v. Wade, SCOTUS, HB2, and the future of bodily autonomy for women in the U.S.

Texas Striving for Highest Teen Birth Rate in the Nation

Tina Hester, Executive Director of Jane's Due Process joined me to talk about the implementation of HB 3994 which further restricts judicial bypass access for teens seeking abortion. Now their request can be put off for 5 days at which point it is essentially denied. Time is of the essence for teens who statistically get their pregnancies diagnosed later and have even fewer resources to meet the 20 week ban and get to one of the remaining clinics in the state.

Anna Yocca Pleads Not Guilty to Attempted First Degree Murder

Jessica Mason Pieklo, Senior Legal Analyst at RH Reality Check, joined me to talk about the rising trend of women being arrested for exercising bodily autonomy. Anna Yocca, Tennessee woman charged with attempted first degree murder for self-inducing an abortion at 24 weeks, plead not guilty and her trial will begin soon.

CytoDyn HIV Drug Drops Viral Load to Non-Detectable Levels in Testing

Dr. Nader Pourhassan, CEO of CytoDyn Inc, talked with me about their HIV drug, PRO 140, which has had demonstrated remarkable effect on patients in FDA IRB approved tests.

About PRO 140
PRO 140 belongs to a new class of HIV/AIDS therapeutics -- viral-entry inhibitors -- that are intended to protect healthy cells from viral infection. PRO 140 is a fully humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody directed against CCR5, a molecular portal that HIV uses to enter T-cells. PRO 140 blocks the predominant HIV (R5) subtype entry into T-cells by masking this required co-receptor, CCR5. Importantly PRO 140 does not appear to interfere with the normal function of CCR5 in mediating immune responses. PRO 140 does not have agonist activity towards CCR5 but does have antagonist activity to CCL5 which is a central mediator in inflammatory diseases. PRO 140 has been the subject of seven clinical trials, each demonstrating efficacy by significantly reducing or controlling HIV viral load in human test subjects. PRO 140 has been designated a "fast track" product candidate by the FDA. The PRO 140 antibody appears to be a powerful antiviral agent leading to potentially fewer side effects and less frequent dosing requirements as compared to daily drug therapies currently in use. 

Woman Jailed for Self Induction of Abortion--Again

Another American woman is jailed for inducing her own abortion. Anna Yocca has been jailed on charges of attempted first degree murder for inducing her abortion with a wire coat hanger. This is a policy failure, not a criminal offense. Now she is responsible for parenting a severely premature child if she beats the charges. 

Shame on you, Tennessee.

Relevant as Ever, Throwbacks from the 70s: Hyde and Jimenez

Alexa Garcia-Ditta, Health Reporter at the Texas Observer, joins me to talk about the Hyde Amendment, Rosie Jimenez, HB2, and its impending appearance before SCOTUS. Rosie Jimenez was one of the first women to die from a clandestine abortion after the 1976 Hyde Amendment prevented use of federal funds for abortion procedures.

Yes, the Hyde Amendment has been hurting already marginalized women for almost 40 years.