Cathy Perez-Advocating for Womens' Rights

Show Transcript

[00:01:18] Cathy Perez: It is a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much for having me, Bob. 

[00:01:22] Bob Gatty: Thank you. I've been looking forward to talking to you. Now tell me what do women and others who don't identify as binary require right now and why should the country care. 

[00:01:38] Cathy Perez: Awesome. Loaded question. Thank you, . 

[00:01:41] Bob Gatty: I know it's an awesome loaded question. , you sent it to me and asked me to ask you, so I'm asking you

[00:01:48] Cathy Perez: Thank you so much. 

[00:01:49] Bob Gatty: See ladies and gentlemen, this is how it works. This whole thing is stacked . 

[00:01:54] Cathy Perez: All right, Kathy, so everyone's, you're a win-win moment, right? Definitely. So yes, definitely. . This is gonna be actually very simple because other questions will lead into or feed into this, but honestly, for me right now, I'm on a mission and how to or why do women require right now and or what we require and those who don't identify as binary.

[00:02:21] Well, we want equal rights . Simple. It's pretty simple. Yeah. And the way to do that is to, yeah. Is to get the Equal Rights Amendment or ERA added to the Constitution. Like now, like it's been a hundred years in waiting. It's time. It's been time. An immediate way or a way for us to at least get some type of help and, attention and proper respect, is to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.

[00:02:58] And you can do so by going to the Equal Rights Amendment Coalition.org. And you can find out more there. But simply put let's face it this society is based on patriarchy. And it's also based on white supremacy, . And there's a lot that I'll talk about later, but honestly, to just keep it really simple and short, the Equal Rights Amendment could at least help eliminate the obvious problem that women and non-binary people face when it comes to just having every right that white men have. And so this will help us out extreme big time. And that's a simple ask. That's all we're asking is to have that. 

[00:03:49] Bob Gatty: It's a simple ask. The thing is that it's gotta be approved by how many states? 

[00:03:56] Cathy Perez: It's actually pretty much, that's the whole point. It's actually been ratified now.

[00:04:02] Not ratified. It has no, yeah, actually it has been. And so now all that has to happen is that the president gets to tell the archivist, the national archivist. Publish it. That's it. They just have to make sure that on the Senate floor it gets, yes, it's affirmed, it's ratified, and Schumer has said that he'll do that, but we're still waiting.

[00:04:23] And so as soon as that gets done, then the National Archivers can just say, yes, it's published, and now it's part of the Constitution. 

[00:04:31] Bob Gatty: Oh, okay. You don't have to deal with the House of Representatives. That's a good thing. 

[00:04:37] Cathy Perez: As far as I know, no, it just needs to be , the Senate. The Senate ratifies it.

[00:04:41] They, because everything has been done, that time limit has to be removed. That's all it has to happen. And so they can do that. I see. And I see just like that, just how we were taken rights away from us. We can have more. 

[00:04:54] Bob Gatty: Why is this taken, given, taken so long? Why is this taking so long? It seems like they've been talking about that forever.

[00:05:00] Cathy Perez: Yeah. At least a hundred years. Yeah. At the very least. So yeah, it's about time . 

[00:05:07] Bob Gatty: Oh, I'd say so. Okay. So what's reproductive justice all about? 

[00:05:13] Cathy Perez: Absolutely. Thank you for asking. Reproductive justice or RJ as I call it reproductive justice 101, for anyone who wants to, get a little bit more fluent in this.

[00:05:26] Reproductive justice is when everything, okay. Everything required to help people thrive is available to all people. So reproductive justice means you make your own decisions about bodily autonomy, choosing to get pregnant, parenting, planning families, and expressing sexuality. 

[00:05:52] Bob Gatty: Okay. And so how does that play into this whole issue about abortion?

[00:06:01] Cathy Perez: For sure. So we are finally moving away as those who advocate for reproductive justice and reproductive freedom. We're moving away from the idea of pro-choice. And we're moving towards pro decision. So in other words another way to look about you. The idea of reproductive justice is the complete physical, mental, spiritual, political, economic, and social wellbeing of women and girls, and those who are not don't identify as binary but can still get pregnant and will be achieved when women and those mention have the economic, social, political power and resources to make healthy decisions about their bodies, sexuality and reproduction for themselves and their families and their communities. So if someone chooses, makes that choice and decides this pregnancy is not gonna go to term, they have their resources around them. They don't have to go to a clinic in another state, they don't have to go out or even their own community. They have the support they require in their community to make that decision and have it support them. And so if that includes a decision to end a pregnancy for whatever reason, it doesn't matter. That's what reproductive justice means. 

[00:07:27] Bob Gatty: What can be done to support reproductive justice?

[00:07:32] Cathy Perez: So two ways that anyone can help. And again, this is a touchy matter, so we get to go to those hard places, have those hard discussions. But what can be done to support reproductive justice? We get to dismantle what causes the need for reproductive justice, which is dismantling white supremacy and looking at how you as males, if a male is listening right now, particularly white males have benefited from the systemic institutions of racism and misogyny.

[00:08:11] Even if you don't believe in those in particularly hardcore, right? If you don't identify as a white supremist, Hopefully not, but if you, even if you don't, you have to understand that as a male specifically, even as a male, you have the benefit of the doubt that I have never, I will not, I still don't have.

[00:08:36] And so there are not laws keeping you from anything. All the laws work to your benefit. So if you're willing to do the hard ask and say, how have I benefited, but not really realize how it's taken away from someone else i.e., A woman like myself who's double hit. I'm a Latina, so that means I'm a minority and that means I'm a woman.

[00:09:03] So support comes in the willingness to look at oneself and say, okay, in this systemic institution that is white supremacy, how have I gained, but not let others take up the same rights as I do. And then the second way is to vote for legislators who will value democracy and human rights for everyone, not just a few, and not just through the biased lens of white Christian nationalism, but literally realizing that democracy comes best when we have diversity, right? And that we vote in to keep democracy because we are rolling really quickly, very scally into the realm of fascism. I think anyone can agree with me and so give up the white power, the white supremacy. Give up the idea of white Christian nationalism cuz that's just equivalent to white supremacy and realize that when we dismantle the hierarchy of white supremacy, then we will gain reproductive justice a lot quicker. 

[00:10:17] Bob Gatty: That can be a little bit difficult for some in Congress to accept.

[00:10:24] Cathy Perez: Absolutely. And there's no easy way around it. You have people like Senator Rubio, you have and his governor that are raging cultural wars. And anyone who wants to see status quo could pretty much say that fascism has now already taken over Florida . That's not the majority of the population.

[00:10:52] It's a small majority that just happens to have a lot of power and they're using it and it's taking us into a place that we should not go . So if legislators were voted in that were pro-democracy, pro-human rights, we would see a different outcome. . And so it's gonna take right now the Supreme Court right, totally took away half of the populations right after 50 years.

[00:11:20] They're not voted in. So why not change that system? Make sure that there are different ways to make the Supreme Court more judicial and more just. Right now it's not, it's completely another arm of the right wing, and that's pretty scary. 

[00:11:40] Bob Gatty: So you would advocate expanding the Supreme Court?

[00:11:45] Cathy Perez: Actually there is a school of thought somewhere. I'm not against it, but there is even a better solution and it's about having rotation. So that it's not based having what? I'm sorry. I, remember reading somewhere, and I don't know where I read it so I can't give an exact reference, but it's the idea that you actually have a rolling rotation, meaning that they're not life appointments.

[00:12:12] They have a 18 year span on the court, and so without necessarily having to increase the amount of justices, you could easily take away the power grab by simply saying, okay, this justice is only in for 18 years. And then making sure that there is at least a equal amount of justices, right?

[00:12:34] So if that does mean expanding, fine, but it can't be anymore where a president is allowed to pick because now we have Supreme Court justices deciding again for a very small, loud minority, what the whole country is supposed to take up. No , that's not democracy. It's a pretty scary situation that we're in.

[00:13:03] Bob Gatty: Yeah. Yeah. All of this can cause women a ton of stress in their lives, right? Trying to deal with this, dealing with the political realities of the way things are these days. You've got you've got some states that wanna throw doctors in jail. You got states that want to throw people in jail if they give them they give somebody who wants an abortion, a ride to a state where they can get it.

[00:13:33] For crying out loud. The, crazies are, taken over in Congress, in my opinion, in especially in the house with the Republicans now having their slim, but still the majority and they have a right to, and now they can control all the committees and, all of that. So I think it's, we're in for a couple of tough years.

[00:13:59] I'm afraid. 

[00:14:01] Cathy Perez: I agree. You agree? I agree completely, 

[00:14:04] Bob Gatty: yes. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. As a health coach now, let's talk a little bit about what you do as a health coach. I presume that your clients deal obviously with anxiety and stress, and how do you help them cope with that? 

[00:14:22] Cathy Perez: Absolutely. That's an easy question.

[00:14:25] I do work with specifically women and yeah, any women or any women I should say, who is dealing with excessive anxiety. I always advocate because I went through therapy, go to therapy, . I'm not a medical or licensed professional. I'm a health coach, so I'm different but fill that gap between when that person does say therapy, right?

[00:14:46] Or a therapist and then when they're out on their own trying to navigate life. So I have a really cool just three pillar system that helps women learn how to be right. I'm about teaching someone to fish not telling them how to. Letting them fish how they wish, but it's a three pillar system and it's all about first building confidence.

[00:15:16] That is huge. , that's a big part of why anxiety even exists. Second is managing any type of anxiety triggers, and that's both physical and mental. And then the third pillar has to do with strengthening the body mind connection. I definitely come from the School of thought that mother nature knows best.

[00:15:38] But unfortunately the Western medicine, industry doesn't believe that. And wherever someone sits on whether you wanna use holistic means or if you wanna go through western medicine, and I'm not against Western medicine. If I break my arm, yeah, I want it cast right.

[00:15:55] But there are also other alternatives to just using Western medicine. And so I'm a proponent. Integrative medicine, right? And so seed therapy for sure if you require any type of medication for a really high anxiety, please do and then also utilize what I can coach you through so that maybe over time the reliance on the medication can fall away, if not completely.

[00:16:25] So it's a matter of just realizing that anxiety isn't going anywhere. It's part of our fight or flight system. Like it keeps us alive. So it's not bad, it's just some of us unfortunately have a little too much going on, and so we get to just find better ways to talk to it, to let it know that we're not or always in danger.

[00:16:46] And then from there, they learn how to go about life in a totally different mindset. And it really comes down to how you view anxiety. So in a simple way, yes, I can help women and I haven't, I'll have a ton of fun doing it. 

[00:17:01] Bob Gatty: Okay. We were talking about abortion. Let's, just I just wanted to ask you regarding women who, need the procedure, but they live in states that like South Carolina where I live that they want to throw 'em in jail and throw away the key for crying out loud. What's your advice to women that are in that kind of situation? 

[00:17:28] Cathy Perez: Absolutely. So this is definitely getting more difficult because now the far right wackos are trying to basically up the first amendment so that you can't even search on Google for abortion or for anything that has to do with abortion. imagine that. So my advice as a reproductive justice advocate would be, and as a health coach this has basically this June, 24, 2022 upheavals everything for women, including all my clients, right? Including myself. So I had to start thinking about, okay, now this is an additional threat to them and I have to help them along, right?

[00:18:12] And even for my own self-preservation, I had to take measures. But my first advice is don't be afraid to seek out nationally trusted networks, places like Planned Parenthood, places like NARAL. So organizations that are actually proven and have women's best interest in mind or those who are non-binary.

[00:18:38] And also get informed on rights. And I can also help my clients in that fashion. So I have another business. I don't necessarily talk about it so much cuz I'm more about, again, the it's, encompassing of what I do. I e helping women lower, neutralize their anxiety. But it's about getting informed about what your rights are in any situation all over the nation.

[00:19:05] And that's another way I help my clients. So the most important thing though is to not unfortunately, Tell everyone and their mother what you are going through. That sounds funny, but in Nebraska, a mom is now probably facing criminal charges cuz she texted her daughter, oh, I got you the pills for your abortion, and now her and her daughter are facing criminal charges, so you can't even trust, obviously. Now, unfortunately, your loved ones, not that there was anything on this at that point, but what I'm saying is seek out trusted national networks first before you even talk to anyone that you consider family or friend, and keep it to a minimum when you do, because I can't even use technically now my, menstrual cycling cycle app because if they were to be subpoenaed, even though they said they wouldn't comply, they could still send all my information and I'm like, hell no. And that's why I do have a iPhone. This will be a, plug for iPhones. Everything's encrypted by the way, on iPhone. So your text messages are encrypted and everything else.

[00:20:17] But yes, that's how I would help, that's how I would share how to hopefully help people say in South Carolina, find help. Because nothing happens, or I should say, you looking doesn't mean anything other than you looking. So they have not taken away our right yet to just look up information. Anyone could look up information for any reason.

[00:20:40] So for now, at least the First Amendment protects us from looking or for looking. But for how long? I don't know. So 

[00:20:49] Bob Gatty: right now, are you telling me that they wanna prosecute people for doing a Google search about abortions? 

[00:20:57] Cathy Perez: Uhhuh. . Yep. 

[00:20:59] Bob Gatty: Where? I didn't hear that. Where? 

[00:21:01] Cathy Perez: Yeah. It was I, learned about it through again, through my reproductive justice leadership series. I'm NPR junkie, so I was always listening to npr, but on several different occasions, there have now been instances where if in the Texas law is the perfect example, if I were somehow implicated in searching for even outside help for an abortion, I could technically, someone could, let's say some psycho to control me. This is a really out their example, but this is how this works. If someone hacked my computer and then saw that I had looked up abortion clinic, let's say in, I don't know what's near Texas. I don't think there's anything near Texas, unfortunately that can get offered of abortions.

[00:21:54] But anyway, if I was looking it up, someone could actually say, okay, now I'm gonna sue this it's not against the woman, right? Supposedly, but if anyone was helping them, i e that organization, now, that $10,000 bounty could be levied against obviously the person, that person that found out what I had searched for could then go and say, oh, that organization is trying to help this woman get an abortion outta state.

[00:22:21] Now, of course, it's still technically legal, right? Because no state can tell another state what to do, but that's where it's going to. 

[00:22:29] Bob Gatty: Incredible. 

[00:22:32] Cathy Perez: All right. Yeah, Steph, that men don't think about. 

[00:22:36] Bob Gatty: I do cuz my wife talks about it all the time and 

[00:22:40] Cathy Perez: As she should. 

[00:22:42] Bob Gatty: Funny, I've been in and around politics for many years. I worked on Capital Hill for two members of Congress back in the seventies, and abortion was a big fight then for crying out loud. Yeah. And it still is. It just is incredible to me. And now we have the abortion pill and some of these states are trying to ban them. South Carolina, for example, the governor here, Henry McMaster wants to do away with the ability of women to obtain the abortion pill.

[00:23:20] Cathy Perez: He may get his way no matter what

[00:23:22] Bob Gatty: He's written, they've written letters threatening CVS and Walgreens the two biggest drug retailers here against providing that medication to, their customers. To me that's just, what's your view of all that? 

[00:23:41] Cathy Perez: He might not even have to do that.

[00:23:43] Or if he did, it doesn't matter because right now in Texas, a federal court judge who was appointed by Trump could very well take away that right altogether, nationally.

[00:23:53] Bob Gatty: How can a Texas judge take it away nationally?

[00:23:57] Cathy Perez: Because right now there's a lawsuit and they very, sneakily gave it to this particular federal judge.

[00:24:06] And the organization obviously is completely anti-abortion. And they're saying now that they are suing the FDA because 20 years ago when they made this abortion pill, one of the, there's two different abortion pills that, or medications that a woman takes for a medical abortion. And one of those is very well known. And they're saying now that the FDA illegally approved it back 20 years ago, it's been proven 99% effective for over 20 years. But no, this judge could, in one stroke of the pen, just like the Supreme Court did last year, change everyth. . And so that's up right now.

[00:24:48] Like we can get the ruling anytime now. I think it shouldn't be coming in March, but we could literally have no abortion come March. 

[00:24:56] Bob Gatty: Okay. Did you see the state of the Union address the other night? 

[00:25:02] Cathy Perez: Forgive me. No, I didn't. You didn't? I didn't. 

[00:25:06] Bob Gatty: Okay. Okay. Then I can't ask you what you thought of Marjorie Taylor Green and some of these other people heckling Biden 

[00:25:16] Cathy Perez: I didn't not want to watch it, but I still have not seen him just by the time for my own time. But I purposely did not watch it because I did not want to get myself riled up. I'm like, I already think he's doing as well as he could as president, but I'm invested in this reproductive justice advocacy as much as possible, but I'm not gonna put myself through unnecessary Stress. 

[00:25:41] Bob Gatty: You went through some kind of a course about reproductive justice, right? 

[00:25:45] Cathy Perez: Correct. 

[00:25:45] Bob Gatty: Talk to me about that. Tell me 

[00:25:46] Cathy Perez: For sure. very grateful to the the actual organization that sponsored it was Progress Now Colorado.

[00:25:57] Okay. I think it's, it feels so bad, I shouldn't know their name, but they have this leadership series called Keep abortion safe.org. So keep abortion safe.org is like the, I guess you call it the subdivision of and then the keep abortion safe sponsored for free, so I didn't pay for it. The leader, it's a nine week, eight week leadership series and it's reproductive justice.

[00:26:25] Leadership series advocacy. So I officially became a reproductive justice advocate back in the fall of last year. Okay. And I feel bad cause I think it's progress now, Colorado. I could be wrong about that, but progress now. Now Colorado is the main umbrella and they have different initiatives and advocacy that they sponsor and keep abortion safe.org is one of those sponsored programs and got it.

[00:26:55] So through Keep Abortion Safe, I was able to go through this really in depth, really awesome series and it was wonderful, and that's why I'm here in front of you now because I was given the tools and the resources and the confidence to put myself out there because I have an age 11 niece, and right now she has less rights than I did growing up, and that's not right.

[00:27:20] So I can't let her live in a place that sees her as a second class person, as not even a real person. Okay, that's why I'm here. 

[00:27:29] Bob Gatty: Okay. All right. Are there any other points you'd like to make Cathy? 

[00:27:34] Cathy Perez: For now, just please bother your senators and your Congress people to pass and get the E r A passed. I say pass, but basically have it added to the Constitution.

[00:27:48] The equal Rights Amendment is not going to solve the abortion problem, but it will finally give women and even non-binary people equal rights to men. 

[00:27:57] Bob Gatty: Alright. Okay, Kathy, first I appreciate you being with us on Lean to the Left. Enjoy talking to you. And I hope you guys listening enjoyed this and found out of value.

[00:28:13] So thank you Cathy.