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0:42

Meet Jeanette McCurdy. She's an author,

0:45

a writer, and a big feeler, so

0:47

much so that she's making a podcast all about

0:49

her feelings. Jeanette's memoir, I'm

0:51

Glad My Mom Died, welcomed the world into

0:54

the story of Jeanette and all of the intense life

0:56

experiences that molded her into the person she

0:58

is today. But how does she manage all of the

1:00

messy, hard feelings she's feeling right now?

1:03

In each episode of Hard Feelings, her new podcast

1:05

with Lemonada Media, she'll tell you all

1:07

about it. Jealousy, shame, social

1:09

anxiety, she wants to laugh about it, cry

1:12

about it, and work through it with you by her side.

1:14

Why? These hard feelings are a big

1:16

part of the human condition. They unite us

1:19

all, but only once we're willing to face

1:21

them. Hard Feelings is out now, wherever

1:23

you get your podcasts.

1:26

Lemonada. Hey, listeners. I'm

1:28

excited to let you know about The Defenders,

1:32

Lemonada Media's newest podcast. In 2022,

1:34

the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v.

1:36

Wade. Since

1:38

then, it's been a barrage of bad news. But behind

1:41

the bleak headlines, there are people working to protect

1:43

our right to control our future.

1:46

The Defenders is a new 10-part series about

1:48

the fight for freedom in a

1:50

post-Roe America. It's a series of short stories about

1:53

the fight for freedom in a post-Roe America.

1:55

Co-hosted by Samantha Bee and Gloria

1:58

Riviera, the show will examine. ways

2:00

people are still accessing care, from crossing

2:02

skateboarders to self-managed abortion. You'll

2:05

hear from activists, providers, and everyday

2:07

people doing the work to expand reproductive

2:09

freedom. We're here to tell you anyone

2:12

can become a defender. You're

2:14

about to hear the first episode of The Defenders. After

2:17

you listen, search for The Defenders in your podcast

2:19

app to hear the second episode. You can

2:21

also find a link in the show notes that will take you there.

2:24

This episode

2:26

contains content about abuse and

2:28

suicidal ideation. Please take

2:30

care while listening.

2:35

We're following breaking news out

2:37

of Washington, D.C., a leaked opinion

2:39

draft appearing to show that by this

2:41

summer a majority of the justices

2:43

will overturn Roe versus

2:45

Wade. In court today, five justices ended

2:48

the right of American women to

2:49

choose abortion. We're going to have people who

2:51

are limiting abortion access from the current

2:53

20th century to justice. You're

2:56

going to have people who are right to abortion, and illegal

2:58

abortion restrictions are going to be a

3:00

violation of the trigger law. There are

3:03

arguments on whether a doctor should lose her

3:05

license to eliminate her pregnancy for

3:07

any reason. Your mother and the

3:09

girls may try to file. That's the rule. Okay, okay,

3:11

okay, okay. Why are you here? Okay,

3:18

okay, okay, okay. Wow.

3:21

That was bleak.

3:22

Yeah, hearing

3:25

everything back to back like that was like

3:27

a super cut of the end of our rights

3:29

as we knew them. But you know what, Gloria?

3:32

Something tells me that our listeners

3:35

don't need a scary montage to feel a

3:37

sense of hopelessness. Nope.

3:40

Sam, hopelessness is basically the

3:42

default setting at

3:43

this point. Hey,

3:45

welcome. If you are listening

3:48

to this podcast, you probably already

3:50

know the stakes. It

3:51

is not looking good out there.

3:54

In the year and change since Roe was overturned, suits

3:57

all over the country

3:58

have been attacking reporters.

3:59

productive rights from every angle possible.

4:02

There is so much to be

4:04

mad about. But it's

4:07

impossible to be sad and angry

4:09

24-7. I mean, believe me, I

4:12

have tried. Being angry is practically

4:15

my love language. Mine

4:17

too. Since Rose fell

4:19

and for quite a while before that, we've been

4:21

angry. Dobbs was not the beginning

4:24

of this. Anti-abortion forces have

4:26

been trying to chip away at the right to abortion

4:28

for decades. Yes,

4:30

they have. I actually think that's their

4:32

love language. There was also a

4:37

form of resistance so that today

4:39

there is a community of people all over

4:42

our country fighting for bodily autonomy,

4:44

risking their own safety to make

4:46

sure others are getting the health care and the

4:48

support they need.

4:49

And I am happy to say

4:51

hope does exist. Stop

4:54

it. There's hope in a conversation

4:57

about abortion in America. Yes,

5:00

I promise. Sometimes in the most

5:02

mundane

5:03

of places.

5:04

What are the chances

5:05

I turn on the radio instead of hearing some country

5:08

station because I'm in the country. You

5:10

know, I'm hearing about a place and a coalition

5:13

and a whole group of people that are looking

5:15

to help someone in my situation.

5:20

Today we're going to tell you Brittany's story.

5:22

It's a story of feeling trapped and finding

5:25

your way out despite the odds.

5:27

There's now someone to try to call. There's

5:30

actually hope. There was something that I could actually

5:32

do. There are people all

5:34

over the country going above and beyond

5:36

to maintain access to life-saving

5:39

care. That's who you're going to hear

5:41

from in this series. People who have been

5:43

standing up and speaking out long

5:45

before Roe vs. Wade was overturned.

5:57

It is the defenders.

5:59

show about the fight for freedom in a post-roll

6:02

America. I'm Samantha Bee. I

6:04

hosted the show Full Frontal from 2016

6:07

to 2022 and it was among the first to be

6:09

unapologetic about covering abortion on

6:12

late night television. And I'm

6:14

Gloria Rivera. My first show with

6:16

Lemon Auto Media was about child care during

6:18

COVID. By our second season, Roe versus

6:20

Wade fell and we were talking about abortion.

6:23

Why? Because

6:24

a lot of parents need access to abortion.

6:26

Behind the bleak headlines,

6:29

there are people who are fighting every day

6:31

for us to maintain our rights. We are going to

6:33

be uplifting that work on this show, shining

6:35

a light on the people who are helping and letting you know

6:38

how to help them. This

6:40

week we're sharing Brittany's story of how

6:43

an abortion fund changed her life.

6:58

Abortion funds. They probably

7:01

sound pretty familiar to you by now.

7:03

You may have already donated to one.

7:06

I don't know, maybe at three o'clock in the morning after

7:09

doom scrolling for hours. These

7:11

funds, they're not actually new. Community

7:14

care, people taking care of each other, has

7:17

always been a part of abortion.

7:20

But before we get into Brittany's story, we

7:22

want to dig a little more into

7:24

how these funds came to be. For

7:27

the type of formalized abortion funds

7:29

we have today, the rubber really

7:31

met the road in 1976. That

7:33

is when the Hyde Amendment

7:35

passed, a short three years after

7:37

Roe v. Wade made abortion legal.

7:40

By design, it was like, well, we can't

7:42

ban abortion now because of this federal protection.

7:45

But what we can do is make it hard

7:47

for poor folks, for black folks, for

7:50

indigenous people of community, rural folks.

7:52

We can make it harder for them to access abortion.

7:55

Oryaku Njaku is the executive

7:57

director of the National

7:58

Network of Abortions.

8:00

So the Hyde Amendment and similar

8:02

restrictions prohibited the use of

8:05

federal funds for abortion, which

8:07

means things like Medicaid, any

8:09

federal health insurance, even the Peace

8:12

Corps, they all stopped funding

8:14

abortion. And that impacted Black

8:16

and brown folks disproportionately.

8:18

The post-real reality that folks were

8:20

so deeply afraid of was

8:23

actually the lived reality of folks

8:25

from BIPOC communities for

8:27

so long.

8:28

So after the Hyde Amendment, more

8:30

abortion funds started to form to fill the

8:33

gaps in access to abortion. In 1993,

8:36

several funds decided to organize

8:38

together and founded the National Network

8:41

of Abortion Funds. Today, the network

8:44

partners with around 100 organizations. It's

8:47

a number that has been growing as the

8:49

need grows. Look,

8:51

a lot of people were already traveling

8:53

across state lines before jobs, but

8:56

now, with abortion restricted in

8:58

so many states, you might have to travel

9:00

a thousand miles to get an appointment

9:02

where abortion is legal.

9:04

If you're coming from a state like

9:06

Texas where abortion

9:09

is essentially illegal, the reality

9:12

is that you will be traveling across

9:14

several state lines to a place

9:16

where you can get care.

9:18

Traveling that far increases

9:21

all costs. A bus ticket becomes

9:23

a plane ticket. A day trip becomes

9:25

a three-night stay. There are so

9:28

many considerations, and the sheer

9:30

logistics of it all can be debilitating.

9:33

And that's by design. If

9:35

people are so overwhelmed, they

9:37

might just give up and be forced to carry these

9:39

pregnancies to term. But abortion

9:42

funds are here to tell you. No

9:45

one can force you into a decision

9:47

about your body. These

9:49

folks will help you find options.

9:52

And they're not just doing it for a pat on the back. They're

9:54

doing it because it's the right thing to do.

9:59

like co-conspiring with folks

10:02

in the communities to make sure they get the

10:04

services that they want and need. So,

10:06

you know, majority of our funds don't come at

10:09

this work with this sort of like savior

10:11

complex. It really is because

10:14

people in our communities deserve

10:16

what is best for them and their families

10:18

and abortion access and reproductive

10:21

justice is one pathway

10:23

towards getting to our collective liberation. So

10:25

we've got to show up for our folks. And

10:28

I like that you're saying co-conspiring. Oh,

10:30

yeah. Yeah. No, I'm like, I

10:32

don't need folks to just be allies. I

10:35

need you to jack stuff up with

10:37

us. I need you to be in here and

10:39

do the work with us.

10:42

Yeah. Jack

10:44

stuff up with us. I get

10:46

it. I'm out the door. I know. It's

10:48

a real spirit of collaboration, of

10:51

showing up for each other. So today,

10:54

it makes sense that we are kicking off

10:56

this series with a woman who goes

10:58

above and beyond to show up

11:00

for someone, a co-conspirator

11:03

of the highest

11:04

order. Gloria, I'm going to leave it

11:06

to you. Thank you, Sam.

11:12

An important thing to know about Brittany is she's

11:14

a pet person, not a baby person.

11:17

I never wanted children. I'm sure

11:20

they're great. I just never had that instinct.

11:22

I'll fight you for a kitten.

11:23

But when it comes to babies, I never had the interest.

11:28

We're using only Brittany's first name to protect

11:30

her safety. And we are not being

11:33

specific

11:33

about her location.

11:35

We're going to start with Brittany's story just after

11:37

she met her boyfriend. They were both

11:40

playing Pokemon Go in a park. In

11:42

the beginning, things were good.

11:45

He seemed super sweet, very

11:49

affectionate, very intelligent,

11:52

more sweet than normal. But it was refreshing,

11:54

I guess,

11:55

which kind of made me let my guard down.

11:58

After several months of dating, they decided to go to the park. to

12:00

move to the southeast together.

12:02

And everything was fine and loving

12:04

and sweet. And as soon as we got there, everything

12:07

turned.

12:08

Brittany says he took away her phone, her

12:10

wallet, so she had no form of identification.

12:13

And he didn't allow her to use the internet when he was

12:15

home, taking the modem with

12:17

him when he left the house. He would

12:19

even take the cord to the TV, the plugging

12:21

cord, and unplug it from the back so

12:23

that I couldn't even watch TV.

12:25

He tracked any time she even stepped out of

12:27

the house with an outdoor camera. He

12:29

took all the food with him so she couldn't even

12:31

eat when he was gone. Even the

12:34

windows upstairs

12:34

were painted shut. This is an old

12:37

place, so I mean, there was, I even tried windows upstairs.

12:39

I could, so there was no escaping without

12:41

him knowing. I didn't even know where the police

12:43

department was because I didn't have a phone to look that up

12:45

to even know which direction to run if I did

12:47

run. It just got to be hopeless

12:50

and depressing.

12:51

Brittany was trapped. She was

12:54

also pregnant

12:54

and she didn't want to be. She

12:57

was a couple of months along. She guessed.

12:59

She really didn't know. Tell me

13:01

about that. Did he know you were pregnant?

13:03

When did you suspect that you were pregnant?

13:06

Oh, he knew immediately. He was

13:07

hoping for it. It came up in arguments

13:09

that, well, you can't get away from me now. I mean,

13:12

you got me forever, so we need to work this out.

13:14

This was another way her partner tried to trap her.

13:17

Literally weaponized my own body against me

13:20

to keep me under his thumb.

13:22

He thought I would become more willing to take

13:25

the abuse and the control. I

13:27

thought that he would take my child

13:29

that he was going to

13:32

obviously force me to have.

13:34

Brittany's partner wanted to use her pregnancy

13:36

to control her. This is unfortunately

13:39

common. So common there's actually

13:41

a phrase for it. Reproductive

13:43

coercion. And rates of this kind of

13:46

abuse have been on the rise since Roe

13:48

fell. Abortion bans

13:50

give abusers even more power.

13:53

Brittany was in panic mode.

13:55

I was thinking about suicide on a daily

13:57

basis because even if I

13:59

could get. actual phone service. There was

14:01

no one to call. There was no family.

14:03

There was no one. If I

14:05

had this man's child, I would have to deal

14:07

with him forever. You were trapped. You were

14:09

feeling

14:10

helpless and hopeless and

14:13

thinking about suicide every

14:14

day. Every day. Every day. And

14:17

it got to the point where that was calming to

14:19

me.

14:20

Britney did have one thing that kept

14:22

her going. A calico kitten, about

14:24

four to five months old. One of the times

14:26

that I

14:27

was in the yard, there was a super

14:29

tiny little fluffball kitten that

14:32

I had found. And I wasn't really

14:35

standing up for myself, but I threw

14:37

a complete fit to make him go get a

14:39

bottle and everything for it. Because

14:41

she wasn't going to make it. She was super dehydrated

14:43

and sick and stuff. I was determined that

14:45

it was going to be me and her and I was getting us both

14:48

out. I'd stay awake all night to make sure that I didn't

14:50

fall asleep and she'd get out because I was worried that he would hurt

14:52

her or kill her when I was asleep. She

14:54

definitely gave me something else to care about

14:57

besides myself because I had gotten to the point

14:59

that I wasn't caring about myself.

15:05

Sam, I know you're a cat person,

15:07

so I feel like this is a good place

15:09

to pause. How are you doing so far?

15:12

I'm very thankful for the kitten in this scenario.

15:15

Just yeah. Sometimes you need an outside

15:17

force to help you muster

15:21

the strength to act. Does

15:24

that make sense? Yeah, absolutely.

15:26

Hearing her talk about it, it made

15:29

me feel good that she had

15:31

something to care for and she

15:33

will put her foot down for

15:36

that little kitten when she

15:38

has no power elsewhere in

15:41

that dynamic. Yes, like it brought

15:43

mission or it brought

15:46

purpose and

15:48

drive. Like a little catalyst.

15:53

I said it.

15:54

I'm not ashamed that I said it.

15:57

Aside from taking care of her little

15:59

catalyst, Britney wasn't able to do

16:01

much else. She had no phone, no

16:04

internet, no TV. She couldn't

16:06

leave the house without it resulting in a huge

16:08

fight. But her partner didn't

16:10

think of everything. Britney had access

16:13

to a radio, Remember Radios. It

16:15

was built into an old record player. Britney

16:18

turned it on to listen to something besides

16:20

the silence. Something to give her a break

16:23

from thinking about her life or

16:25

ending her life.

16:26

I honestly wasn't looking for music or anything.

16:29

I just wanted noise, just something. And

16:32

I turn it on and I walk away. I go

16:34

to the bathroom. And it takes

16:36

me a second to realize what they're even talking about because they're

16:38

already in mid conversation.

16:41

What they were talking about that day, that

16:43

minute, was the Midwest Access

16:46

Coalition, an abortion fund. When

16:49

you listen to that story about

16:51

the Midwest Access Coalition,

16:53

what did you hear? What

16:54

do you remember taking away from hearing

16:56

that story?

16:58

It was specifically the

17:00

travel

17:00

part. They were talking about, of course,

17:03

you know, Roe versus Wade and all the

17:05

new abortion laws and everything. And about

17:07

how women were having to travel out

17:09

of their states and how some small

17:11

town, you know, they wouldn't have

17:13

access to it. Or people without enough

17:15

money wouldn't be able to travel out of state and they

17:17

were having to wait to be further along. There's

17:20

more complications. And what they were

17:22

talking about was my situation

17:24

and that they could help me get out of there.

17:28

She couldn't quite believe what she heard, but

17:31

Midwest Access Coalition planted a

17:33

seed that would become her

17:35

actual escape plan. I wrote

17:37

down the

17:39

email and the phone number.

17:41

Brittany had hope.

17:43

One of the chances I turned on the radio instead of hearing

17:45

some country station, because I'm in the country, you

17:48

know, I'm hearing what I needed to hear about

17:51

a place and a coalition and a whole

17:53

group of people that are looking to help

17:56

someone in my situation. It

17:58

was unreal.

17:59

And

18:01

it took hours to stop crying, but out

18:03

of

18:06

the hope of my only way out isn't

18:08

suicide.

18:10

That there is a chance that despite

18:12

having no one to call, there's

18:15

now someone to try to call. There's

18:17

actually hope. There was something that I could actually do.

18:19

There's a step that I could take to

18:22

try to save myself.

18:24

Brittany had to wait until her partner left

18:26

the house before she could attempt to

18:28

contact Midwest Access Coalition.

18:31

That would be her only chance.

18:33

It took another week

18:34

before he was gone long

18:36

enough.

18:37

Remember Brittany's boyfriend had taken her phone,

18:40

but she had an old cracked phone hidden away

18:43

that she had kept for contacts. She

18:45

didn't know if it would even turn on. Thankfully

18:48

it did. I took that phone

18:51

and I ran to a Hardee's about

18:54

the only thing in that town

18:56

and used their wifi and sent the

18:59

Midwest Access Coalition an

19:01

email with a short paragraph

19:03

just glazing over the situation I was in because

19:05

the whole time my heart's racing. I'm just like, he's going

19:07

to come home before I'm back. Do you remember

19:09

what you wrote in that first message? It

19:11

was just that I have no access. It was mainly

19:14

telling them that you send me emails

19:16

and everything, but I won't be able to respond, but that does

19:18

not mean that I'm okay. It does not

19:20

mean that I don't need the help. I need the help and you're

19:23

the only help I can think of or the only

19:26

help I can find. That was your SOS.

19:29

Yeah, 100%. Brittany

19:31

got an automatic reply email back.

19:33

It was like, we're very busy, but we received

19:35

your email. An advocate will be getting back to

19:37

you

19:38

as soon as we can. After sending

19:41

that first email, it was another week before

19:43

Brittany was able to get back to

19:44

Hardee's. And it's just as

19:46

stressful. I'm just as freaked out. When I get to

19:48

Hardee's and I open the emails, she's

19:51

sent two, maybe three

19:52

at that point. I just said

19:55

this is absolutely not your fault. Of course

19:57

we can help. Is it safe to reach

19:59

back out?

19:59

to you. I'm going to take your case.

20:02

Like how can we move forward from here?

20:05

Who was that person?

20:07

That was Allison with Midwest

20:09

Access Coalition. Allison

20:11

Dreates was emailing Brittany from home, a

20:14

pygmy goat farm in the rural Midwest.

20:17

She bought the farm as a form of self-care after

20:19

years of working in the abortion field,

20:22

which she's been doing now for about 15 years. So

20:25

Allison was ready when Brittany emailed her.

20:28

It was a Sunday. I

20:31

was on my way to have

20:33

brunch with a friend and I got an email from Brittany and

20:39

she said, can you come get

20:41

me tomorrow?

20:42

And that felt

20:45

really fast, but it also

20:47

felt really definitive.

20:49

Like something was going on. She

20:52

said that her former partner's

20:55

behaviors had changed and she felt that like

20:58

now she was in danger, like

21:00

immediate danger.

21:02

So she told me she herself

21:04

was flying out and going

21:07

to come and pick me up. She writes to you,

21:09

you read the words in an email. I'm

21:12

going to come get you. I'm going to help you.

21:15

What is your reaction when you read those words?

21:18

Loud crying in the middle of a hardy with

21:20

a bunch of strangers looking at me and I do not care.

21:23

I couldn't believe that there was not

21:26

just hope that there was somebody

21:28

and I don't know why I trusted her, but

21:30

the way she said

21:31

she was coming, I knew she was going to

21:33

do everything she could to get there. There

21:35

was no,

21:37

well, as long as this works out or we'll try

21:39

this, it was, I'm coming to get

21:41

you, tell me how to get you.

21:44

And so that's when I called

21:47

my lawyer. I called

21:50

people at Midwest

21:51

access coalition to let them know what was

21:53

happening. And I just

21:56

booked a flight.

21:59

Allison flew out.

21:59

that same afternoon.

22:02

After this short break, we'll hear what happens

22:04

when Allison helps Brittany

22:07

escape.

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25:24

As soon as Allison learned Brittany needed immediate

25:26

help, within that same day, she

25:29

bought a ticket and got on a plane.

25:30

Brittany lived in a rural

25:33

part of the Southeast.

25:35

They

25:35

had an auto parts store in the Hardees,

25:37

and that was about it, you know, from what I saw.

25:40

I was driving past a lot

25:42

of fields of

25:45

cotton that looked like hay

25:47

barrels. And then I pulled up to the house

25:49

and there was a lot of cars outside,

25:52

and I was worried about that,

25:54

and she wasn't out there, and I couldn't

25:57

see like any... You

26:00

know movement or anything and then Brittany

26:02

had figured out the Wi-Fi code after

26:05

watching her partner

26:05

put it in though He didn't know that so

26:08

she was able to communicate with Allison

26:09

during these crucial moments I

26:12

got an email from her and she said he's

26:14

here I need like 15 more minutes

26:16

and so I drove around

26:19

to the Hardee's and like Garfed

26:22

down a cheeseburger and went to the bathroom

26:25

and meanwhile Brittany was planning a quick

26:28

exit

26:31

My heart's just pounding just don't

26:33

mess this up. Don't let him see the phone Don't

26:35

check it too many times like he

26:37

walks out of the room for a second I I check it to

26:40

make sure nothing's changed that she's still gonna

26:42

be there at that time And I'm just scared that he's

26:44

gonna pop in the door and see the phone

26:46

and take it before You know I

26:48

can get to her and

26:50

her shoes and bags were ready to go

26:52

and of course she planned to bring

26:54

her kitten I didn't have a carrier

26:56

for I had a little zip-up cooler

26:59

One of the big ones like you you put like a bunch

27:02

of sandwiches or something in

27:04

so with her cat in a cooler Brittany

27:06

was officially ready to run for her life

27:09

But there was a problem on her way back

27:11

to Brittany Allison realized she'd

27:14

driven over a piece of metal that

27:16

was now lodged in the tire of her

27:18

rental car and

27:20

So I pulled

27:21

up to like the dollar store

27:23

to like try to deal with this metal thing

27:26

in the tire oh

27:27

my god these two Jehovah

27:30

witnesses came over and helped me pull

27:32

it out and Told me where

27:34

a car chef was which was right across

27:36

the street and he looked at

27:38

it and no air

27:40

was leaking so like all

27:42

these weird things were happening that were

27:44

like

27:45

Intensifying and then

27:48

you know it was time to go back.

27:50

She goes. I'm doing Circles

27:53

around you okay come out whenever you're

27:55

ready And I said I'm coming now

27:57

with explanation point and I put

27:59

on my shoes and he stands up and

28:03

I grab the kitten and I throw her in the cooler and he

28:05

starts I don't even hear him at this point I

28:07

know he's he's asking me what I'm doing and he's

28:10

getting agitated and I don't hear him at

28:12

all I'm just doing with

28:13

grabbing my stuff and

28:14

I'm leaving pretty much everything and just grabbing what

28:16

I can run away with and

28:19

I run down the stairs with the cat and he's right behind

28:21

me and I run out the front

28:23

door and there she is she's pulling

28:25

up and I run to the car and she goes honey

28:27

just put stuff in the car and

28:31

I drop a couple things on the way a couple

28:33

bags as I'm going to the kitty carrier

28:36

kind of slips down and he's

28:38

trying to talk to her through the window and she's like search

28:40

them away from the vehicle

28:42

kind

28:44

of look at this sidewalk protestor

28:46

inside of an abortion clinic like

28:49

he was a young white man

28:51

and he was carrying a book around

28:54

reminded me of the Bible or something which

28:56

kind of made me chuckle and then he

28:59

starts in well I don't know what

29:01

she's got in those bags like she might be taking

29:03

things I'm calling the cops you know that she has

29:05

a cat and that's my cat

29:07

and blah blah blah and

29:10

at the time of

29:11

course Alison didn't even know about the cat at all

29:13

and she doesn't skip a beat and she's

29:14

like it's fine the cats fine just come

29:17

on Brittany

29:19

get in the car

29:22

I just you know drove so fast

29:24

out of there I was checking my mirrors

29:27

constantly making

29:29

sure no one was following us I'm

29:31

shaking

29:33

and she just grabs me by the arm and she's

29:35

like it's okay honey you're good we

29:37

got you

29:42

this is astonishing

29:44

the way that Alison

29:46

dropped everything in that

29:49

scenario dropped everything

29:52

to go and do what needed to be done it's mind-blowing

29:54

story it's like moment

29:57

by moment

29:57

I can see it in my mind unfold

29:59

and I get angry

30:02

at him because he says, that's

30:04

my cat. It's like, you know what? Go

30:07

fuck yourself, buddy. I feel like Alison

30:09

would have put Brittany on her back and

30:11

crawled across a

30:13

redwood forest floor. Or

30:17

she crawled to the center of the earth to

30:19

get this woman the help that she needed. Unbelievable.

30:23

Yeah, she would have done anything. And Brittany

30:25

somehow knew to put her trust in Alison.

30:28

I mean, it's unimaginable actually when you

30:30

listen to the story, how many things could

30:32

have gone wrong along the way?

30:35

And yet somehow she's

30:37

in the car,

30:38

she's got the cat,

30:41

Alison's there and they drive away.

30:44

Alison drives Brittany to an abortion

30:46

clinic so she could get an ultrasound.

30:48

She says her partner never took her to see a doctor.

30:51

That's when Brittany found out she was 24 weeks along, much

30:55

further than she thought she was. And

30:57

the state she was in at the time allowed

31:00

abortions up to only 20 weeks.

31:03

Now, 20 weeks sounds

31:06

progressive, but it's not. An abortion

31:08

ban at any

31:09

point in a pregnancy, whether it's at six

31:11

weeks or 26 weeks, is

31:13

still a ban meant to restrict your

31:15

freedom and deny healthcare. They're

31:17

all BS time limits set in place

31:19

in

31:19

large part by uninformed lawmakers.

31:23

While most abortions happen in the first nine weeks,

31:25

people need access to abortions later

31:27

in pregnancy for all sorts of reasons.

31:30

Maybe you didn't find out you were pregnant until 12 weeks,

31:33

or you learned of a fetal anomaly during

31:35

your 20 week scan, or maybe

31:38

you

31:38

wanted an abortion earlier, but

31:40

you couldn't get an appointment because your

31:43

local clinic is overwhelmed with

31:45

patients

31:45

traveling from out of state. Whatever

31:48

the reason, it's none of your state

31:50

politicians business. Abortion

31:52

care should not be restricted based

31:55

on time. So

31:57

even though Brittany had just escaped hell, She'd

32:00

have to get on a plane and fly to a less

32:02

restrictive

32:02

state to get care.

32:04

Allison arranged to flight. But

32:07

there was a problem. Britney still

32:09

didn't have identification. No ID.

32:12

Remember her abusive partner had taken it.

32:15

I was just

32:17

so anxious that that was going to be the hang

32:19

up. Yeah. And

32:22

she just kept reassuring me that everything's fine.

32:24

Britney the way you're describing it, it sounds like

32:27

at every point at which

32:29

you felt anxious

32:30

Allison had an answer. Yeah. She's

32:33

like, just don't worry about anything.

32:36

And then, you know, any questions that I have, well, what if this happens

32:38

or what if that end? She's like, we'll

32:41

deal with it. Nothing's going to stop us getting you out

32:43

of here. Nothing's going to stop us getting you the

32:45

treatment you need. You're not going to have

32:48

to have his baby. I got you.

32:49

The whole time.

32:52

You are being taken care of. Oh, 100%.

32:56

Like literally. I told her multiple

32:58

times she needs a cape.

33:02

When we come back, we'll learn about other

33:04

superheroes,

33:04

a group of pilots flying

33:07

people

33:07

to abortion appointments.

33:21

Hey there, it's Mary Harris and I host

33:23

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33:25

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33:27

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33:30

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33:33

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33:35

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33:37

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to uncovering

33:39

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When the news feels overwhelming, I'm here to help you answer

33:45

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wherever you're listening right now.

33:53

In 2022, the US Supreme

33:55

Court overturned Roe versus Wade. Since

33:58

then, it's been a barrage of bad news.

34:01

But behind the bleak headlines, there are

34:03

people working to protect our right

34:05

to control our future. The

34:07

Defenders is a new 10-part series about

34:10

the fight for freedom in a post-roamerica.

34:13

Co-hosted by Samantha Bee and me, Gloria

34:15

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34:17

people are still accessing

34:19

care from crossing state borders

34:21

to self-managed abortion. You'll

34:24

hear from activists, providers, and

34:26

everyday people doing the work

34:28

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34:28

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34:31

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34:40

Okay, Sam, where we left off, Allison

34:43

had helped Brittany escape from her home

34:45

and her abusive partner. But Brittany

34:47

still has to now travel across state

34:50

lines and she doesn't have an ID.

34:52

That seems like

34:54

a huge problem.

34:55

Right? Can you imagine trying to fly in America without

34:58

an ID? Oh, absolutely not.

35:00

Last week, I tried to go through airport security

35:03

with a half-eaten yogurt and I thought they were gonna like,

35:05

call the canine unit on me. Okay,

35:10

I feel like you're about to tell me that Allison had

35:12

a plan. Correct. Because

35:15

Allison knows people who know people.

35:17

So she was able to arrange a flight

35:20

for Brittany with elevated access. Two

35:23

beautiful words. Have you heard about them? No.

35:26

Okay, so elevated access

35:28

is a group of volunteer pilots all

35:31

over the country. They give their time,

35:33

their plane, their skills, gas

35:35

money, everything to help people

35:37

access the health care they deserve. Whether

35:40

that's an abortion or gender

35:41

affirming care.

35:42

These pilots are flying people for

35:44

free to their appointments and no

35:47

ID is required. Okay,

35:49

because it's a private plane. Exactly.

35:53

But here's another

35:55

cool fact. The guy who founded

35:57

elevated access actually volunteered.

36:00

at Midwest Access Coalition where

36:02

Allison works. It's a beautiful

36:05

full circle moment. He started

36:07

the organization in 2022, in

36:09

part as a response to what he saw there, people

36:11

having to deal with all the

36:13

extreme healthcare bands popping up around

36:15

the country. So

36:17

Allison contacted him and found

36:19

a private pilot for Brittany.

36:24

We pulled up to the plane and I didn't realize

36:26

how small it was gonna be. It was very nice,

36:29

but it was very small.

36:30

We're talking small plane. Think of a Honda

36:33

Civic size thing. It's

36:35

only four seats.

36:36

That's Mike. We're using just his first name to

36:38

protect his safety.

36:40

You could tell she had just gone through a lot, right?

36:43

That she was, her mind was in a thousand

36:45

different places and just trying

36:47

to process everything

36:49

that was going on. And so, you know,

36:51

my goal was just to try to make the flight the easiest

36:54

part of her day, right? Keep everything calm, make

36:56

sure she was comfortable.

36:58

He could see right away that one way to help

37:00

Brittany was to help her kitten.

37:02

At this point, we didn't have a carrier or anything. So

37:04

she's still in that little zip up cooler, but she's

37:06

very well behaved. So she was just

37:08

relaxing.

37:09

I have two cats at home. And

37:11

so I had an extra cat carrier. I'm like, I'll just

37:13

bring the cat carrier with me. Who

37:15

knows what she was able to bring with her. And he

37:18

brought

37:18

towels and everything

37:19

to make the carrier all comfy.

37:21

With

37:21

her kitten taken care of, Brittany felt

37:24

much better.

37:25

She seemed relatively comfortable when

37:27

we got up to the plane and getting settled.

37:29

He loaded my stuff in the back and he

37:32

gave me the headphones. And he was like, if you

37:34

want to talk to me during the flight, do you have any questions

37:36

you can talk? And he goes, or if you'd rather

37:38

not, you can just, you know, turn the volume

37:41

down.

37:41

I usually offer them the back seat because

37:44

it's the most comfortable spot. There's two

37:46

seats back there. So it's a little more space to spread

37:48

out.

37:49

And he goes, you can take a nap if you wanted to. And

37:51

at the time

37:52

I thought like that would be ridiculous.

37:54

Like the last thing I'm going to do is go to sleep.

37:57

And we get everything going and we

37:59

take off. And again,

38:01

cats being very well behaved. And it

38:04

was just, that's when I knew

38:06

that, like, with every

38:09

few minutes I realized how farther

38:11

away from him I was, how farther away

38:13

from the craziness and

38:15

how much there was no way he could get ahold

38:17

of me. Like, this wasn't happening. Like,

38:20

I was free. And

38:22

I'd say within 30 minutes

38:25

I was asleep. I slept probably

38:27

at least an hour.

38:31

Deep sleep. Oh yeah.

38:33

I just had my finger in the carrier

38:35

on my little kitten because she was holding my finger. And

38:38

I just, I slept on top of the carrier,

38:40

like hunched over it. And the carrier,

38:43

the little lines, the little metal

38:46

on the top of it was actually intended in my cheeks.

38:51

Yeah, I just slept really

38:54

hard and woke up and felt

38:57

better than I had felt in months. During

39:00

the flight, I looked out and we were

39:02

above

39:02

the clouds, but there were also clouds above that

39:05

and there was sun shining through and it was just beautiful.

39:08

And I was so grateful that I hadn't killed

39:10

myself, that I hadn't. I

39:14

never thought I was going to get out of there, but I'm

39:16

just so glad that I had just given myself

39:18

the time to

39:21

find a way out of there.

39:24

There was some building

39:26

clouds and as you

39:28

fly through those, you know, as the clouds lift, so does

39:30

the plane. And so we got some bumps

39:32

going through a couple of those. And he looked back,

39:35

I

39:35

could tell by his face, he was like, oh, she's

39:38

probably going to look uncomfortable. And I was actually, I had

39:40

just woken up. I'm probably from the turbulence.

39:43

And we were surrounded by clouds, like you

39:45

couldn't see past the tip of the wings. And

39:48

at that point, I had never felt so fearless. I'm

39:51

like, if the plane goes down, then that's fine.

39:53

I'm fine with it. I'm just happy enough to be

39:55

there. Like, it was just so much peace. But

39:58

at the same time, like I knew I was going to be there.

40:01

Mike flew Brittany roughly 800 miles

40:03

across several state lines. About

40:06

four hours later, they landed in the Midwest.

40:08

We got out of the plane. We got her

40:10

all the bags into the person that was picking her

40:12

up. She came up and she was like, can I give you a hug? Yeah,

40:16

of course. Because I think she was just so relieved

40:18

to have gotten somewhere and to be there.

40:21

You could just tell there had been

40:23

this weight lifted off of her.

40:29

Brittany had a two-day abortion procedure

40:31

and she was so ready. After each

40:33

day, she got to return to her little kitten

40:36

in a hotel room that Allison had arranged. This

40:39

was all happening right before Christmas.

40:41

Brittany, how did you feel after

40:42

the procedure?

40:46

That was my first time to actually

40:48

take a deep breath and look at what all had happened.

40:52

It had been so fast and

40:54

so much stress and so just

40:58

chaos that I

41:00

never had a second to really appreciate what

41:02

all had just went through. It

41:05

was a snowstorm and it was Christmas and

41:07

I just could not be happier

41:10

to be in

41:10

that hotel with my little kitty

41:12

and done with it.

41:15

I cried but it was happiness.

41:18

It was just relief. It was six

41:21

months of tears, just six

41:23

months of stress and pain

41:25

and just fear and hopelessness.

41:29

Just literally I cried it all out.

41:33

Brittany spent the Christmas holiday playing

41:35

with her cat, taking videos of her

41:37

cat, watching TV,

41:39

and not consumed with all the things

41:41

she had been worrying about just days

41:43

prior. Eventually, Brittany

41:46

got her ID back. We're

41:47

not just talking about a driver's

41:49

license. Brittany was

41:50

able to get a new birth certificate. Her

41:53

former partner had destroyed her old one. She

41:56

also got a new Social Security

41:57

card.

41:58

She credits Allison.

41:59

for everything.

42:02

Just the way everything worked out it was just

42:04

too too perfect.

42:09

Brittany says Allison also gently pushed

42:11

her to take ownership of her life and

42:13

help herself.

42:15

Even though I was still a little shut down

42:17

she

42:18

was like I'm gonna send you numbers

42:20

to call

42:21

and these are people I know with housing

42:24

and all sorts of assistance but you need to

42:27

call them.

42:28

Allison and Midwest Access Coalition didn't

42:30

just help Brittany access an abortion they

42:32

helped her out of an abusive

42:34

situation and gave her a new life.

42:37

Now Brittany is in her own apartment

42:39

where she says she has two years of paid

42:41

rent and utilities. Services and support

42:44

are being wrapped around her. Things like gift

42:46

cards to Walmart, vouchers

42:48

for clothes and furniture, monthly

42:50

bus passes, on-site counselors

42:53

and group meals. All the

42:55

results of that first email that ended

42:57

up with Allison.

43:00

Through Allison I now have

43:02

two years to actually

43:05

get my life together. I have my own apartment

43:08

with my own key where my kitty is safe

43:10

all day within a month of being there

43:12

I already had a job I'm saving money and by

43:15

the time two years is up I'm gonna

43:17

be able to you know go back to being

43:20

on my own in my own place with

43:22

my own vehicle and everything. So

43:25

when you wake up every day now Brittany

43:28

in this new life what's

43:30

it like for you?

43:32

Just the simplest things bring

43:34

me tears of joy just my

43:36

kitten playing on the floor while I'm like

43:39

my concern for the day is that I

43:41

have laundry detergent to do laundry not

43:44

if some psycho is going to come in and have a screaming

43:46

fit for two days and I have

43:49

this thing growing inside me that I don't want and

43:51

I have nowhere to turn and just constant

43:54

suicidal thoughts and to be now crying

43:57

happy tears while doing dishes

43:59

in my Apartment, I know that I'm

44:01

there and I'm safe Throughout

44:03

my whole conversation with Brittany She

44:06

kept saying over and over how

44:08

Allison was this hero that

44:10

she should be wearing a cape But Allison

44:13

doesn't see it like that.

44:14

It's not

44:16

My story it's Britney's, you know,

44:18

and so she

44:19

tells me all the time. Thank you so much. You're

44:21

my superhero You're my hero and

44:24

I'm like, you're my freakin hero. You

44:27

did this actually You're

44:29

the one who reached out. You're the

44:32

one who like made this happen. I

44:34

just had the resources

44:36

To get us over the finish line. How

44:39

critical was it for Brittany to get that abortion?

44:42

I mean, I it saved her life. She said

44:44

it I've said it you know the

44:46

abortion movement says that abortion

44:48

saves lives all the time and that's

44:51

true for my own abortion story abortion

44:53

saved my life, but

44:55

Brittany

44:56

her life was really fucking safe

44:59

There was and Brittany doesn't want anyone

45:01

else trapped in that situation to stay

45:04

Don't give up. There are other steps. You

45:06

don't have to be ashamed

45:10

Despite what somebody might be telling you you don't have

45:12

to be there's a whole community

45:15

of people who care and Want

45:18

to help you out of the situation and that? Will

45:22

literally be superheroes

45:23

for you all

45:25

you have to do is find them and ask

45:29

There are people all over this

45:31

country waiting for you to feed them waiting

45:34

for that call or text Allison

45:36

was there to respond to Brittany, but I

45:38

was not alone There is a huge

45:41

network of helpers making sure everyone

45:43

has access to the health care they need

45:46

Okay, so Sam we started off with a very

45:48

angry montage

45:49

Yes, but

45:52

then we heard Brittany and Allison's incredible

45:54

story of hope I told you hope

45:56

exists

45:58

How are you feeling now? Okay?

45:59

Well, to be honest, I'm still very

46:02

mad, but I love this story

46:04

and I'm so grateful that people like Allison

46:07

exist. But why the hell does someone need

46:09

a league of literal superheroes

46:11

to make it to a doctor's appointment? Also,

46:15

I'm guessing there are way more Britneys than

46:17

there are Allison's right now,

46:18

but that is very scary.

46:21

Yeah, that is very scary. The

46:23

need is rising and the donations are

46:25

dwindling. So if you can support

46:28

a fund like the Midwest Access Coalition

46:30

or the National Networks of

46:32

Abortion Funds, that is a great place

46:34

to start. But donations are in

46:36

everything. There are so many ways to

46:38

help. You can volunteer your

46:40

time to support a fund,

46:43

or when your friend calls you because they miss

46:45

their period, you can steer them to accurate

46:47

information and resources. Okay,

46:50

maybe you can't fly a plane, but

46:52

you can offer to put together care packages

46:54

to support people during an abortion. It

46:56

can be so simple, a heating pad and

46:58

tea goes a long way. Yes,

47:01

anyone can

47:02

become a defender. And that is

47:04

where this show comes in. We have so

47:06

many stories for you. Stories that will

47:08

enrage you, yes. But they'll also

47:10

inspire you to get out

47:12

of bed and figure out where you fit

47:14

in this fight, because it's going

47:16

to take every

47:17

single one of us. And we

47:20

will win.

47:24

Here's what's coming up in The Defenders.

47:26

It is all about bodily autonomy. It

47:29

is about people's ability to control

47:31

their own destinies.

47:32

Tennessee is an oppressed state. Like

47:35

every individual there has been gerrymandered

47:37

out of their basic human rights.

47:40

People who are undocumented

47:41

and need an abortion

47:43

are either forced into parenthood

47:46

or they're

47:47

just trying to risk deportation.

47:49

You want to get it done as soon as possible, but

47:51

when you don't have the access to do so,

47:53

it makes everything so much harder.

47:56

I will go out on my own plans.

47:59

I will not be.

47:59

told that I'm just...

48:06

We also want to make sure that people know how to contact

48:08

Midwest Access Coalition since we know

48:11

what a total lifeline that was for Brittany.

48:14

If you are traveling to, from or within

48:16

the Midwest to access an abortion,

48:19

Midwest Access

48:20

Coalition can be a great resource.

48:23

Call or text their hotline at 847-750-6224. You

48:28

can also go to midwestaccesscoletions.org.

48:32

Find other abortion funds around the country

48:35

at the National Network of Abortion Funds website,

48:38

abortionfunds.org.

48:41

There's more of The Defenders with Lemon out of Premium.

48:44

Subscribers get exclusive access to bonus content

48:47

like an unaired interview with an elevated

48:49

access pilot. Subscribe now

48:51

in Apple Podcasts. The

48:57

Defenders is a production of Lemonata

48:59

Media. We're your hosts Gloria

49:01

Riviera and Samantha Bee. Muna

49:03

Danish is our supervising producer. Lisa

49:06

Fu is our producer. Isaura Aceves

49:09

and Tony Williams

49:09

are our associate producers.

49:11

Ivan Karayev and Natasha Jacobs

49:14

are our audio engineers. Music

49:16

by Hannes Raun with additional music by Natasha

49:19

Jacobs. Story editing by Jackie

49:21

Danseker, our VP of narrative content.

49:24

Track checking by Naomi Barr. Executive

49:26

producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer and

49:28

Stephanie Whittles-Racks. This series

49:31

is supported by Charles and Lynn Schusterman

49:33

Family Philanthropies,

49:34

the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation,

49:36

and Levi's series Foundation. Follow

49:39

The Defenders wherever you get your podcasts

49:42

or listen ad-free on Amazon Music with

49:44

your Prime membership.

49:49

If you are in a domestic violence situation,

49:51

you can call 800-799-SAFE or go to thehotline.org. And

49:58

if you or someone you know is in emotional distress

50:00

or considering self-harm or suicide,

50:03

you can call or text 988 to access

50:07

a trained crisis counselor.

50:09

Everybody check your emails. You never

50:11

know what's going to be in your inbox.

50:14

Could be the most important email anyone ever

50:15

wrote in their entire life.

50:18

This message is sponsored by ColoGuard. Hi,

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52:00

What's up everyone? I'm Delaney Fisher, comedian

52:02

and serial entrepreneur. And I'm Kelsey Cook,

52:05

comedian and, I swear this is real, a

52:07

world champion foosball player. On

52:09

our podcast, Self-Helpless, we dig

52:11

into everything from heartbreak to

52:13

career burnout to the wild stories

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from our

52:16

20s and the many anxieties we've

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experienced along the way. We're often

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joined by guests who range from celebrities

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to renowned health experts. And together,

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we'll unpack big topics like deciding

52:27

whether or not we want kids, building

52:29

your dream career.