No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen - Supreme Court guts Roe, allows Texas abortion ban to stand

Episode Date: September 5, 2021

The Supreme Court allows Texas' 6-week abortion ban, SB8, to stand, functionally gutting Roe v. Wade. Brian interviews two state representatives from Texas; Gina Hinojosa, about the legal implications of this new law, and Ina Minjarez, about the political implications.Donate to the "Don't Be A Mitch" fund: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dontbeamitchShop merch: https://briantylercohen.com/shopYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/briantylercohenTwitter: https://twitter.com/briantylercohenFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/briantylercohenInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/briantylercohenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/briantylercohenNewsletter: https://www.briantylercohen.com/sign-upWritten by Brian Tyler CohenProduced by Sam GraberRecorded in Los Angeles, CASee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today, we're going to talk about Texas' law banning abortions after six weeks and the Supreme Court's decision to allow that law to stand. And I interviewed two state representatives from Texas, Gina Inahosa, where we discuss the legal implications of this new law, and Ina Minha is where we discuss the political implications. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen, and you're listening to No Lie. Now, in a move that I definitely didn't see coming but probably should have, the Supreme Court has functionally gutted Roe, opting to allow SB8, which is the law. the Texas law banning abortion in the state after six weeks to stand.

And there's some dispute between whether this actually guts row, considering the court didn't rule on the actual merits, but the practical effect here, that abortion will be outlawed before most women even know they're pregnant, is that Roe v. Wade, which affords women a constitutional right to access safe and legal abortions, is now gone. So as a result of this law, there's basically a vigilante system in Texas where private citizens are empowered to police the ban themselves.

And so anyone can follow a lawsuit against anyone else who's aided someone in getting an abortion with a potential for a $10,000 payoff. And so we're basically going to have a system where you have private citizens ratting other people out. Like, you know what's so crazy about this? This law was passed by the same party that fearmongers on a literal daily basis about the other side being communists. And yet now, in Texas, you've got neighbors pitted against neighbors ratting them out to the state for a monetary reward. Sounds a hell of a lot more like Soviet Russia than anything the so-called communist Democrats have ever introduced. Like, for all their flaws,

you got to admire the rights ability to project, truly second to none. And you got to love, too, that this is coming from, of all places, Texas. Like, don't tread on me, except when the state encourages private citizens to rat out their neighbors based on the reproductive health for a cash bounty. Don't tread on me except when I want to sue Michigan

to undo their election results because they didn't vote how we wanted them to vote. What we're seeing over and over is that Texas Republicans don't care about individual freedom. They care about imposing their own agenda and shoving it down your throat wrapped in a facade of individual freedom. Now, what's especially insidious about this law is that the timing here is deliberate. We are in the summer of an off year in a midterm cycle. That was scientifically engineered to occur when not only the least amount of people would be paying attention,

but also when the least amount could be done about it. conservatives from the state legislators who introduced and passed this law to the litigants in the lawsuit to the Supreme Court justices who allowed it to stand, they all did so knowing that it would have the least ramifications if it happened now, or that by the time it does come to cast any ballots that you'll have already forgotten about this. This law and the subsequent Supreme Court decision aren't just draconian on their own. It's that the politics surrounding it makes it all the worse. Now, as for the issue of abortion itself, where you stand on the same.

issue doesn't really matter because what everyone on the right seems to be forgetting is that we have a separation between church and state in this country. That concept is so important that the separation of church and state is right there in the very first clause of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, the Establishment Clause. So look, if you want to live your life based on your religion, go right ahead. But having freedom of religion means that while you get to practice any religion you want, you don't get to impose your religious beliefs on anyone else. And by the way, we have politicians on the left who are personally pro-life, but politically pro-choice. And I know that conservatives like to try to call them out on it as if it's some

irreconcilable trait, but it's not. The fact that someone's able to separate their personal beliefs and their political positions isn't some sign of moral weakness. It's a sign of strength. It shows, first of all, that they understand that we do have a separation of church and state. It shows that one person's religious conviction shouldn't dictate how you govern on behalf of tens of millions of people who might not share your personal religious beliefs. And finally, it shows that America is based on freedom. And the same way that you have the choice to practice whatever religion you want or no religion at all, you also have the choice to get an abortion or not. You might not agree with abortion, and that's fine, don't get one. Conservatives love

to crow about how this is a free country that doesn't only mean free on the issues that are convenient for them. The fact is, if Republicans really cared about babies, they don't invest in early education. They'd invest in universal pre-K. They'd invest in child care. They'd invest in the children's health insurance program. They'd invest in SNAP, food stamps, where nearly half of the recipients are children. They'd invest in Medicaid, where again, half of the recipients are children. They'd invest in COVID vaccines, especially considering Texas itself as the nation's leader in child deaths from COVID. They'd focus on any of that. They'd focus on what's happening once they're actually born and not just a fetus. But they don't care because they're not

interested in solving problems for people, they're just interested in virtue signaling about the unborn. Why? Because it's convenient. Because they don't pose any problems. Because they don't cost money. Because they're not problematic. They're not homeless. They're not addicted. They're not migrants. They're not poor. They're not former felons. They're not women. They're not mentally ill. They're not liberals. They're not atheists. They don't have any of the baggage of actual people because if they did, Republicans wouldn't care about them, just like they don't care about any of those groups that I just mentioned. Once the unborn are born, they're no longer this convenient talking point. They're humans with actual problems and costs and opposing viewpoints, and Republicans aren't

interested in helping any of those people. So instead, they've decided that their constituency is the unborn, who, luckily, won't challenge their views on income inequality and making the rich pay their fair share, and equality for women and LGBT Americans, and denying the dangers of climate change and on and on, which is pretty damn convenient, especially in a world where the majority of people who actually are born oppose Republican positions on those issues. Like, not for nothing, but Republicans might have a little more legitimacy on the issue of caring about life

if they gave even two shits about people once they exit the womb. And look, the fact that all of this is even happening is a testament to just how far off the cliff the Republican Party has gone. Because remember, 70% of Americans don't want Roe overturned. 70%, and that includes 68% of Catholics. And yet the fact that Republicans are doing this anyway is as clear a testament as you can get that this party isn't accountable to anyone.

Like, forget the majority of Americans, even the minority of Americans. This party is cowtowing to only the fringes of their base. And the only reason they're able to do it is because they're insulated from accountability thanks to stuff like partisan gerrymanders and voter suppression methods. When you aren't accountable to the actual electorate,

you don't have to represent the actual electorate. And because most of the people in power are vying for national positions, like I would assume Greg Abbott is, then your top priority becomes pandering to Sean Hannity's audience of far-right lunatics. So at this point, here's what needs to happen. Knowing that Republicans across the U.S. will now look at Texas's abortion law and replicated in their own states, and that's something that's already happening in Florida,

and that South Dakota's governor is already promised, Democrats can either eliminate the filibuster and lower the threshold to pass legislative, from 60 votes to 50 votes, which we have, and finally pass legislation codifying row, or we can protect some arcane Senate procedural tool and allow women's right to an abortion in this country to vanish. Those are the options.

The fact that we quite literally have the numbers right now to eliminate the filibuster, and yet, thanks to just a couple of centrists, thanks to Kirsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, we choose not to, is what's allowing these vile laws to get passed. Having a solution in front of you, and yet choosing to do nothing

renders you just as complicit as the people passing those laws. Like, Kirsten Cinema keeps digging in her heels and warning about how bad things could get if the filibuster was gone. Right, just think about how bad it could be without the filibuster. Thank God the filibuster's intact

because otherwise, things could get pretty bad around here. Like, dear God. Now, with that said, it's not just Congress that has a responsibility here. Businesses, sports teams, and leagues, musicians, artists, actors, organizations, anyone who brings a dollar of revenue into that state has a responsibility to let the Texas GOP

know that this isn't acceptable and that they won't reward a state that traffics in stripping women of their bodily autonomy in 2021. Silence isn't an option here. You don't get to stay neutral on this issue. You either oppose it and you'll let it be known or your silence will speak for you. And consumers should pay really fucking close attention

because our money talks too. But aside from Congress, aside from the private sector, we all have a role to play too. It is on us to turn out in large enough numbers that Republicans don't get elected in the first place. It's up to us to deliver enough of a repudiation at the ballot box that these Republicans will be well aware of the consequences of even touching a law like SB 8.

And I know that it's not easy. I know that we're contending with partisan gerrymanders and long lines and no drop boxes and getting kicked off of voter rolls, but that doesn't mean we give up. So action items, pick one person who's not ready and help them get registered. Do your small part. If you're looking for organizations that focus solely on voter outreach and voter registration,

I have a fund called the Don't Be a Mitch Fund, where I'm raising money for organizations in nine key states, including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Iowa, and Arizona. Their job is to get people registered and get people engaged. And knowing the danger of allowing Republicans to get elected, investing in approaches like these and doing it early is going to be essential. So if you want to donate, the link is in the post description or you can go to don't be a mitch.com where everything is done securely through Act Blue and 100% of your donation goes directly to these groups, but it doesn't have to be that fund. It can be any organization that you'd like. The point is doing something. So look, I get that

this situation may seem scary and hopeless and exhausting. I get if you feel like you want to give up, but the Wright wants nothing more than for you to feel that way. So don't reward them for their horrific behavior by giving them exactly what they want. This is a fight worth having and it's a fight that we can and we'll win if we all stay focused and we all do our part. Coming up next are two really incredible interviews from two Texas state representatives, both of whom are on the front lines of this fight, not only as women in the state of Texas, but Democrats in the state legislature where laws like SB8 are originating. Now we're joined by state representative Gina Inahosa from Texas.

Thank you so much for coming on. My pleasure. So before we begin, obviously, we're going to focus a lot on SB8 here. and the Supreme Court's decision to not block this law out of Texas. So is there any personal significance in Roe for you? I think there's personal significance in Roe for all of us, right? Especially women. The day that the bill passed on the floor of the Texas House,

I shared my own story with respect to having the right to make decisions over my own body. And about 18 years ago, after I was married, We learned in the second trimester of my pregnancy, a pregnancy that my husband and I very much planned for, very much wanted, that the fetus that I was pregnant with, that she had a condition known as tritosomy 18, which doctors said is not compatible with life. It meant that every cell in her body was sick. and so we learned that. I had a week to decide whether or not to abort the pregnancy. I had a week because the laws as they were in the state of Texas would have banned abortion after that point in time.

And I would have had to have left the state to get an abortion. So I took the whole week to make that decision. It was very hard. I had members of my own family say to me, members of my own family who were pro-life, right? Consider themselves pro-life. Say to me, this is different, you know, it's okay to abort this pregnancy. The thing is, Brian, that it's always different when it affects somebody you love. It's one thing to think about these issues in this kind of policy arena, but when it affects somebody you love, it's always different. When it affects you, it's always

different. Ultimately made the decision to not terminate the pregnancy and I went to full term and she was born shortly after my due date. She died at birth. She didn't make it. But making that decision and know that I'm Catholic. I made this decision in consultation with my priest. We had heated debates and arguments with a sister at my church. I was angry at God at the time. You know, this was in my life. And for any woman who has to deal with a decision like this and make this decision, it is probably the biggest decision of your life, but it made me who I am.

And in that decision-making process, I am a person of faith. I believe I experience God's grace in a way that if the government had required me to take that pregnancy to birth, go through 12 hours of labor, as is currently the law. Now with this passage of SB 8, a woman who is pregnant with a fetus that is not viable that will not live must go through nine months of pregnancy and deliver that baby that will not live. And that's what I chose to do because of my faith and with family support. But now women will have to do it because the government of Texas is requiring them to do it. It is under the strong arm of the government of Texas.

And it is, I think, a violation of our human rights, definitely a violation of our constitutional rights. And it's just a sad, sad day in our country that we've come to this. And many families will be hurt. many women will be hurt, and already are being hurt by this law. Yeah. Well, first of all, I'm sorry that you had to go through with that. I also think, you know, it's telling that this wasn't just an easy decision like the right makes it out to be, that this is just something that Democrats are doing for fun and their spare time and just, you know,

get pregnant and have an abortion and move on. Like this is, this is like you mentioned, the hardest decision that you'll ever have to make in your entire life and it's and it's a traumatic decision and it's heart wrenching and it will you know tear people apart from their families and their churches and there are real real people involved in all of this and I think that's something that's missing you know in all the talking points that we're hearing come come through it's true and I also want to say though that I don't know that I would have made that same decision maybe five years later when I had already had my son who is now 16 years old, your life circumstances really contribute to decisions you make about

this. I would never judge somebody who made a decision to terminate a pregnancy. I don't know what I would have done at any other moment. I just know what I did at that moment. And I would never judge anybody in that terrible circumstance with an impossible choice, really. And I don't think it is the business of government to be making those judgments and making those determinations. Well, I think it's important, too, that you note that as a Democrat, but someone whose personal decision was to keep it and to bring the pregnancy to term that shows that, you know, you can have Democrats who are personally pro-life, who understand the significance of separating their personal politics and their political stances.

Right. And I don't consider myself pro-life. I just consider myself pro-nif. I just consider myself pro- getting into people's personal business. That's where I stand. That's not the role of government. I'm Mexican, Catholic, and in my tradition, in my culture, these are decisions that are made by families. These are decisions that are very personal, and government has no business in the middle of these decisions. So I want to switch gears over to the legal implications of SB8 and the Supreme Court's decision not to block this law. Now, the Supreme Court ruled not on on the merits, but on the procedural thresholds. So what does that mean and does it mean that this could be resolved in a different way in the future? Well, yes. And in fact, since that's happened,

we now have a state court judge in Austin, Texas, who has put a stay on the effectiveness of this law. Now, we don't know how long that will last. The courts in Texas are all Republican elected when you get past the local level. So that decision will be appealed up eventually to the Texas Supreme Court, which is all elected Republicans. We saw when myself and members, other Democratic members of the Texas House, when we broke quorum and we went to D.C., when we brought a lawsuit challenging their ability to arrest us and take us back to the Capitol, a lower decision from an Austin court was immediately over. returned by the Texas Supreme Court. So I don't anticipate that that stay of the decision will last very long. But yes, to your point about the U.S. Supreme Court, my understanding is they already are considering a law that from another state that would really look at whether

Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land. And definitely this could go back up on the merits of the case. Now, there is a $10,000 bounty for those who aid and abet. This is pretty broadly written. So does that mean that an Uber driver, for example, or a train operator that transports a woman to have an abortion in Texas is then liable? We don't quite know what that means because this is a new law, right? And there is not much in the legislation that defines what aiding and abetting means in this context there was a knowing standard um so so that would be part of the consider that should be part of the consideration now that the law has taken effect um but right there's there's a lot of unanswered questions this is a very novel way of doing this allowing private citizens just

to sue anybody and by the way a private citizen who does this they can get their attorney's fees paid for, but a defendant, the Uber driver, who gets sued and prevails, is not entitled to attorney's fees. So even if it's not proved, just the mere power of being able to sue somebody means they'll have to destroy. That's right. They'll have to go through all the expenses of defending themselves in court. Right. And I think the point of that is to just have a chilling effect. And so, you know, and the same goes with doctors, with anybody transporting. The really, it does put the onus on these people to really try to find out what these women are doing so as to completely insulate themselves from any financial ruin. That's right. That's right. It's very scary.

Okay. So what about if you fly a woman out of state, for example, to get an abortion in California. I know there are a lot of women, a lot of organizations out here in California, for example, that want to help women in Texas. You know, are you liable as a California resident? Is Texas going to try to get you extradited into their state? Again, I don't think it's clear. there's this is a new law and we don't know how this is going to work the way i read it you wouldn't be you would be able to a woman would be able to fly out of this state and because getting an abortion in another state is not illegal if it's indeed not and definitely not illegal under that law though i don't want to give anybody the impression that i'm saying

you are legally uh out of the woods if you helped a woman in texas get an abortion but that is something that I do hope that other people, other organizations, look at and evaluate whether that's an option for Texas women. Well, the scary thing here is that these laws are, they're so influenced by Republican ideologues that even what we're talking about right now, like what should be good law, what should be clear based on the text of the legislation, is so clearly just up to the whims of Republican officials. who are, who are, who are interpreting these laws. And so at the end of the day, like, you and I could say, okay, well, it says X, Y, and Z here, but then you have these people who just decide

what it means in the same way that the Supreme Court has just decided that Roe doesn't count anymore. And then all of a sudden, you know, what's, what's black and white isn't? That's right. And especially when, again, when it comes to Texas courts, these are elected politicians who are our judges in Texas. And so absolutely politics comes into play in a big way in these decisions. Now, if the point of this law is to skirt the merits of Roe by instead making it a procedural issue of putting the onus on vigilantes to turn in women who are getting abortions, what's to stop Democrats from doing the same? Why not set up a system where there are $10,000 bounties for anyone who helped a shooter acquire a gun? Like, hold the gun manufacturer or

the retailer responsible for, you know, for a shooting that occurred. Like the Supreme Court has already decided that vigilante justice is okay. So why not fight fire with fire here? Let me say, I think it is a bad idea, just flat out a bad idea to be able to limit someone's constitutional rights by using this vigilante system. And so we don't do it for guns in Texas. I think we could never could because we're Democrats, but at the same time, I don't think it would be a good idea. And then, of course, other states could consider doing that. This is something that will grow and expand, for instance, your Second Amendment question about blue states. Definitely, if this vigilante system of justice is allowed to stand in Texas, it could be,

the tables could be turned, it could be used on Second Amendment rights. It will grow and expand if it's allowed to be the law in Texas. Yeah, yeah. I don't think anybody has any doubt as to the fact that when you basically give all of Americans a badge to police any and every political hot button issue that they want to, that it's a, that it won't turn out well for anybody on either side of the political spectrum. I do want to know what the practical effect of this law is going to be. Like, do you honestly think that a rich white woman who needs an abortion isn't going to be able to get one? No, I don't think that's the case. I think that

people of means, women of means, families of means will find ways to do what they need to do for their families for their own health. And so it is mostly affecting lower wage women and families, and it will be affecting very young women probably as well. It will affect women of color. But I think probably also middle class women. And it places on top of all of it a stigma on these things, even for a wealthy woman, a wealthy family to know, to make her go into the shadows and to make them have to deal with getting this procedure she needs in such a secretive way to have to leave the state just does damage to a person's mental health, to a person's confidence, and really ultimately to a person's health, when you can't go

see your own doctor and you have to travel to get health care to another state, that's just not good for anybody. Yeah, I completely agree. Now, if the goal here is to actually stop unwanted pregnancies, why don't Republicans support sex ed? Why don't they support contraception methods? Why don't they support any of these proven means to actually prevent it from getting as far as an abortion in the first place? That is a great question. That is something that I have worked on for several sessions in the Texas legislature. My colleagues have worked on, and it is very, very hard to get support for contraception for women, for more accessible contraception for women. And it makes you wonder whether that is indeed the goal of laws like this to keep women from

or to keep abortions from happening. What it feels like is it's an attempt to just limit the rights of women and not help to keep unwanted pregnancies or from happening and to keep abortions from. happening, but just to make decisions for women and take away our rights and our bodily autonomy. So what's next? What's your message to women and girls in Texas who kind of are in the dark right now, who don't know what to expect moving forward? And what can they expect from state representatives in Texas in terms of getting some relief or help? What I say to the women of Texas is we will keep fighting this fight in the courts, but it does not look good for us.

certainly does not look good in Texas courts. And I really worry about what our ultimate results will be at the U.S. Supreme Court. The best tool, strongest tool we have is to vote. That is the only way we will assure we elect politicians who care about our rights to have control over our bodies and our destinies. and we just need all women, all people, all young people to vote. Roe v. Wade has been the law since the year I was born in 1973. I don't know a reality that is not the ability to have free control over my reproductive health. And for all those women younger than myself, we're all in that same vote.

And if we want to create that reality again, the only way we're, we're going to do it is to vote and elect politicians who respect your right to make decisions about your body and your family. That's it. This is not about whether you believe when concepts that life starts at concept. This is not about your religious beliefs. This is about will we respect women? Will we give women the same respect their dignity to make decisions about their lives that we give all other people. That's all this is about. And we need everyone to vote. You put it perfectly there. So we'll leave it at that. Representative Inohosa, thank you so much for taking the time to talk. I appreciate it. Thank you, Ryan. I really appreciate you highlighting

this issue. We need help in Texas and we need more attention on this issue. Today we have State Representative Ine Minhares from House District 124 in Texas. Thanks so much for coming on. Hey, thank you for having me. Good morning. Good morning. So what have you heard from your constituents in the aftermath of this law being implemented? This is SB8 out of Texas. You know, there's great concern. There's panic. I've gotten phone calls from constituents who can't believe that this law wasn't on their radar. They're concerned about the ramifications. They are really having, I think, internal. debate about what they're going to do in terms of changing leadership of this of this state. I think they feel that it is a definite government overreach. So they are asking,

how can they get more involved? And, you know, what if anything can be done when we come back in the next legislative session in two years? Is this any different from, you know, we see these issues constantly that that obviously those on the left are vehemently opposed to and yet get implemented anyway because, look, you're in Texas. There's a Republican majority in Texas. There's not much that you can do if you just don't have the numbers. But does this issue, you know, where basically Roe has been gutted feel different in any way? It feels different. And what I'm seeing, Brian, is, you know, I have friends or just associates who are Republican don't have, are not involved in politics, right? And they've reached out

And they, you know, they're conservative and they said, you know, this is this is an overreach, you know, the fact that I think what's so bothersome to them is there's not an exception for women who are raped or are victims of incest. And they're feeling, you know, that this has gone too far. And that says a lot because they've grown up Republican. This is how they vote. And then they do part of their or partly pro life, but they feel this has gone way too far. And they think that this is something that's really concerning. And I think they're having. They're looking at things in terms of how do things get so far out of whack in this state. But as a state representative, I've seen it coming. I came into office in 2015 in every legislative cycle. There have been bills that have been filed, you know, attacking women's health. For example, there was one filed by Representative Tenderholt. I think he's filed at several sessions where he wanted to charge women with a crime for getting an abortion and charging them with capital murder. or they're looking at, you know, the death penalty if they're convicted.

And so this is what's happened. This is what's being filed. But I think the public doesn't really pay much attention. But now that this SBA has become law and it just on September 1, the media highlighted it and what this law is going to do and it's caught people's attention. It really does go to show how far the Overton window has shifted. You know, like even what we're seeing right now, this would have been no one. one in their right mind would have would have just assumed this was going to happen. The bill that

you just mentioned, you know, going into law that that does sound crazy, but at the same time, so did this. And yet here we are right now. That's right. And unfortunately, I think what's happened is there has to be such a negative impact, the fact that this has become law, that it's going to touch people, actually touch people that now the outrage is happening. And sometimes people have to get angry and outrage to make a difference. Now, I know that you touched upon this a few moments ago, but can you expand on what you've heard from Republicans? Because 70% of all Americans support row,

including majorities of both political parties. So what are the political implications here? And is it possible beyond that, that Republicans have just rigged the game so much through gerrymandering and voter suppression that they just assume that there's really no threat of pushback? or accountability from this.

That's what I think. I think a lot of the politicians that have benefited from the gerrymandering and from, you know, politicking on their red meat issues in order to satisfy their far right, rabid base. I think they're going to see that, you know, you've gone too far. You've pushed it way too far. And you've woken up an electorate, right? That's very angry.

I'm thinking about, Brian, you know, the Republican moderate woman. I think that they are really going to now start speaking up because I'm hearing from them. You know, there was a representative who didn't get reelected Sarah Davis out of the Harris County area who was Republican, but she was very pro-choice. You know, she was very vocal on that. And I think you're going to probably see maybe women like her or other people that want to get engaged, start running for office. And I think there just comes a time where there's a reckoning. If you keep pushing, pushing rhetoric and pushing things, And also, you're upsetting people where we have real, real problems in this state. We've had, you know, the pandemic. We have right now, we're the highest rated, I think our state has the highest rate of

children dying from COVID. I mean, that's something, it's horrible. You know, we have the winter storm with the grid. There's so much need in Texas, and we cannot, but the leadership of the state does not want to prioritize those needs. It's about satisfying their base. And we have a governor who's going to be running for president. So he's trying to out-trump possible opponents.

And so it's going to irritate and piss off people. And I think it's going to have an effect on elections. And I think that people are going to start understanding when you start taking my rights and you get to the point where it's government overreach, we've got to start stepping in. But hey, at least they passed a law on critical race theory. So that's what's important here. That's what's important here. Now, you know, I see the crosses on the wall behind you.

A major talking point from the right is that Roe doesn't reconcile with Christianity and that's the basis for laws like SB 8. So how do you personally reconcile your faith and your politics in this instance? Well, you know, my mother and father raised me Catholic. I attended, you know, middle school through high school. I attended Catholic school and, you know, I graduated from the University of Notre Dame, but what my mother and my father instilled in me and the teachings that I learned from the church is that I have my own personal relationship with God and he's a forgiving God.

And the way that I feel is I will not, I do not feel that I have the right to be having my personal judgments on another human being. I think I can't imagine. I've never been in a situation where I've ever had to decide whether I needed to have an abortion or terminate a pregnancy for one reason or another. I think that is such a personal decision that someone has to make with their doctor and with their family and with the God that they pray to. And I just feel that some of these decisions are personal. But for me, I want to have that option if a woman has to go that route, that she be allowed

to and that it be a safe. route to take. And so for me, I believe that my God is a forgiving God. I believe that it is a personal conversation that a woman has to have, again, whether family, her doctor, and her God, and I just will not, I just don't feel in judging another person, you know, in terms of their personal beliefs. Well, given that you are Catholic, you know, your voice is especially important in this argument here because oftentimes we'll feel like the right, has a monopoly over religion, over Christianity, and that we don't get to say anything from the left

because we just don't understand. But I mean, you right here are a testament to the fact that there are practicing Christians and Catholics on the left as well, and that your voice in this argument matters as well. Now, I feel like the Texas Democrats are constantly on the front line of this battle between national Democrats and the Republicans

in your state passing legislation that's just awful, from the voting rights legislation to stuff like this. So what's your message, you know, in the aftermath of that walkout to try to pressure National Democrats into passing the Voting Rights Act? Now we obviously have this serious attack on Roe.

What's your message to these national Democrats who do have an opportunity to fix all of this if they would be able to eliminate the filibuster and start using their majority to actually pass legislation, protecting voting rights, and protecting women's reproductive health? You know, coming from the state of Texas and always being at the losing end of these battles. You all have a

critical role to play federally nationwide. That's why we broke quorum because we needed to come and talk to you all about understanding that we are outnumbered in the state of Texas. You all have, you all are in the position of so much authority. It's just understanding that you need to be brave and bold and you need to push for change and be the voices of those state legislatures that don't have one. You know, I come from Texas. My senators, you know, Cornyn and Cruz can care less what I have to say. But you know what? They represent all Texans and there are Texans screaming for help. And so we hope our federal elected understand and are taking note of what's happening and that they are in a position that they can make change and they need to be bold and they

need to get rid of that filibuster. We elected them, you know, to be at the front lines for us federally. And they are in the position to do so. And I hope that they understand that it all lies with them now. And they got to be the fight. Now, let's finish off with this. You know, there are, you obviously have a lot of constituents both in your district and there's, you know, a ton of women and girls all throughout the state who are scared right now. So what's your message to those women in light of this Supreme Court decision? I am not going to stop fighting. There are many of us that are continuing to continue fighting to understand that we are their voices, but we need them as well. We need them to get engaged. We need them to know

that their voices matter and to not give up hope and that they need to push their state and federal elected officials. Let them know how they're feeling because when they, when the elected officials start hearing from them and understand the passion and understand that they need to be representative of women and girls, you know, that that's when I believe that they'll be pushed to understand the impact and the mistake that they've made in pushing a law like this. State Representative Ina Minhares, thank you so much for coming on. I appreciate it. Thank you so much, Brian. Thanks again to state representatives Inahosa and Minhares.

One last thing, if you live in California, we're getting down to the wire. As far as this recall goes, the leading candidate on the right, Larry Elder, has promised to appoint a Republican to Diane Feinstein's seat, if for any reason it should become vacant. So please, do not let our hard work over these last few years be for nothing. If you've received your ballot in the mail, vote no on question one, and put it back in the mailbox or a drop box. Or you can go and vote in person either early or on Election Day, which is September 14th. Okay, that's it for this episode.

Talk to you next week. You've been listening to No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen. Produced by Sam Graber, music by Wellesie, interviews captured and edited for YouTube and Facebook by Nicholas Nicotera and recorded in Los Angeles, California. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe on your preferred podcast app. Feel free to leave a five-star rating and a review, and check out briantylercoen.com for links to all of my other channels.