Whose Lives Matter? Women, People Of Color And Immigrants And The Fight For America’s Soul

Hot Topic Bold Talk | All Lives Matter

Today I want to talk about two connected moral emergencies in America. The first is the treatment of women—especially the way women’s lives and health have been put at risk by abortion bans and by the broader attack on reproductive freedom. The second is the treatment of people of color and immigrants—and the larger assault on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

These are not separate stories. They are part of the same political project: a politics of hierarchy, control, fear, and exclusion.

When politicians strip women of bodily autonomy, when they make doctors afraid to practice evidence-based medicine, when they turn pregnancy into a legal trap, they are saying that power matters more than human dignity. When they demonize immigrants, excuse racial inequity, and attack diversity, equity, and inclusion as though fairness itself were some kind of threat, they are saying that some people belong more fully than others. That is the same old poison in a new bottle.

And that is why this episode matters.

Because we are living through a moment when some of the most basic lessons of American democracy are being tested again. The lesson that freedom means control over your own body. The lesson that citizenship and humanity are not reserved for one race, one religion, one sex, or one political tribe. The lesson that progress has never been handed down by the comfortable—it has always been demanded by the courageous.

So I want to begin with women and health care. Because this is not abstract. This is not rhetoric. This is not a game. Women are being placed in danger by policy choices. Doctors are being pushed into impossible positions. Families are being told to wait until a crisis becomes catastrophic before care is allowed. And politicians—who will never face those consequences—are the ones writing the rules.

A major 2026 study published in JAMA Network Open reexamined the mortality risk tied to pregnancy and abortion in the United States using updated national data from 2018 through 2021. It found that the risk of death associated with pregnancy was not merely higher than the risk associated with abortion—it was between 44.3 and 69.6 times higher, depending on the analysis. Even at the most conservative estimate, pregnancy-related mortality was 44 times higher. That is not a small difference. That is not a rounding error. That is a reality that should fundamentally reshape this conversation. Because for years, people repeated an outdated statistic—that pregnancy was about 14 times more dangerous than abortion. That number came from data that is now decades old. The new data tells us the risk is far greater.

And that matters. Because one of the central deceptions in this debate has been the effort to portray abortion as uniquely dangerous—while treating forced continuation of pregnancy as neutral, natural, or safe. It is not. Pregnancy can be beautiful. It can be wanted. It can be life-affirming. But medically—it carries real risk. And the data makes that clear.

Between 2018 and 2021, researchers documented:

  • 14.9 million births
  • 3.66 million abortions
  • Extremely low abortion-related mortality
  • And significantly higher pregnancy-related mortality

So let us be honest. Taking away abortion is not a safety measure for women. It is the removal of a medical option. And when that option is removed, the burden does not fall on lawmakers. It falls on women. It falls on families. It falls on doctors, nurses, emergency rooms, and maternity wards.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said clearly: Abortion is an essential component of health care. That phrase matters. Essential. Not political. Not optional. Not ideological. Health care.

And once we accept that reality, everything becomes clearer. This is not just about abortion. It is about whether women are treated as full human beings—whose lives, health, judgment, and futures matter. If the answer is yes—then women must be trusted. If the answer is no—then government takes control. And that is exactly what we are seeing.

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among high-income countries. And more than 80% of those deaths are preventable. Let that sink in. Preventable. This is not fate. This is failure. And that failure is not evenly distributed. Black women face significantly higher maternal mortality rates. Not because of biology—but because of access, bias, systemic inequality, and policy.

So when abortion access is restricted, it does not affect everyone equally.

  • It hits hardest:
  • Poor women
  • Rural women
  • Women with complicated pregnancies
  • And Black women already facing higher risk

The JAMA study makes this clear: Removing access to abortion forces people to take on substantially greater health risks. That is the reality. Forced pregnancy is not neutral. It is state-compelled medical risk.

And beyond mortality, there is something else we must confront: The daily cruelty of how these laws are practiced. Doctors in restrictive states are navigating legal minefields. Hospitals fear prosecution. Lawyers are now part of emergency care decisions. Women with wanted pregnancies are being told to wait—

Wait until they are sick enough. Wait until they are bleeding enough. Wait until they are close enough to death. That is not pro-life. That is bureaucratized danger.

And even when a woman survives—

There may be:

  • Organ damage
  • Loss of fertility
  • Trauma
  • Financial devastation

A civilized country does not treat women this way.

And the damage does not stop there.

It spreads outward:

  • Travel burdens
  • Telehealth battles
  • Physician shortages
  • Delayed care
  • Fear of criminalization
  • Loss of trust in the medical system

The Guttmacher Institute reported that in 2025:

  • 1.126 million abortions were provided nationally
  • 13 states had total bans
  • 6 states had severe restrictions
  • 142,000 women traveled across state lines for care
  • 91,000 relied on telehealth across state lines

That tells us something critical: The need for care did not disappear. Access did. So women were forced into an obstacle course. And that obstacle course is not equal. If you have money—you may find a way. If you do not—you may not. That is not morality. That is inequality enforced by law.

And there is more. Research shows that infant mortality has increased in states with abortion bans. So when policymakers claim these laws protect life—we must ask: Whose life? And under what conditions?

Because real respect for life would include:

Prenatal care

  • Postpartum care
  • Mental health support
  • Affordable child care
  • Paid leave
  • Strong hospitals
  • Access in rural areas

Real respect for life does not end at birth.

Now let me widen the frame. Because the same politics shaping women’s health are shaping how we treat immigrants and people of color.

Recent data shows that immigration enforcement has swept up large numbers of people with no criminal record. Not just dangerous individuals—But ordinary people. Families. Workers. Human beings.

And cases like Kilmar Abrego Garcia—wrongfully deported despite legal protections—show what happens when systems become careless. When due process is ignored for one group—it is weakened for everyone.

At the same time, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are being dismantled. Programs meant to expand opportunity—now treated as threats. That should concern all of us. Because when a country retreats from inclusion—it moves toward exclusion.

And this is where history matters. Because we have seen this before.

That is why I am sharing the story of the Dockum Drug Store sit-in in Wichita, Kansas. In 1958—young African American students sat at a segregated lunch counter and asked to be served. They were refused. They were harassed. They were pressured. But they stayed. For weeks. Until the system changed.

They did not win because power became kind. They won because they were relentless. Disciplined. Determined.

That is the lesson. Justice does not move on its own. People move it.

And that is why this story matters now. Because memory is resistance.

When diversity is attacked—memory is attacked. When civil rights are minimized—memory is erased.

But the truth remains: Progress in America has always required courage.

Those students were saying something simple and powerful: We belong here.

That truth still echoes today: Women belong in decisions about their own bodies. Black Americans belong fully in every institution. Immigrants deserve dignity and due process. Diversity is not a threat—it is a strength.

This is not just history. It is instruction. Be disciplined. Be persistent. Show up. Stay in the fight. Because one of the great lies of this moment is that we must accept regression. We do not.

We can outlast this politics, not because progress is guaranteed—but because people make it happen. That is the hope I leave you with. Not naïve hope. Earned hope. The kind built from struggle. From memory. From courage.

We have done hard things before. We can do them again. And if we do—then this moment will not define America. It will be a chapter we overcame.

Link to the Wichita, Kansas documentary about Dockum Café Sit-in 1958:

https://youtu.be/oPXHz-n0uUA?si=b4DMsYAwxrkaMAWZ

Comment that was added to the 1920 Columnist prediction that certainly fits today:

“As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and a complete narcissistic moron.” H.L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920.

Episode Summary Points:

  • The Moral Emergency of Bodily Autonomy: The episode frames the surge of abortion bans not merely as political debate, but as a “moral emergency” that treats human dignity as secondary to state control. By analyzing 2026 health data, the discussion reveals that pregnancy carries a risk of death significantly higher—at least 44 times—than abortion, arguing that stripping away reproductive options does not protect life, but instead creates a “legal trap” for doctors and a medical “obstacle course” for women.
  • Systemic Inequality and the “Belonging” Gap: A central theme is the ideological link between the restriction of women’s rights and the demonization of immigrants and people of color. The episode posits that these attacks—ranging from the dismantling of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs to the erosion of due process—are driven by a fear of losing “White privilege and domination.” This strategy attempts to categorize who “belongs” in America, effectively reviving pre-1960s power structures.
  • The Power of Economic and Persistent Resistance: Drawing on the history of the 1958 Dockum Drug Store sit-in, the episode emphasizes that progress rarely comes from the kindness of those in power, but from courageous, sustained resistance. It highlights how marginalized groups and their allies can force systemic change by refusing to accept “lesser” status, suggesting that the path to justice today requires the same level of persistence and collective action seen during the Civil Rights Movement.

References for Podcast 171:

Primary Research & Data Sources

  1. Steenland MW, et al. Pregnancy- and Abortion-Related Mortality in the US, 2018–2021. JAMA Network Open, 2026.
  2. Live Science summary of JAMA study (Marianne Guenot, 2026)

Maternal Health & Mortality

  1. The Commonwealth Fund (2024). U.S. Maternal Mortality Crisis
  2. CDC Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System (PMSS)

Abortion Access & Policy

  1. Guttmacher Institute (2026). Full-Year Estimates of Abortion Incidence
  2. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)

Infant Mortality & Policy Impact

  1. Infant Mortality After Abortion Bans. JAMA (2024–2025)

Immigration Enforcement

  1. ICE arrest data analysis. Washington Post (2026)
  2. Analysis of ICE detention data
  3. Kilmar Abrego Garcia case. Associated Press (2025–2026)
  4. White House Executive Order (Jan 2025): Ending DEI Programs
  5. Department of Defense Inspector General reports (2025)
  6. Kansas Historical Society: Dockum Drug Store Sit-In
  7. National Museum of African American History and Culture
  8. CBS Documentary: Dockum Drug Store Sit-In (Wichita, KS)

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Whose Lives Matter? Women, People Of Color And Immigrants And The Fight For America’s Soul

Introduction To Moral Crisis And Whose Lives Matter

I’m going to talk to you about whose lives matter. Is it women? Is it the people of color? Is it immigrants? The fight for the American soul, who’s doing that? That’s what’s happening. I see the way women, persons of color, and immigrants are being treated. I know that’s not acceptable. I want to talk about some things that I see that we are not paying attention to. There are two connected moral emergencies in America. Moral concepts have been diminished significantly by Trump as well as his Megas. They seem to have no moral compass.

Two Connected Moral Emergencies: Women And Marginalized Groups

The first group I want to talk about is the treatment of women. Especially women’s lives and health and where they are being put at risk because of all these bands on abortions. By the broader attack that happens when you ban abortions, then you have other effects on reproductive freedom. The second one is the treatment of people of color, immigrants and a growing assault on diversity, equity and inclusion.

I’ve done diversity, equity and inclusion for many years. I’ve seen the transformation in organizations. I’ve seen organizations build communities that are extremely healthy and bring revenue and profits. The ignorance of Megas and Trump about DEI are outrageous. They are attacking something because they’re so worried as White people that they won’t have the power or the money that they want. That’s basically it. That’s the reason they’re attacking it.

I’ll admit there were some inappropriate DEI programs, but I’ve never given one. I’ve given ones where everybody benefited. Everybody in the company appreciated each other and they developed a new way of interacting with each other and understood each other better. I still say that ignorance of Trump and Mega Republicans about DEI is that they never understand that differences are extremely important. We’re seeing it through a rejection of women and controlling women. As well as a rejection of people of color and immigrants. It’s the same story. I’m going to talk about it.

The story is grabbing power, grabbing of control and deep value. Anybody that doesn’t fit what they believe is acceptable as far as citizens in the United States. When politicians strip women of bodily autonomy, when they make doctors afraid to practice real medicine, turn pregnancy into a legal trap because a lawyer has to get something filed so they can be treated the way they need to. That’s telling us something.

Hot Topic Bold Talk | All Lives Matter

That’s telling us that the power matters more than the human dignity of these women. When those same forces demonize immigrants, ignore racial inequality and attack diversity and inclusion, they are telling us something else. They are telling us that some people belong more than others. That is not new. This same old poison was in many forms prior to 1960 before the Civil Rights Movement. I lived through those years. I know what it’s like. I know what the Civil Rights Movement did.

It brought a real appreciation for the diversity and all the people we have in America and it stopped the White privilege and White domination. Now, what we’ve got is all his back. That is why this conversation we’re going to have in this show is so important. We’re being tested. We’re tested on whether we still believe in all the things that made us such a great nation. Freedom means control of your own body. Dignity belongs to everyone. Progress has never come from comfort. It also always comes from courage.

That’s the reason that King’s marches are so important. Public Citizen is the organization that started that. We need to support them because they take legal actions constantly against Trump’s administration. They’re winning systematically. Let’s talk more about women’s health because this is not abstract. It’s not political theater for Trump to do something and promise what he’s going to do for women, which he has not done.

Abortion Bans And Rising Health Risks For Women

If the issues are real for women, women are being put in danger by the policies that are approved. Doctors are being pushed into impossible decisions. Families are being told to wait. It’s because you can’t have that treatment until you’re sicker or you’re having a life-threatening experience. That is not health care. I want you to listen carefully to some of the surveys I’m going to present to you. A major 2026 study published in JAMA Network open looked at real data and then the United States from 2018 to 2021.

Here’s what it found. The risk of death from pregnancy is at least 44 times higher than the risk from having an abortion. Depending on how you measure it in the complexity of the pregnancy, it can go up to 70 times. For years, people repeated an old number. They said pregnancy was fourteen times more dangerous. That number is outdated. It’s 44 more times dangerous. Let me put this in plain language. Pregnancy is not risk free. It can be beautiful. It can be wanted. It can be life-changing. Medically, it has some danger.

The data that occurred between 2018 and ‘21 says, “There were 50 million births over 3.6 million abortions. Extremely low for abortions related to death and significantly high pregnancy related deaths.” When people say banning abortion protects women, it is flat not true. They have cut off a major option that women need available. When you remove an option, the risk does not disappear. The risks shift to women, families and onto doctors.

All these legislators that are passing these laws in these various States do not have the consequences for what’s happening. Unless they have a family member that’s pregnant and having difficulties. They then might learn how abortion could save that person’s life. The American College of Gynecology says this clearly, “Abortion is an essential part of healthcare.” It’s essential and it matters. Once we understand that there is no longer just a political debate about it, it becomes a moral question.

That’s the reason I’m saying that there is no morality in the belief structures and attitudes that the Republicans and Trump have. They’re not there to save women. They’re not there to save infants. I will give you some factual data about that in a moment. It becomes a real moral issue for all of us. Are we going to stand by people that are corrupt and have no moral concepts? Are we going to stand in the right place? Are women trusted to make decisions about their own buddies? I’d say yes. Does the government decide for them? I would say no. That’s the problem.

The government has no business being in anything to have to do with the woman’s pregnancy. She and her doctor need to decide what they’re going to do. It’s a systemic failure because it’s impacted our nation. It’s impacted many women and families. Now, let’s go out for a moment. The United States has the highest maternal death rate among wealthy nations. More than 80% of those deaths could have been prevented. Think about that.

Inequality In Maternal Health And Systemic Barriers

It could have been prevented and these women would be alive. Those risks are not equal. Women are far more likely to die from pregnancy related causes not because of their biology. Don’t go into some racist attitude about their biology. It’s due to access to health care a lot of time. It’s due to bias because doctors don’t fully understand the African-American Community they are treating. It’s a systemic inequality that’s existing.

[bctt tweet=”Women are far more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes, not because of their biology. Avoid racist assumptions about biology—it is often due to lack of access to healthcare.” via=”no”]

When a doctor cannot diagnose something because they have no knowledge about the research or the studies or anything that hasn’t been done in research for studies about African-Americans. It is the doctor’s problem. When abortion access is restricted, who suffers? Poor women. Rural women that don’t have access to certain things. Women with complicated pregnancies and Black women. Which we already know have a high risk.

The study makes this clear when abortion is taken away. Women are forced to take on greater medical risk. There is a forced pregnancy. It is not neutral. It is governmentally imposed to force pregnancy because you don’t get to have an abortion that can save your life. Now, here’s the real impact. Doctors are afraid. Hospitals are cautious. Lawyers are involved in emergency care decisions. Women with wanted pregnancy who develop complications are told to wait. Wait until they’re sick enough or they’re bleeding enough or close enough to death that they then could receive the treatment they need.

This is not health care. This is fear-driven medicine. It’s not, this time, the doctors that are doing it. It’s the legislators who have no understanding and have some desire to control women. It is a tragic situation. Even though women survive through all these experiences, the consequences are real. They often have organ damage. They have infertility and trauma. They end up with financial devastation because it costs so much for them to go through this process of nearly dying before they get help.

Now, let’s talk about what happens when access to abortion disappears. In 2025, thirteen States had total abortion bans. Several more had severe ones like they have in Texas. What happens? Women don’t stop needing care. They have to travel. They get delayed in the midst of a struggle that they don’t even need to be in if they had the available options of abortion. Over 140,000 in 2025 women traveled across State lines for care. About 91,000 relied on Telehealth across state lines because they couldn’t travel. They didn’t have the funds to do that.

Again, this is not health care. This is an obstacle course. It’s fascinating that Trump and Megas want people to have babies. They have no capacity to understand that through the abortion bands, they have created obstacles for women when they are pregnant. The insanity of that thought pattern and the inability to connect the two is outrageous, to me. The obstacle course is not even. If you have money, you can navigate and get the help you want. If you do not, you may be trapped.

When people say these laws protect lives, they do not. I will give you the mortality rate and you will see what is going on. Who are they saving? I don’t know who’s lives they’re saying because there’s no saving women. They’re not saving babies. Research shows that infant mortality has increased in States with abortion bands. Babies are dying and it has increased in States with abortion bans. Let’s be very clear.

These policies are not just affecting women. They are affecting children, too. Real respect for human beings would be better health care, better support for families, safer pregnancies, and stronger systems. They are forcing births but with higher risk for women. Now, I want to turn this into another important area. It’s the same mindset that restricts women’s autonomy is shaping the way we treat immigrants and people of color.

Immigration, Due Process, And Expanding Systemic Risk

We are told immigration enforcement is about criminals, but the data shows that’s very different. It’s not dangerous individuals or the people that have been detained or arrested have no criminal record. Families, workers, people trying to live their own lives and contributing to our communities. All of a sudden, they are detained or deported. It’s amazing to me how people cannot see that due process has become a very fragile thing in America. Only because it’s happening with immigrants or it’s happening with people of color. Don’t kid yourself.

When any one group is attacked and they don’t have due process or rights, then it weakens the due process and then we see that it doesn’t matter what color you are. You may be sued, questioned or attacked because you are of a political party that is opposite from Megas and from Trump. Now, I want to talk about DEI and Civil Rights. There are a lot of companies that stay quiet, but they still have diversity and inclusion programs. Trump has tried to dismantle so many of them.

[bctt tweet=”When any group is attacked and denied due process or rights, it weakens due process for everyone.” via=”no”]

The programs were designed to create fairness. Not threaten people. I’ve spent a lot of years doing this work. What I see as white people getting judgmental and not wanting to talk about diversity or equity or inclusion. It’s because they don’t want to have to go through the emotional experience of realizing what we’ve done in America. You can’t take away slavery that happened here and assume that you can eliminate it from the history books, then everything’s going to be fine.

Civil Rights History And The Power Of Collective Resistance

That is ignorance on the part of people that think that can happen. We have to deal with what our history is. Deal with the present day and how we can be much more effective with each other. History does matter. What I want to do is I want to talk to you about a specific thing that I learned from one of my relatives. I always thought that the primary city was done in 1960. It was not. I want to tell you about the Dockum Drug Store sit-in. Dockum drug stores were in Wichita, Kansas. In 1958, a bunch of young African-American students sat in a segregated lunch counter and asked to be served.

They were refused, threatened and told to leave. They were harassed but they didn’t. They stayed. Day after day, they would come back and sit at that counter. Weak after week. All they wanted to do was to be served. Until finally, the system changed. They didn’t win because power became kind. They won because Dockum lost revenue because White people were going somewhere else. It was a revenue issue for them.

The students won because they refused to give up. Now, that is an important lesson for all of us. Justice does move because people move. That is why this story matters so much. Memory is creating the understanding of how they resisted and how we can use it now. Those students were saying, “We belong. We need to stand up.” As Caucasians used to say, “All these individuals immigrants, people of color, all those people we need to stand up and say, ‘They have a right to belong as well.’ They contribute to our society.” It matters.

Women belong in decisions about their own body and their medical doctor. Not some legislator who votes to ban abortion. Black Americans belong fully in every system. Immigrants deserve dignity. Dignity is a strength. Not a threat, as I’ve said before. What I think is so powerful about this story is it shows us how some students made a decision to say, “I’m valuable and I want you to serve me. You are not going to reject me and keep treating me as something less than you are.”

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