Coronacast Episode 08 – Stimulus Relief and Accessing Reproductive Healthcare in the Time of COVID-19
By Rhea Almeida and Luisa Portugal
This podcast series includes NYU policy students that will analyze policy issues and solutions emerging in real-time around the country.
On this final episode of Coronacast, hosts Luisa and Rhea dissect the second COVID relief stimulus package which failed to reach a consensus between Democrats and Republicans in Congress. They analyze the series of executive orders subsequently signed into effect by President Trump that included changes to unemployment benefits and school funding.
Today’s speaker is NYU Wagner MPA candidate Ashley Emery, discussing the challenges in accessing quality reproductive health care in the time of COVID-19. She also describes policy trends that enforce anti-abortion agendas.
Transcript:
0:00: Welcome from hosts Rhea and Luisa
0:37: Top news of the week
11:26: Ashley Emery walks us through the the challenges in accessing quality reproductive health care.
Guest Speaker
Ashley Emery is a second-year MPA-PNP student at NYU Wagner, focusing on public policy and advocacy. She is currently the Senior Policy and Advocacy Fellow at Jewish Women International, where she focuses on reproductive freedom and contraceptive equity policy. She has cultivated her expertise in reproductive health, rights, and justice advocacy and electoral politics through work at the New York State Democratic Party, Vote Run Lead, the International Women’s Health Coalition, and NARAL Pro-Choice America. She holds a BA in International Studies and Spanish from Johns Hopkins University.
Hosts
Rhea Almeida is second-year MPA international student at NYU Wagner hailing from Mumbai, India. In the past, she has worked in the fields of policy, advocacy, and development for a women’s working rights group in India. Prior to that, she worked as a TV news journalist in New Delhi. Her areas of interest include workers’ rights, gender equality, grassroot level advocacy and coronavirus response policy. In addition to being contributing editor for The Wagner Review, she serves as senator for the Wagner Student Association, and events chair for the Wagner Policy Alliance. She is also the co-founder of the ‘What’s up with Coronavirus Policy’ discussion group.
Luisa Portugal is a second-year MPA student at NYU Wagner specializing in International Development Management & Policy. She earned an LLM in Constitutional Law and Theory in Brazil. Her main topics of interest are international development, climate change and the coronavirus crisis. Luisa will serve as Co-Chair of Events for the Alliance for Climate Change and Environment (ACE) in the upcoming year. She is also the co-founder of the ‘What’s up with Coronavirus Policy’ discussion group.
Resources to learn more:
- NARAL Pro-Choice America
- SisterSong: Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective
- National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice
- National Institute for Reproductive Health
- Planned Parenthood
- Center for Reproductive Rights
- EMILY’s List
- All* Above All
- Report on aid to anti-abortion centers mentioned at the end of the interview
News Segment:
- Axios interview with Donald Trump by interviewer Jonathan Swan
- White House, Democrats fail to reach agreement on virus relief bill, and next steps are uncertain
- After parents and teachers opposed a hybrid model, Chicago schools will reopen online only.
- Trump signs order for coronavirus relief, with lower level of extra aid for jobless
- Trump signs orders aimed at extending some pandemic relief after Congress fails to reach a deal
- Trump attempts to wrest tax and spending powers from Congress with new executive actions
- Over 32 million Americans are receiving unemployment claim benefits, US GDP shrunk 32.9% in Q2 2020
- Governor Cuomo tweets that it’s impossible for states to contribute 25% of funds to unemployment benefits
- Even asymptomatic people carry the coronavirus in high amounts
- US: Fauci ‘cautiously’ optimistic 2021 will see COVID-19 vaccine
- Factsheet on ‘Operation Warp Speed’ for vaccine production
Music Credit: Pamgaea by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/