Good afternoon,
On Sunday, we fired up the grill for Father's Day. Raising a child is wonderful, but being a parent can be a challenge. <a href="[link removed]">Paid family leave</a> policies can make it easier for working families to care for their kids while holding a job.
The festivities continued yesterday for Juneteenth, as we commemorated the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. It's a day to celebrate freedom, a core tenet of American values but nonetheless something that Americans have had to fight for again and again.
Juneteenth is 158 years old, but this is only the second year it has been recognized as a federal holiday. Discrimination against Black Americans persists in pervasive and often unseen ways throughout our country, and our agriculture industry is no exception. Black farmers have lost 90% of their land in the past century. Two-time Emmy nominated filmmaker <a href="[link removed]">Eternal Polk</a> joined us at our Rural Progress Summit to discuss his latest film, <a href="[link removed]">Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land</a>. The film shines a light on the long-standing challenge of Heirs' Property, how it perpetuates a cycle of land loss amongst Black landowners; and how agriculture and farmland are essential in building generational wealth.
As we celebrate hard-earned wins, we also look forward to continuing the fight for equity for all rural Americans.
Here's what else you need to know this week...
ONE YEAR AFTER THE DEVASTATING DOBBS DECISION
While last weekend was full of festivities, we face a much grimmer observance on Saturday: the one-year anniversary of the devastating Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and federal protections for women's abortion access. As a consequence of the Dobbs decision, women in some states must travel more than <a href="[link removed]">500 miles</a> to the nearest abortion clinic -- but other effects are more far-reaching.
Restrictions of the abortion pill mifepristone has <a href="[link removed]">prevented</a> women experiencing a miscarriage from receiving necessary medical care, and instead <a href="[link removed]">pushed them</a> into <a href="[link removed]">critical condition</a>. For context, <a href="[link removed]">15 to 25 percent of known pregnancies</a> end in miscarriage. Millions of women trying to raise a family may suffer not just the loss of a wanted pregnancy, but may also <a href="[link removed]">risk losing their lives</a>. While the <a href="[link removed]">Supreme Court froze mifepristone restrictions</a>, it is uncertain how <a href="[link removed]">further appeals</a> will affect access to care.
While doctors want to help, the nature of restrictions has left them in limbo over what life-saving services they can perform and what aspects of their job may entail <a href="[link removed]">legal suits, the suspension of their medical licenses, felony charges, and even prison time</a>.
Idaho has the most restrictive abortion policies in the nation, which are pushing <a href="[link removed]">maternal-fetal medicine physicians</a> to <a href="[link removed]">leave the state</a>. Growing staffing shortages and an increasingly hostile political climate are closing <a href="[link removed]">rural hospitals</a>' labor and delivery services -- expanding <a href="[link removed]">maternity care deserts</a> that disproportionately affect the <a href="[link removed]">18 million</a> women of reproductive age living in rural regions.
As a result of the Dobbs decision, doctors fear for their livelihoods and women fear for their lives. However, there is a silver lining: voters across the political spectrum overwhelmingly oppose abortion bans. When <a href="[link removed]">abortion is on the ballot</a>, voters have <a href="[link removed]">turned out in record numbers</a> to preserve abortion access and change the outcome of numerous <a href="[link removed]">campaigns across the country.</a>.
Get the Hot Dish on abortion in America with <a href="[link removed]">Democratic strategist Celinda Lake</a> as well as <a href="[link removed]">OCP board member and Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski</a>, and check out our <a href="[link removed]">2023 Rural Progress Summit</a> for a discussion on the evolving electoral impact of the Dobbs decision and how the battle for women's reproductive rights is playing out.
NEW POLL: RURAL HEALTH CARE AND ACCESS TO EMERGENCY SERVICES REQUIRE IMMEDIATE ATTENTION
A <a href="[link removed](1)_final.pdf">new survey</a> from OCP and <a href="[link removed]">Save Our Air Medical Resources (SOAR)</a> found that voters nationwide think health care in rural communities is markedly worse than in the rest of the country.<br /><br />
Since 2010, there have been over <a href="[link removed]">130 rural hospital closures</a>, forcing local residents to travel hours for critical medical services.<br /><br />
96 percent of voters agree that emergency <a href="[link removed]">air medical transportation</a> is an important life-saving service for Americans in remote or rural areas.<br /><br />
To cover the costs of transportation, 84 percent of voters overwhelmingly support increasing the Medicare reimbursement rate for these air medical services, which current only cover 50 percent of the cost. With rural Americans disproportionately facing geographic barriers and lacking private insurance, it is crucial to expand affordable access to these air medical providers to help save rural patients' lives. <a href="[link removed]">Read the full release here</a>.
ONE COUNTRY IN THE NEWS
OCP founder Heidi Heitkamp joined <a href="[link removed]">Juju Chang on ABC Nightline</a> to discuss the federal criminal indictment of former president Donald Trump.
OCP board members submitted a <a href="[link removed]">letter of Farm Bill priorities</a> to Agriculture Committees' leadership. <a href="[link removed]">Read it here</a>.
ICYMI
The New York Times: <a href="[link removed]">Deadlocked Iowa Supreme Court Leaves Abortion Legal Through 20 Weeks</a>
The Washington Post: <a href="[link removed]">America's Unlikeliest Abortion Clinic Has Opened in its Reddest State</a>
The 19th: <a href="[link removed]">How Data From Abortion Rights Fights in 2022 Could Shape 2024</a>
Axios: <a href="[link removed]">Average cost of child care hit $10,600 in 2021</a>
The Washington Post: <a href="[link removed]">Democrats Meet With Anti-Trump Conservatives to Fight No Labels 2024 Bid</a>
Be sure to follow the One Country Project on Twitter [[link removed]] and Facebook [[link removed]] , and check out The Hot Dish [[link removed]] podcast.
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