Protect Medication Abortion
Anti-abortion extremists are attacking medication abortion. Add your name in support of access to medication abortion.
Reproductive Rights Podcast
Meet the Lawyer Winning Against Trump: Skye Perryman on My Body. My Pod. Episode 19
The TIME 100 honoree and CEO and President of Democracy Forward explains the latest attacks on mifepristone, the fight for court reform, and why people power still wins.
Watch & Listen
In this episode of My Body. My Pod., Mini Timmaraju sits down with Skye Perryman to discuss the legal fights shaping reproductive freedom, voting rights, and democracy itself.
From defending access to mifepristone against legally baseless fringe theories peddled by anti-abortion extremists, to challenging attacks on voting rights and government accountability, Skye has become one of the leading voices pushing back against efforts to roll back fundamental freedoms.
Key Takeaways in this Episode
- Mifepristone remains legal and available, but anti-abortion extremists continue pursuing baseless lawsuits and fringe legal theories to restrict access.
- Court reform matters. Federal courts—including the Supreme Court—play a major role in shaping reproductive freedom, voting rights, and democracy.
- + Read More
- The Comstock Act remains a threat. Anti-abortion activists are attempting to revive the 1873 law as a pathway to restrict abortion nationwide.
- Reproductive freedom and democracy are connected. Attacks on abortion rights, voting rights, and government accountability often come from the same anti-democratic movements.
- Change happens because people organize. As Skye Perryman reminds us: "No institution ever handed down rights. People pushed those institutions."
About Skye Perryman and Democracy Forward
Skye L. Perryman is the President and CEO of Democracy Forward, a nonpartisan, national legal organization that promotes democracy and progress through litigation, regulatory engagement, communications, policy education, and research.
Named as one of the 2025 100 Most Influential People In The World by TIME Magazine, Perryman took the helm at Democracy Forward a few months after January 6, 2021, in the midst of rising extremism in communities and courts across the country.
She has built a visionary team of legal, policy, and communications experts to confront anti-democratic extremism head-on while also using the law to advance progress and a bold vision for the future.
Under Perryman’s leadership, Democracy Forward has expanded the scope and reach of its work, emerging as a nationally recognized institution that is taking on the most significant issues affecting people, families, and communities—from defending civil rights and fair wages to seeking to expand access to reproductive health care post-Dobbs to confronting attacks on education to addressing the climate crisis and much more.
🔎 A Closer Look: Mifepristone Is Still Under Attack
“This is not a legal theory at all—it’s a fringe theory.” —Skye Perryman
Mifepristone (a commonly used abortion pill) has been used safely for more than 20 years and is backed by overwhelming scientific evidence.
Yet anti-abortion extremists continue searching for new ways to limit access through lawsuits, federal regulations, and even laws written more than 150 years ago.
To learn more, explore our related resources:
While the legal threats continue, Skye emphasizes that these attacks are not grounded in sound law or science. They are part of a broader effort to roll back reproductive freedom—and one that can be challenged through advocacy, organizing, and the courts.
🔎 A Closer Look: Why Court Reform Matters
“When you have a court that is not protecting our democratic institutions or protecting people…we need to make sure that people in this country know that they have power to change the court. ”
The courts play an enormous role in shaping reproductive freedom—but they are not immune from accountability.
From overturning Roe v. Wade, to weakening voting rights protections, the Supreme Court’s decisions have fueled the urgent need for reform to ensure that courts serve the people—not political extremists.
Mini and Skye discuss why court reform has become an increasingly urgent issue.
We must:
- Expand the Supreme Court
- Enact term limits on Supreme Court justices
- Conduct investigations into justices for alleged ethics violations, corruption and other misconduct
- Appoint more fair-minded judges to the courts to rebalance the scales
- Restore trust in the courts
Add Your Name: We Need Court Reform
Key Takeaway: Rights Are Won by People Who Demand Them
The attacks on mifepristone, reproductive freedom, voting rights, and democracy may seem like separate fights. But at their core, they all ask the same question: Who gets to make decisions about our lives and our futures?
But lasting change has always come from people organizing, voting, speaking out, sharing their stories, and refusing to accept injustice as inevitable.
3 Ways to Take Action Now
Join the Repro for All Volunteer Elections Team
We're pulling out all the stops to ensure voters get out and vote for reproductive freedom candidates up and down the ballot, and we need your help to make it happen!
Protect Medication Abortion Access
Anti-abortion extremists are attacking medication abortion to essentially ban abortion for millions of people. Add your name in support of access to medication abortion.
Add Your Name: We Need Court Reform!
Sign the petition in support of court reform efforts, including court expansion and investigations into ethics of justices, to restore the legitimacy of our judicial system.
🤿 Dive Deeper into the Details
Resources for Abortion Care
If you need abortion care, there are resources available:
- Find abortion care: Explore Abortion Finder, Abortion on our Terms, Plan C, —or chat with Charley the Chatbot (right here on this webpage).
- Medical support: M+A Hotline for abortion care resources
- Financial support: Groups like the National Network of Abortion Funds and ineedana.com can help you access financial resources.
- Legal help: Repro Legal Helpline and Abortion Defense Network
Comstock Act
Anti-abortion groups are trying to create a nationwide abortion ban by enforcing a radical interpretation of the 1873 Comstock laws.
Medication Abortion Is Under Attack
Mifepristone (a commonly used abortion pill) has been used safely for more than 20 years and 63% of all abortions in the U.S. were medication abortions in 2023.
Despite more than two decades of scientific evidence proving mifepristone’s safety and effectiveness, anti-abortion groups repeatedly announce their intent to attack mifepristone—it’s their top priority.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST
ABOUT THE PODCAST
MY BODY. MY POD. WITH MINI TIMMARAJU.
The fight for reproductive freedom is more urgent than ever.
That’s why we’re bringing you My Body. My Pod. with Mini Timmaraju, a reproductive freedom podcast.
If you’re into building a nationwide movement to protect and expand health justice, reproductive equity, and the power of people to control their own lives, this show is for you.
Hear from leaders and changemakers who share wisdom from the front lines, stories of the real struggles people are facing every day, and a vision for the future we’re determined to win.
Hosted by Mini Timmaraju, President and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All. Available on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
Stay in the Know
Sign up to learn how to take action with us.
Reproductive Freedom for All is made up of members across the country who believe that everybody should be free to control their own bodies and lives—and we want you to be a part of it.
Subscribe to be one of the first to receive updates on the state of reproductive freedom and opportunities to take action.
Watch More Episodes
Podcast Reproductive Rights
Waiting to Be “Dying Enough” for Pregnancy Care: Avery Davis Bell on My Body. My Pod. Episode 18
Podcast Reproductive Rights
Abortion Provider Renee Chelian on 50 Years of Protecting Patients, Fighting for Access – My Body. My Pod. Episode 17
Podcast Reproductive Rights