Join Our Volunteer Elections Team
Help turn values into votes by mobilizing voters and electing reproductive freedom champions up and down the ballot.
Reproductive Rights Podcast
Rep. Diana DeGette Gets It Done: The Plan to Restore Abortion Rights Nationwide on My Body. My Pod. Episode 22
Rep. Diana DeGette has spent decades protecting reproductive freedom. Now she's preparing for the next fight: restoring abortion rights nationwide, repealing Hyde restrictions, and building the political power to get it done.
Watch & Listen
“If you want to get something done in Congress, people say you go to Diana DeGette.”
In this episode of My Body. My Pod., Mini Timmaraju sits down with Rep. Diana DeGette, co-chair of the Congressional Reproductive Freedom Caucus and one of the most effective reproductive freedom champions in Congress, to discuss the plan to restore abortion rights nationwide.
Key Takeaways in this Episode
- Rep. Diana DeGette outlines a strategy to restore abortion rights nationwide if Democrats regain control of Congress, including reintroducing and advancing the Women's Health Protection Act.
- DeGette argues that protecting reproductive freedom requires more than winning elections—it requires building the political power, legislative strategy, and vote counts necessary to pass laws.
- + Read More
- The conversation explores the Hyde Amendment, which restricts federal funding for abortion care, and why many reproductive freedom advocates believe repealing Hyde is essential to ensuring meaningful access to care.
- DeGette reflects on how public opinion and the Democratic Party have evolved on abortion rights over the past three decades, transforming reproductive freedom into a core Democratic priority.
- The episode examines how abortion access intersects with economic security, health care affordability, and the ability to decide whether and when to grow a family.
- DeGette discusses ongoing attacks on birth control, medication abortion, and reproductive health care, as well as the role Congress can play in protecting those rights.
- The conversation also explores Supreme Court reform, ethics standards, and the long-term impact of an increasingly conservative federal judiciary on reproductive freedom and voting rights.
- Despite setbacks, DeGette remains optimistic, arguing that lasting progress depends on three forces working together: Congress, the courts, and the citizens.
From passing Colorado’s landmark clinic protection law as a young state legislator to helping secure House passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act after Dobbs, DeGette has spent decades building the relationships, experience, and political power needed to move legislation forward.
Now, she’s looking ahead.
DeGette shares what Democrats hope to accomplish when they regain control of Congress, including restoring abortion rights nationwide, repealing Hyde restrictions, protecting access to reproductive health care, and pushing back against attacks on birth control and bodily autonomy.
Along the way, she reflects on the evolution of the Democratic Party on abortion rights, why reproductive freedom is inseparable from economic security, and what gives her hope in this moment.
Their conversation focuses on a central truth: progress depends not just on ideas, but on the ability to turn them into law. As DeGette puts it: “If you don’t have the votes, you don’t pass the bill.”
In this episode:
- The plan to restore abortion rights nationwide
- Why repealing the Hyde Amendment remains a top priority
- How Colorado became a model for reproductive freedom policy
- The behind-the-scenes effort to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act• Why reproductive freedom is also an affordability issue
- Court reform, Supreme Court ethics, and protecting fundamental rights
- Why Congress, the courts, and the citizens all have a role to play
Despite the onslaught of attacks on our fundamental freedoms, DeGette remains optimistic, pointing to the power of people already taking action—protesting, voting, and holding elected officials accountable: “Abortion is our health care right. We will get to where we need to be.”
3 Ways to Take Action Now
Sign the Petition: No National Abortion Ban
Trump's second presidency will likely have even more devastating consequences for reproductive freedom. Sign your name and join us in shouting it from the rooftops: NO NATIONAL ABORTION BAN.
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.
Support the Women’s Health Protection Act: Contact Your Senators
The U.S. Senate must pass the Women's Health Protection Act.
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
Dobbs Anniversary Bonus: Choosing Hope, Building Power, and Launching My Body. My Ballot. | Episode 21
Podcast Reproductive Rights
LIVE from the 2026 Activist Summit – My Body. My Pod. Episode 20
Podcast Reproductive Rights