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Understand what’s really happening around reproductive freedom, policies that impact you and your community.
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Stacey Abrams on 10 Steps to Fight Trump’s Power Grab and Build the World We Want: My Body. My Pod. Episode 8
The legendary activist and author reveals how far Republicans have gone to seize power—and the 10 steps we can take to fight back.
Watch & Listen
Stacey Abrams argues that the U.S. is already in an authoritarian moment—when a single leader and political party hoards the power, rigs the rules, and strips away people’s rights and freedoms.
In this episode, Stacey breaks down why attacks on abortion, DEI, and health care are all part of the same power grab playbook by Trump and his Republican cronies—and her 10 steps to fight back for our freedom.
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Meet Stacey Abrams
Stacey Abrams is a political leader, author, and advocate who has dedicated her career to expanding access to democracy and opportunity. She served as minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives and was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2018 and 2022, endorsed by Reproductive Freedom for All. Her latest book is a political thriller called Coded Justice.
Abrams has been a consistent champion for reproductive rights and health care access. She publicly opposed Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, advocated for full Medicaid expansion, and supported policies to address maternal mortality and economic barriers to care.
Initiatives & Work:
- Founder, Fair Fight Action, which has registered and protected millions of voters across the South.
- Founder, New Georgia Project, a non-partisan effort to engage, register and build power for traditionally underrepresented groups like Black, Latino and young voters in Georgia, which registered over 1M Georgians.
- Advocate for Medicaid expansion, paid leave, and maternal health investments.
- Author of multiple bestselling books, including Our Time Is Now and Lead from the Outside.
- Board member and advisor on civic engagement and equity initiatives nationwide.
- 10 Steps campaign founder
About the 10 Steps Campaign
Millions of Americans feel abandoned by a system that no longer serves them. Trust in democratic institutions is eroding, leaving us confused and disengaged. 10 Steps is here to explain what we face and help us fight back.
The 10 Steps campaign is a nationwide mobilization and education effort led by Stacey Abrams. Together, we can build something stronger than fear. We build a better democracy. We build freedom. We build power.
🔎 Closer Look: “Democracy Has to Deliver”
We once shared a common destination: democracy. Now, one side is fighting for freedom for all, and the other is sprinting toward authoritarian power.
Stacey doesn’t mince words: the U.S. isn’t inching toward authoritarianism—we’re already in it.
She walks Mini through what she calls the 10 Steps to Autocracy—a pattern that shows up in authoritarian regimes around the world and throughout history:
- Win the last fair election
- Expand executive power
- Weaken checks and balances
- Gut the government: break it so it stops delivering for people
- Install loyalists instead of qualified leaders
- Attack the media/true reporting and flood the zone with propaganda
- Scapegoat vulnerable communities—immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, people of color, women, and demonize DEI
- Destroy support systems like Planned Parenthood, universities, legal aid, and philanthropy
- Normalize state violence and fear.
- End democracy: hold elections where the outcomes are already rigged
Her point isn’t to scare us for the sake of it—it’s to make sure we see the moment clearly. Dobbs isn’t a standalone disaster—it was evidence of the fall of democracy. Cuts to Medicaid and “defunding” Planned Parenthood, and weaponizing ACA tax credit negotiations to ban abortion are by design.
These are all steps in the same plan: concentrate power and strip away freedom to control our own bodies and futures.
🔑 Key Take Aways: 10 Steps to Freedom and Power
“I believe in this country and I believe in our people, and I think we deserve more. And we deserve reproductive freedom because it is how we guarantee all of our freedoms.” —Stacey Abrams
The hopeful turn: if there are 10 steps into authoritarianism, there are also 10 steps out.
Stacey sketches out a path to freedom and power that mirrors what the reproductive freedom movement has already been doing for decades:
10 Steps to Freedom
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Share
Stay informed and share the facts on social media and in your social circle—not just why you care, but ways you’re taking action.
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Organize
Create a group of friends and family to work toward a common goal. Explore ways to get involved with Reproductive Freedom for All.
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Mobilize
Take action together! It’s not about size but consistent movement.
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Litigate
Use the courts where we can, knowing they’re imperfect but still important terrain.
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Disrupt
Refuse to let opponents define the terms. Push back against disinformation, and when they twist “freedom” into a weapon against us.
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Deny
Refuse to be complicit in how authoritarians strip us of our language, engagement and connections. Create community, practice non-violent civil disobedience, and boycott groups that are hurting us.
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Engage
Meet people where they are, not where we wish they were. Ask what they’re afraid of, and connect the dots back to power and control.
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Elect
When you vote for people, you’re “hiring” the folks to represent you. Elect people who are loyal to democracy and human dignity—not to an authoritarian movement or one man.
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Demand
Don’t stop at “saving” what we have. Insist on the next layer of rights, care, and safety our communities deserve.
3 Ways to Get Started
Join the 10 Steps Campaign
Together, we can build something stronger than fear. We build a better democracy. We build freedom. We build power. Learn More.
Get Involved with Reproductive Freedom for All
There are so many ways to get involved, both in person and virtually, so sign up today to get started.
Text POD to 59791
Sign up to get involved with Reproductive Freedom for All when you text POD to 59791.
🤿 Dive Deeper: Why Abortion, DEI, and Democracy Are Inseparable
Abrams reframes DEI in a way that feels especially relevant for the repro space:
- Diversity = all people
- Equity = fair access to opportunity
- Inclusion = whose belonging is respected
That’s the basic architecture of democracy. And that’s exactly why the authoritarian right is attacking it—alongside abortion, contraception, IVF, and voting rights.
On the pod, Stacey and Mini connect the dots:
- Dobbs isn’t just about abortion—it’s about who gets to participate in education and the economy.
- Attacks on birth control and IVF are the next phase of the same project: forcing a “domestic supply” of certain kinds of babies, while denying everyone else autonomy.
- DEI bans, anti-trans attacks, and voter suppression are all about narrowing who counts as fully human and fully American.
🇺🇸 America’s 3 Doors to Opportunity—and How Authoritarians Slam Them Shut
Stacey describes three main “doors” into the American dream:
- Education – what you know
- Economy – what you can do
- Elections – who’s in charge
Authoritarian movements attack all three at once:
- Dobbs and abortion bans block people from finishing school, staying in the workforce, or planning their families on their own terms.
- Cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and ACA subsidies make it harder to get basic care, much less reproductive health care.
- Voter suppression, gerrymandering, and gutting the Voting Rights Act rig the rules so the same minority keeps power—even when most people disagree.
When you see it through that lens, Stacey argues, there is no “middle position” on abortion bans or gutting health care. There’s just a democracy that protects people — or an authoritarian movement that sacrifices them.
“I do not understand the willingness that so many continue to have to say that there is some ‘middle position’ to have [on abortion access],” says Stacey. “What’s the middle position on discrimination? What’s the middle position on denying the humanity of a woman to make the decision about whether she can create a family or not? We are having the wrong debates. People are dying.”
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.
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