Ilana Rubel Breaks Down Idaho’s Abortion Ban

An Honorable Profession

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In today’s episode, Ryan Coonerty sits down with the Idaho House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel for an energizing conversation on reproductive rights, governing in a superminority, and the November outlook from the Gem State. Rubel is a shining example of beating the odds; she was born in Canada to a single mother and lived out of a car throughout her childhood years. Armed with a keen understanding of how policy impacts the most vulnerable communities, Rubel found her way to D.C. to attend Georgetown University and then to Cambridge to receive her J.D. from Harvard Law School. Now, as the Democratic leader in the Idaho House of Representatives, she continues to beat the odds, winning approval for legislation to protect public schools, defend the right to contraceptives, and legalize fentanyl testing strips. During her interview, Rubel breaks down the pending Supreme Court case on Idaho’s new law that prevents abortions for women experiencing dire medical conditions, and she describes the economic consequences of the state’s abortion ban along with the mass exodus of qualified medical professionals from Idaho. She also provides an analysis of the political landscape of Idaho heading into November and what issues will be key to voters in her community this year.

• [01:04] Idaho Representative Ilana Rubel updates listeners on happenings in her State.

• [04:54] The current lawsuit around the legal implications of Idaho’s abortion ban.

• [07:05] How the people of Idaho are reacting to the extremity of this ban.

• [08:40] Systems in Idaho that have led to the lack of public opinion representation in the law.

• [12:41] Impacts that the republican changes have made to business.

• [14:54] Representative Rubel’s path to public service rooted in her own experience.

• [17:50] Some of the surprising things she has been able to achieve even as a minority.

• [19:58] How she navigates door-knocking and interfacing with Republican constituents.

• [21:37] Advice for minority Democrats in Republican states.

• [23:54] How she hopes to create change as a leader.

• [26:04] Candidate recruitment in Idaho.