SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In her brief tenure as an elected official, California Meeting member Buffy Wicks hasn’t been shy about sharing her most intimate well being care struggles with the general public.
In her very first speech within the Meeting, Wicks, a Democrat who has represented Oakland since late 2018, informed the story of her abortion at age 26. She has additionally spoken publicly about her choice to freeze her eggs.
In 2020, through the harrowing first 12 months of the covid-19 pandemic, Wicks made nationwide headlines when she voted within the Meeting chamber together with her toddler daughter, Elly, in her arms — after her request to vote by proxy was denied by Meeting Speaker Anthony Rendon. And in September, she had an emergency abortion after discovering out that she was pregnant and miscarrying, an ordeal she tweeted about final month.
“All of this stuff, I believe, formed who I’m as a lawmaker, which makes me wish to work on ladies’s points,” stated Wicks, 44, who beforehand labored in public outreach within the Obama White Home and for liberal political organizations corresponding to Priorities USA Motion, one of many largest Democratic tremendous PACs.
Wicks, a rising voice on well being care coverage in California, stated she grew up taking with no consideration the correct to an abortion, one thing she thought was settled and guarded by the 1973 Supreme Court docket choice Roe v. Wade. However, now, the conservative-leaning excessive court docket is contemplating strict abortion bans in Texas and Mississippi and weighing whether or not Roe v. Wade ought to stand.
Wicks stated she intends to work carefully with Deliberate Parenthood this 12 months on laws to make sure everybody has entry to abortion in California — together with ladies from out of state. Deliberate Parenthood has given at the very least $14,000 to her campaigns and particular causes since she started working for workplace in 2017, in keeping with a KHN evaluation of marketing campaign contributions. Wicks’ marketing campaign made a $1,500 contribution to Deliberate Parenthood Mar Monte in 2021.
She stated she additionally plans to deal with homelessness amongst ladies and kids and to push for stronger covid vaccine necessities. Wicks stated she’s able to proceed the work of state Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), who has performed an important position within the toughening of childhood vaccine necessities.
Pan will depart workplace after this 12 months due to time period limits, and Wicks — who tried and failed over the summer time to cross a invoice requiring covid vaccination for workers and prospects of sure companies — stated she needs to debate the difficulty once more this 12 months.
Wicks just lately met with KHN’s Rachel Bluth through Zoom to speak about bringing her private well being experiences into her policymaking — and what to anticipate in well being care coverage this 12 months. The interview has been edited for size and readability.
Q: Why did you tweet the story of your emergency abortion from September?
I used to be simply infuriated once I was listening to the Supreme Court docket dialogue round Roe v. Wade. We felt like this choice has been made. As a nation, we imagine that girls ought to have entry to abortion care and that is simply our actuality. The truth that it’s being so severely undermined is simply infuriating to me.
These tales must be informed as a result of persons are making huge coverage selections which have a direct impression on folks’s lives. My skill to share my story paints an actual image of what’s taking place in folks’s lives and that this care is so necessary for folks to obtain.
Q: As different states prohibit abortion rights, what ought to California do?
We’re going to say ladies have the correct to this care. They deserve this care. It’s a part of their human proper to have the ability to entry this care, and we’re going to do every little thing we are able to to assist it in all kinds of how: guaranteeing that we have now the suitable workforce to ship the care; guaranteeing that issues like value for journey and youngster care and misplaced wages, and different issues like that, are addressed; guaranteeing that our younger persons are educated when it comes to sexual training.
Q: What proposals do you propose to spearhead?
We could have 1.4 million ladies from out of state displaying up on our doorstep searching for care. And if we do, how are we going to deal with that? Do we have now the infrastructure? Do we have now the suppliers? I’m very excited that we’re even partaking on this dialog.
Q: Along with reproductive well being, what do you suppose are the largest well being points in California proper now?
Vaccines. We’re monitoring the vaccination charge and seeing how omicron goes and what that’s going to imply for us. In case you take a look at hospital charges, it’s nonetheless unvaccinated people who’re ending up within the hospital and unvaccinated people, sadly, passing away from this.
We’re a pair totally different coverage proposals, an employer vaccine mandate in addition to a invoice to require vaccination protection for entry to bars, eating places, gyms, film theaters, sports activities arenas, and so on.
Q: Do you assist including covid vaccines to the checklist of required inoculations for public faculty children?
Completely. Unequivocally.
Q: At this stage within the pandemic, what position do you see for the legislature?
The governor can concern an govt motion saying college students must be vaccinated, however below his authority, the non-public perception exemption nonetheless exists. He doesn’t have the power to shut the non-public perception exemption loophole. I believe we should always take into account giving the governor that authority. We’ve got the power to try this within the legislature, however the legislature doesn’t transfer so rapidly. We transfer at extra of a glacial tempo.
Q: The legislature appears poised for a combat over whether or not to create a single-payer medical health insurance system. Do you suppose it’s going to cross?
It’s formidable, however you don’t make change except you place stuff on the market. It’s necessary to set a imaginative and prescient for what we are able to do, and a big a part of that invoice is aiming to set a imaginative and prescient for what’s within the realm of the attainable. Well being care coverage is sophisticated. You’ve numerous totally different stakeholders in that equation, you’re working with the federal authorities. It’s not like California can design every little thing by itself. We’ve got to be very considerate with how we transfer ahead on that kind of mannequin, however I actually suppose it’s the place we must be going.
Q: You had been just lately named chair of the Meeting Housing and Neighborhood Growth Committee. How do housing and well being intersect?
In case you take a look at Oakland, we had a 47% enhance in homelessness within the two years proper earlier than the pandemic, and I’m positive it’s even worse now. What you see when people are experiencing homelessness is a rise in psychological well being points. It’s severely destabilizing for those that then prices us extra for emergency room care. There’s a direct correlation between people dropping their dwelling and a rise within the want for this sort of very costly care. What we have to do is be sure that we have now extra long-term, everlasting supportive housing.
We’ve got a YIMBY versus NIMBY concern within the state. We’ve got an area management versus state mandate concern within the state. If we are able to simply break a few of that logjam on producing extra housing, we’ll then be sure that these people have higher well being care.