Women's Media Center Live with Robin Morgan

WMC Live #463: Messin' With Texas. (Original Airdate 2/9/2025)

·54 min·5 clips

Robin Morgan introduces a survivor of 10 years in Texas prison after discussing a shocking Gaza takeover plan.

The episode opens with Robin Morgan commenting on a political announcement about Gaza, then pivots to introduce guest Marcy Simmons, a survivor of 10 years in Texas prison. Simmons shares how she used social media, gaining 300,000 TikTok followers, to raise awareness about prison conditions and co-founded the Lioness Justice Impacted Women's Alliance. She details the organization's work, which includes collaborating with 500 incarcerated women to gather data and advocate for policy changes. Topics covered include restrictions on abortion access for women on parole in Texas, who are GPS-monitored and cannot leave the state for procedures. Simmons describes the hyper-focus on women's sexuality in prisons, including strip searches and inadequate menstrual products, with women issued only 24 pads and 5 tampons per month. She mentions legislative wins, such as a 2019 law banning shackling of pregnant women, but notes loopholes still allow it. The conversation touches on Simmons meeting her wife in prison and the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals. Morgan expresses awe at Simmons' resilience and the grassroots, led-by-impacted-women approach of Lioness. After the interview, Morgan reads an excerpt from her book 'The Demon Lover,' specifically the chapter 'The Normalization of Terror,' which explores how violence against women is systemic and often overlooked. She reflects on global issues like child labor, refugees, and environmental degradation, framing them as forms of terror. The reading includes personal anecdotes and critiques of patriarchal power, ending with a message of solidarity and resistance. The episode concludes with promotional details and credits.

As heard by us

A Texas prison-health conversation that uses data, policy, and lived experience to expose neglect.

Women's Media Center Live with Robin Morgan starts in a broad register, then settles into a more pointed discussion of women surviving incarceration in Texas.

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Why you'd press play

If Texas prison reproductive care sounds abstract, this one puts the reality in front of you.

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