Planned Parenthood's Alexis McGill Johnson — 2024 "Is The Most Important Election of Our Lifetime" (EXCLUSIVE)

When Alexis McGill Johnson took the stage at the 2024 MAKERS Conference, it was just seven days after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos created through in-vitro fertilization should be considered children.

The President and CEO of Planned Parenthood spoke on a series of issues at the event, including women's reproductive rights and maternal health, but it was hard to ignore the elephant in the room.

In an exclusive chat with Distractify, Alexis opened up about abortion bans, the dissolution of Roe v. Wade, and how important the 2024 election is for everyone, including women.

One of the recurring topics at the 2024 MAKERS Conference — a Yahoo media property and community brand focused on accelerating equity for women in the workplace— was how abortions would be a driving issue in the upcoming election, but there is still a lot of misinformation about the medical procedure.

"Reproductive freedom is tied up in these fights around power and control," Alexis told Distractify. "These are really proxy fights. I think it's really important to tie folks together. A majority of people believe that our reproductive rights or medical decisions should be made by us."

While American voters are having deja vu when it comes to the 2024 election, Alexis wants to remind voters that now is not the time to be complacent, even if you live in a state where you still have abortion access.

Those rights have to be fought for and maintained.

"I think it starts to get passé to say this is the most important election of our lifetime, but this actually really is the most important election of our lifetime," Alexis explained. "We understand that when democracy is on the line, abortion... stripping away rights from half the population is the first thing you do before you descend into authoritarian regime."

Before the Alabama Supreme Court decision regarding IVF embryos, near-total abortion bans were enforced in 12 states including Idaho and Texas — with many states challenging the rulings in state court. In March 2024, the battle for access to the abortion pill will also begin in the the U.S. Supreme Court, and the list goes on and on.

"What we are seeing as a laser focus of folks who are anti reproductive freedom," Alexis said of the slew of anti-abortion laws taking effect. "We have the same power to do it on the other side, and in fact, we have more people to do it on the other side.”

"So you know, for me, what should give people hope is the fact that the blueprint is not complicated, right? It is basically just engaging in democracy. But it is critically important in this moment to really understand how those things fit together."

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