Actress and Obama supporter Ashley Judd believes that if Republicans continue to do “dumb things” about women’s reproductive health, they will energize female voters to help re-elect the president in the fall.
"It’s remarkable to me that I would be having conversations with my peers and the younger cohort about access to reproductive health," Judd said. "That’s the same conversation I have with girls and women in Bangladesh."
Judd admitted she became somewhat disenchanted with the president during his early days of his presidency for what she once called "transactional leadership." She maintains, however, that she is "fired up" for the 2012 election and defended President Obama's record saying he, "came in inheriting an extraordinary mess and did his absolute best to do triage."
She later added that now, "he is now able to flower more as the president I knew he could be."
Judd is in Washington to speak on global women’s rights for the International Center for Research on Women’s (ICRW) “Champions for Change” gala. The group has focused on curbing international child marriage by educating women around the world in skills like communications, negotiating in the household, and financial literacy.
She argues that the human element is most important when bringing attention to any issue and that Judd's fame allows her to "give a name and face to the narrative."
You can watch the entire PRESS Pass with Ashley Judd above to hear more of their discussion, including the issue of body image and some of the headlines she's made recently about it.
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So another Bed wetting Actress is willing to pay more of her Multimillion dollar income to support the study of pig farm odor. Good for her.Too bad she could not find a decent charity that really helps people to donate to.
why all the HATE. At least she gets off her a$$ and donates times to causes. More than you will ever do in your lifetime.
I agree with you 100 %!
No one cares what some actor thinks. It would not matter how badly Obama failed, most actors are so stupid they would still pray at the Obama alter.
Why would NBC take the time to talk to someone as stupid as Ashley Judd, and not even mention that the Catholic Church filed a law suit against Obama for the assault on religious freedom? Obama goes after the first amendment and NBC does not even take time to mention that the bishops of 76,000,000 american catholics are suing the liberal Savior (Obama)?
Wow what hate and judgement, you must be a Christian. The stupid part you refer to is your thinking that a religious freedom issue is at stake when it is not. If you conduct a business, what ever that business is, school, hospital or university and you take government money, you must adhere to the same law all other businesses do. If you do not wish to then dont take the money and call yourself a Church
Mark Thatcher, you're an idiot. There are not 76,000.000 American catholics. It is easy to say that the suit is about religious freedom b/c idiots like you feed off of lies and propaganda and start attacking Pres Obama claiming he's anti-religious. The bishops have it wrong. This is not a 1st amendment religious issue, but rather about women and their ability to choose birth control for themselves. Many catholic women use birth control pills or other methods to prevent pregnancies, and the Catholic church knows that they do. So, the bishops are way out of line by telling women they shouldn't use birth control pills. The bishops should stick to doing what they do best, whatever that is, and keep their officious intermeddling noses out of womens' lives. Intelligent well-read persons also know that birth control medications are prescribed by doctors for medical conditions other than for birth control. But you wouldn't know that fact b/c you're an idiot and someone who doesn't keep up with what's going on in the world.
If anyone is stupid, it's not Ashley Judd! You're the stupid one for commenting on an issue that is way over your stupid, idiotic head!
Mark, it is obvious that the two responders have no idea of what the constitution is or any of the Amendments. The politicians do not read the bills that are put in front of them before they vote on them and most Americans do not read the Constitution that is supposed to show us what our rights are and what powers are afforded to the people that seemingly "rule" us.
The Constitution now is relegated to an "old dusty document" status that is "interpreted" by the Supreme Court and ignored by our elected representatives that admittedly do not take it into account when they make law. There will be a new awakening sooner or later, but that may be long after I am dead and gone.
Any President who uses the Office of The President of The United States to denounce and condemn in the strongest possible terms the exercise of First Amendment liberities by a US citizen within the continental US because Afghanis in Afghanistan might find the content of the expression offensive vehemently opposes the Constitution, In addition, any President of the United States in his office who vows to track down and hold accountable any US troop who may dare to treat a copy of a book he has decreed to be holy as mere common trash and then dispose of that trash pursuant to Military Regulations excedes the scope of his authority and violates the US Constitution. The list with Obama is endless. Ms. Judd's described 'incredible devotion to the Constitution by Mr. Obama' is an incredible devotion to deny it validity in his term. Ms. Judd was apparently passed by Harvard in her Constitution law classes for social reasons not for her scholarship.
Can you put two thoughts together and make a point please. I think you should turn Faux news off for a while , it's affecting your brain
Another idiot response by someone who is way out of their league, commenting on an issue that is beyond their comprehension. You have it wrong buddy b/c Pres Obama did not denounce or condemn anyone exercising their 1st amendment Liberties. This issue is about a woman's right to choose birth control. It is not about religious freedom, religious practice, religious worship, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, or right to petition the government for redress of grievances, all 1st Amendment guarantees.
Before choosing to comment publicly on other issues, take a class on critical thinking and take a class on how to express yourself well in writing. Your comment is poorly written: just words piled on top of each other without meaning. Also, start reading the U.S. Constitution before you make any more stupid comments that reveal your stupidity. You might learn a thing or two.
Socorro-3345362, I guess you haven't read the Constitution recently and should look it up on the internet. It is in several places and easy to read. There are only 9 pages and although easy to read, you need to have the comprehension over that of at third grader to understand what it is saying. Perhaps you could go to an elementary school to get help in that regard. I forgot, they don't teach the constitution anymore; which may be the problem we are having today with the laws that are being made. The legislators don't comprehend what freedom is anymore either.
Thank you, Ms. Judd for bringing to the forefront the many human rights violations inflicted on women in this world. Assisting these countries in any way will require governments to empower the women in them to balance out power differentials. Great job!
WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? Look around you, be aware. Women are being treated like crap and all you guys have to say is BS!!
Oh, exactly right Kathy. You have fallen into the Obama lead beleif that all male conservatives hate women. Another wedge that this president has driven between the genders, races, political parties, religion etc. All of which is make-believe so that he can generate votes. Who cares what some so-called-actress believes......There is No War Against Women.
I guess probing a woman's Vagina for no good reason is not an attack on woman? How about limiting access to birth control and or abortion services? I'll take it even one step further for all you Republican dictators, trying to limit the vote in every state that has a Republican Governor will not work either. The electorate in this country are not stupid
Michael Brown-3548322, Keep going with the "There is no war against women" rant and you will see a GOP massacre in November. You seem to forget that women make up more than 50% of this country and have the right to vote. Keep getting women fired up and the GOPs power will be squashed.
The war against women is something to rile up Obama's base and he is doing a great job of it. He was supposed to be the great uniter and now shows us that he is a DIVIDER.
It always amazes me at the distortion of Truth that Republicans will stoop to. The right wing Christians have started their on religion as they can no longer be called followers of Y'shua (Jesus). They mock Him by their hate they spew at anyone who has a different opinion. They preach Murder to doctors who offer woman abortions when Scripture is clearly against them but they are to stupid to realize they are being used by the powers who have been against abortion and contraception all along. You will be judged for your folly, remember the parable about the richman and the Lazarus.
"...and when a girl gets married, it constrains her economic and educational development...."
Good grief, Charlie Brown.
Perhaps Ms. Judd should take a gander at the inner city and families in which girls are NOT married. Having babies and relying on THE MAN (the nanny state Ms. Judd and here acolytes of the left love so much).
Meanwhile, these 'girls' live in poverty, crime, urban blight.
Ashley Judd is another example of reflexive, liberal 'first stage thinking.' She offers pablum to fawning journalists and well meaning folk, suggesting band-aids and nostrums; but little else to to address the seminal causes of our culture's maladies.
They rely on the MAN, as in the father? The MAN being the one that impregnated the woman, because he was too consumed by his own selfish pleasure to even think about wearing a condom? Oh I forgot, the MAN doesn't stick around to be depended on. The MAN doesn't get held accountable at all, because it is all the WOMAN's fault.
Just wondering if that is how you look at your mother? Your wife? Your sister? Your daughter? Or are they all different, because they are part of your family?
Morgan1234, May I remind you of the man that has 30 children by 11 women? Is there no personal responsibility by all that are involved? Is is JUST the man or JUST the women or are both equally responsible?
Personal responsibility is something this nation was built on and has gone by the wayside. It is no longer taught and we suffer as a nation because of it.
Ashley Judd is an extremely intelligent and articulate young woman who has been chosen to speak on behalf of global women’s rights for the International Center for Research on Women’s (ICRW) “Champions for Change”. As Ashley put it,
her celebrity allows her to "give a name and face to the narrative."
Like Ashley, I am completely taken aback by the fact that we are having conversations in this country about access to women’s reproductive health. These are the same
conversations that are being had in third world countries. We are once again, having to reengage in old, hard fought battles for basic human rights for women. Here we are in the 21st Century with knuckle dragging throwbacks in the extreme right trying their best to undo decades of progress and as usual, declaring in their puffed up self-righteous way that it is all in the name of God. Spare me the Charlton Heston, Summon on the Mount, burning bush rhetoric. Women in this country should be fired up right now and fighting mad that their rights are once again on the cutting
board. The Republicans say they are all about a smaller central government, but they have no qualms in reversing laws that protect woman and their reproductive rights. They would also set about dismantling Planned Parenthood and thereby depriving a large number of poor and disenfranchised women in this country of the medical care they need and deserve acess to. Theirs is a shortsighted, dictatorial platform with absolutely no concern for the well being and individual rights of women.
The fact is the true meaning and benevolence of Christianity has been so completely distorted and exploited by the so called conservative right that it is no longer recognizable. It has become nothing more than a club in which to beat people over the head with and to inject baseless fear into the masses.
If we hope to survive this rightwing siege of extremism that has taken center stage
in our country, we need to reengage with our social and civil conscience. If we
do nothing to counter this movement we will end up traveling back through time
to an era of great ignorance and darkness and we will be profoundly worse for
the experience.
in our current social condition, women have the right to get birth control products and also have the right to abort their children if they so choose. The President has said that the right to have these 'products' is so dire that they should all be FREE and paid for in his Obamacare law. There are some persons and organizations that disagree with the giving of these products for FREE. THAT is the argument. No-one wants to restrict access to contraceptive devices and the argument by some groups that there is some nefarious program underway to restrict access is crazy.
The women of the left want everyone out of their bedroom and allow them to do as they please. I have no problem with that but you are dragging me in there whey you insist that I pay for your contraception devices.
I want a Harley Davidson motorcycle because it will relax me when I am driving it on weekends when I am home, but I don't think that the rest of America should have to pay for what I consider my recreation. I am not willing to share my motorcycle with anyone else, but if everyone else is paying for it shouldn't they also be able to ride it?
Why should I be expected to pay for the recreation that you are having in your bedroom when I am not an active participant?
The more women's voices are heard to bring about the president's re-election, the better. Ashley Judd is extremely articulate and obviously does her "homework" in order to enlighten us. We cannot afford to elect (or re-elect) Republicans who choose to ignore women's issues and their point of view.
There are those that say that contraceptive devices will be restricted if Republicans get their way. Not true. they will still be available at Planned Parenthood for free if you meet the income requirements for free pills. Now that all contraceptive services will be free from Obamacare, and they will be doing all of the women's healthcare needs for free, I guess we can save some money and cut off the funding to Planned Parenthood once the law is in effect.
Everything will be FREE right? Why fund an organization that does this 'service' if they are doing the same thing in Obamacare?
The more women's voices are heard that result in Pres. Obama's re-election, the better. Ashley Judd is extremely articulate, and clearly does her "homework" before speaking. We cannot afford to elect (or re-elect) Republicans who have turned a deaf ear to women's issues.
As a life-long pentecostal christian I have always believed in the sanctity of life! However, I am a christian that believes in Christ's living example of love for all even when some of us are failing to live according to our better nature. So anyone who tries to use christianity as a justification HATE, discrimination, or limitation of the rights of others, I consider a hypocrite and non-believer. And when they stand before the throne they will be surprised to hear, "Depart from Me, I don't know you!" Women, gays, lesbians, and the trans-gendered, have suffered enough at the hands of closed minded fake christian men and women, for far too long! Those of us who are christian and believe the way I do cannot stay silent any longer. Our silence gives the bigoted voices safe harbor. Ashley Judd please know that there are far more of us that agree with you than the extremely loud few who don't!
I'm so glad you posted this Palex, more people need to be reminded of who Jesus is. Religon (man made rules) kill love. True Christian people understand the first commandment is love.
Those who continue to promote the falsehood that President Obama is trying to limit religious freedom should be ashamed!! The constitution expressly forbids the establishment of "state" religion and establishes a clear separation of church and state. This was done not only to protect the indiviual right to worship as we please from state infringement; but more importantly to protectect us from each other. I am a pentecostal christian who has very strong beliefs. However, I do not feel that I have the right to impose my beliefs on any other citizen period! The reason for this should be clear to all. If the government allows me to impose my religious beliefs on others now because my religious beliefs happen to be in vogue. Then when my beliefs are no longer in vogue, the statecan impose whatever new religious beliefs upon me in the future.
Therefore, those christians who use christianity as a justification for HATE, discrimination, and bigotry should remember two things. First, Christ was our living example of love. He loves all not because we are perfect, but simply because we ARE, even when we fail to live up to our better selves. Second, we will be judged ultimately by how we treat our brother and sister here on earth.
Women, gays, and the trans-gendered have been persecuted enough by fake christians throughout history. Those of us who belive in the unconditional love of Christ must no longer remain silent in the face of this. Our silence give safe harbor to the vociferous few who twist and distort the message of Christ. So Ashley Judd feel comforted in knowing that there are more of us christians that belive and support the views that you are so courageously championing!
The MAN is the govt. Women across the world deserve the same equal human rights as men. Yes, she can use her own money if that is what she chooses and more power to her! But, America's economy is the first thing on my list in this election, which, Obama has failed miserably!
Ashley Judd and her liberal ilk are a contradiction to common sense. Let's just look at this blatant contradiction.....Abortion falls under the "Reproductive Health" umbrella. Don't make me laugh!! Call it what it is, which is ending a heartbeat, which is KILLING. If it has a heartbeat it is ALIVE. If there is not a heartbeat it is DEAD. Nothing "reproductively healthy" about that AT ALL. Just re-name it if it makes you uncomfortable. It's a LIE plain and simple.
Shut up and act....thats what you get paid to do.....if you want to get into politics, run for office. Just because you made a couple of lousy movies, doesn't make you a "mental giant". And because you support Obama you obviously aren't.
Since Obamacare is now going to provide all of the women's healthcare services for FREE, we will no longer have to fund Planned Parenthood since it does the same thing as Obamacare does. Everything will be FREE with Obamacare, so why fund another program that is run by an evil private corporation?
To bad they do not interview her Mother or Sister who are both conservative women.