U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CNN that draconian abortion laws in Alabama and elsewhere will backfire and prevent the hiring of talent and businesses. Alabama Public Radio reported on similar opinions during part fourteen of its series “Should I Stay, or Should I go?”
Raimondo appeared on CNN’s State of the Union program on Sunday. In response to a question from host Dana Bash on anti-abortion legislation at the state level, Ramondo said…
“…this is obviously not an area that I'm focused on as Commerce Secretary, I'm very proud of the president for standing up for women and women's access to health care. And I'll tell you, as a business issue, the moves that Republicans are making a wrongheaded apart from the fact that women deserve full access to the full range of health care that they deserve. businesses aren't going to want to do business in states that are hostile to women.”
Alabama Public Radio listeners heard similar opinions during part fourteen of a series titled “Should I Stay, or Should I Go?” APR undertook this collection of reports over a year ago to address why skilled and educated workers are leaving the Gulf coast for other parts of the country. Devin Ford is a Mobile area entrepreneur and supporter of women owned businesses. She told APR the way the Gulf coast treats female entrepreneurs and business owners is vastly different from what she encountered during her time in Los Angeles.
“I really felt supported by my city, government and my state government in a way that I don't feel here,” said Ford. She runs a photography business and also owns a website called FOCUS which encourages, educates, and empowers businesswomen. Ford doesn’t mince words when it comes to how she sees conservative politics making Alabama an unwelcoming place for women.
“People can say whatever negative things they want to say about in California, but they really put their money where their mouth is to support you,” Ford insist. “One of the big stark differences to me is people talk about Jesus a lot here. But I felt like I lived in West Hollywood, that that was a much more Christ like community.”
Ford believes actions by Alabama lawmakers to outlaw abortion are basically pulling in the welcome mat, not only for women, but also big international companies that benefit the region. Commerce Secretary Raimondo continued her thoughts on this subject during CNN’s State of the Union Program.
“And so I think that this is a very poor decision just from a business matter, like businesses want to do business in places where there's top talent and in places where you can get women to work in the best, most talented women to work in businesses. And I bet they're gonna see these draconian wrongheaded actions as it relates to reproductive health care are going to backfire as it relates to their ability to attract talent and attract business,” she said.
You can listen to more of APR’s series “Should I Stay, or Should I go” by clicking below.