What Happens When a Pro-Life Congresswoman Needs an Abortion?

Tara Palmeri sits down with Republican Congresswoman Kat Cammack of Florida for a wide-ranging and unusually candid conversation. A former Capitol Hill chief of staff before she was elected, Cammack draws on both sides of the power dynamic to describe a culture she calls "college 2.0" — late nights, alcohol, lobbyists, and a steep imbalance that she argues lets harassment flourish among members and staff alike. As chair of the Republican Women's Caucus, she's co-leading a bipartisan working group with Democrat Teresa Leger Fernández to overhaul how misconduct is reported and punished: consolidating the maze of six separate reporting offices into a single "one-stop shop," requiring candidates to disclose past sexual-misconduct settlements, and stripping congressional pensions from those convicted. Tara presses her on the tensions, too — reconciling a zero-tolerance push with supporting a president who has been accused by more than two dozen women, and why she believes the Epstein files (which she says she's called to release since 2021) became a partisan weapon that ultimately hurt survivors. In the most personal stretch of the interview, Cammack recounts the life-threatening ectopic pregnancy that forced her to terminate to save her life, the delays she faced in the ER under Florida's six-week law, the disinformation campaign she says geofenced hospitals to frighten doctors, and the death threats she's received for telling her story. It's an emotional, often-uncomfortable conversation about power, accountability, and the human cost of playing politics with women's health. Note: this episode includes a frank discussion of pregnancy loss and a medical emergency that some viewers may find difficult. Thanks to Ground News for sponsoring the show! Only by using my link, you can get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan! Go to groundnews.com/tara! 5:09 – "DC is Hollywood for ugly people" — and the stories reporters whisper 8:00 – Reporters as targets, too: the vulnerability built into access 11:00 – Leading the bipartisan working group: accountability beyond expulsions 13:21 – Disclosing settlements and stripping pensions for convictions 15:18 – The $17M in hush settlements and the maze of six reporting offices 17:44 – Why these congresswomen took it on, and a "disruptor" generation 19:48 – "Would you call yourself a feminist?" 23:11 – Tara pushes back with the trans-athlete statistics 25:23 – Reconciling the anti-harassment push with supporting Trump 27:00 – Why didn't Trump release the Epstein files? Calling for it since 2021 28:30 – Mace, MTG, and the political cost of demanding transparency 30:16 – What's holding the files back, and statute-of-limitations reform for survivors 33:07 – Her life-threatening ectopic pregnancy 37:11 – "What about the women who don't have a doctor?" The ER delay 38:28 – The geofencing disinformation campaign that scared off doctors 40:12 – The death threats and the "I called the governor" myth 43:49 – Does this make her rethink the law? Women's health beyond one issue 47:25 – Why she told her story: "so one woman felt less alone" 49:18 – Florida, fear, and the broken "sick care" system Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices