Episodes

On Monday, May 17th, the Supreme Court announced that they would hear a court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (JWHO), out of Mississippi that seeks to ban almost all abortion at 15 weeks or later. Dr. Daniel Grossman, obstetrician/gynecologist, Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California San Francisco, and Director of a policy-based research program within the OB/GYN Department entitled Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), sits down with us in this emergency podcast episode to discuss the gestational bans at the center of the case that strikes at the heart of Roe.

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Note: This episode was recorded before the Supreme Court agreed to hear Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, a challenge to Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban.

While Roe v. Wade may be the law of the land, abortion has always been inaccessible and a right on paper only for so many in the United States. Since the passage of Roe, there have been 1,200 abortion restrictions enacted, with 2021 on track to be one of the worst years for abortion restrictions. Jamille Fields-Allsbrook, Director of Women’s Health and Rights at the Center for American Progress and Nora Ellmann, Research Associate for Women’s Health and Rights at the Center for American Progress, sit down to talk with us about what actions need to be taken to ensure a proactive abortion agenda for the U.S. from their report, A Proactive Abortion Agenda: Federal and State Policies To Protect and Expand Access.

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We have just passed 100 days of the Biden-Harris Administration! Christina Krysinski, Counsel and Senior Manager of Policy at NARAL Pro-Choice America sits down to talk with us about the reproductive health and rights victories achieved during this period, as well as what the administration can do more of to ensure health and rights for all.

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Last week the Biden took two actions to expand access to reproductive health care: the FDA lightening restrictions to medication abortion access during the pandemic and the Biden administration beginning its rollback of Trump’s harmful Title X program rules. Deepika Srivastava, Policy Analyst at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Nina Serriane, Legislative Affairs Manager at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, celebrate the recent changes in access to medication abortion and the lifting of restrictions on the national Title X program with us.

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April 11 – 17, 2021, marks the fourth annual Black Maternal Health Week. In this bonus episode, Dr. Jamila Perritt, board certified OB/GYN and President and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health and Dr. Mishka S. Peart, OB/GYN and fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health, talk to us about the importance of highlighting and discussing the disparities in abortion, contraception, and maternal health access and outcomes for Black people in the United States

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LGBTQ+ people, overall, lack equal rights and access in the United States. In fact, in most of the U.S., LGBTQ+ people face discrimination in housing, credit, public accommodations, jury service, and other public arenas that don’t directly involve marriage or employment. It’s also no secret that Republicans around the country have been passing legislation for years that attacks the health and rights of transgender people. Charlotte Clymer, writer, LGBTQ+ advocate, and Director of Communications and Strategy at Catholics for Choice, talks to us about how state attacks on transgender rights are contributing to the lack of protections for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S.

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Gender-based violence, or GBV, is harm perpetrated against a person’s will on the basis of their gender or gender characteristics. It is such a widespread global issue that 1 in 3 women have reported experiencing some form of gender-based violence. Gayatri Patel, Director of Gender Advocacy at CARE USA, talks to us about ­­­­this universal issue.

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Catholics have abortions at the same rate as others in the U.S. 58% of Catholics believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 68% of Catholics in the U.S. do not want to see Roe v. Wade overturned. Jamie Manson, President of Catholics for Choice, talks to us about all of the ways that Catholicism deeply impacts the human rights of many in the United States.

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“Bridgerton” is a 2020 Netflix show that follows the fictional Bridgerton siblings as they seek love in Regency-era London. The first season features plots relating to maternal mortality, consent, sex education, and much, much more. Laura D. Lindberg, Principal Research Scientist for the Guttmacher Institute, talks to us about the sexual and reproductive health issues that Bridgerton explores, and the ways in which sex education today may be just as hard to access as it was in 1813 London.

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This week we are doing things a little differently! To celebrate rePROs Fight Back’s 100th episode, host Jennie Wetter will be answering questions sent in by listeners. This week, sit back, relax, and get to know the rePROs Fight Back host just a bit better!

You can learn more about Jennie here. If you ever have any questions for Jennie or the rePROs Fight Back team, you can email jennie@reprosfightback.com. Thank you for supporting us these past 100 episodes. We’ll see you for the next 100!

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Medication abortion provides safe, effective, and time-sensitive medical care to patients that require an abortion. Unfortunately, medication abortion faces multiple restrictions in the U.S., with the Supreme Court recently ruling that reinstates an FDA requirement that patients must access the medication in-person. Especially in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, these restrictions are not only unnecessary, but blatantly dangerous. Dr. Jamila Perritt, a board-certified OBGYN and family planning specialist, and President and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health, talks to us about these restrictions and how they are impacting people’s access to basic abortion care, in and outside of the context of the pandemic.

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Clinics that are funded by Title X provide critical family planning care to many around the U.S. This care includes pelvic exams, STD testing and treatment, cancer screenings, birth control prescription services, and more. The Trump administration’s 2019 administrative rule, sometimes referred to as the domestic gag rule, has completely gutted the Title X program. Robin Summers, Vice President of Healthcare Strategy and Analysis and Senior Council at the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), talks to us about how the Title X program has been impacted by the Trump administration’s harmful rule, and how the incoming Biden-Harris administration can repair it.

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Reproductive Justice is the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities. Monica Raye Simpson, Executive Director of SisterSong, Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, sits down with us to talk about how the framework of reproductive justice is deeply interwoven into events that are currently happening in the United States.

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Health care is a human right and yet immigrants in the US cannot receive appropriate health insurance coverage or healthcare because of their immigration status. Abbey Zhu, member of the Chicago chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), Luisa Cuautle, activist with the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (NLIRJ) and Candace Gibson, Associate Director of Government Relations at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice sit down with us to talk about the HEAL for Immigrant Women and Families Act and how the legislation will ensure access to quality, affordable, and dependable healthcare coverage for all immigrants.

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The Blueprint for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice (the Blueprint) lays out a comprehensive, proactive domestic and foreign policy agenda to achieve reproductive health, rights, and justice, envisioning a future that sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice advocates would like to live in. Michelle Batchelor, Vice President of Government Affairs at In Our Own Voice-- National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda and Caitlin Horrigan, Director of Global Advocacy at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, sit down with us to discuss.

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The International Center for Research on Women defines feminist foreign policy as “the policy of a state that defines its interactions with other states and movements in a manner that prioritizes gender equality and enshrines the human rights of women and other marginalized groups, allocates significant resources to achieve that vision and seeks, through its implementation, to disrupt racist, patriarchal and male-dominated power structures across all levers of influence, such as aid, trade, defense, diplomacy, and that this is informed by the voices of feminist groups, activists, and movements at home and abroad.” Lyric Thompson, Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy at the International Center for Research on Women, and leader of the Coalition for a Feminist Foreign Policy in the United States, sits down to talk to us about the significance of feminist foreign policy, and how it can be achieved.

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Infertility is estimated to impact 10 to 15 percent of couples in the United States, making it the most common disease of people between the ages of 20 and 45. Frankie Robertson, with the National Birth Equity Collaborative and the Amandla Group, takes time to talk to us about the intricacies of infertility and why we need to look at it as a reproductive justice issue.

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Newly-appointed Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett has a proven track record of being a very conservative judge on issues like sexual violence, the Affordable Care Act, LGBTQ+ rights, and reproductive health and rights. In her confirmation hearing, Justice Barrett refused to answer many questions surrounding abortion, in vitro fertilization, and birth control. Caroline Reilly, legal fellow with Rewire News Group, talks to us about Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s past experience and personal views could certainly influence the future of health and rights in the United States.

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This week we are doing things a little differently! Long time listeners have probably heard our SRHR Hero Origin Stories podcast AND our SRHR Hero Origin Stories podcast: Round 2, where we talked to a number of amazing heroes in the field of reproductive health, rights, and justice and heard about how they began working in this space. We have reprised our most popular podcast episodes and talked to more leaders about their work, their passions, and their journeys into reproductive health for a third time!

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Note: Check out our introductory episode on the Global Gag Rule to learn more. You can also access our episode on the Global Gag Rule Two Years In: What Are We Seeing?

The Global Gag Rule has interfered with HIV prevention and contraceptive access and has increased unintended pregnancy and abortion rates. The Trump administration has engaged in unprecedented expansion of this rule (endangering the health and lives of millions around the world) and is looking to further expand who the gag rule applies to. Beirne Roose-Snyder, Director of Public Policy at the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) talks to us about the continuation of these harmful expansions even though 70 percent of Americans oppose the Global Gag Rule.

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