Episodes

As the holiday season continues and people sit down with their family and friends around dinner tables and fireplaces, personal question and general conversations about current events—some related to sexual and reproductive health and rights and transgender health and rights—may arise. Erin Matson, Co-founder, President, and CEO of Reproaction, sits down to talk with us about how to have difficult conversations, when to engage, and how to build up your boundaries during conversations, confrontations, and questions.

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From the history of how the rePROs Fight Back podcast began to some behind-the-scenes sneak peaks, Tarah Demant, Interim National Director of Programs, Advocacy, and Government Affairs at Amnesty International USA, asks host Jennie Wetter a collection of ask me anything (AMA) questions.

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November 15, 2023, is #ThxBirthControl Day! Everyone deserves access to an array of birth control methods that works best for their body, their life, and their goals. Rachel Fey, Vice President of Policy and Strategic Partnerships at Power to Decide, sits down to talk with us about the importance of accessible contraception and why we should keep an eye out for attacks to birth control.

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Gun violence prevention and domestic violence are inextricably linked. And today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case, U.S. v Rahimi, that could potentially determine the constitutionality of a gun violence prevention law that has saved millions of lives. Sabrina Talukder, Director of the Women’s Initiative at the Center for American Progress, sits down to talk with us about this upcoming Supreme Court case and its implications for those experiencing domestic violence. 

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In the wake of the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion access has become dependent on one’s location. Accessing an abortion involves considerations like employer-sponsored healthcare coverage and taking time off of work. Barbara Camens, union side labor attorney, sits down to talk with us about the importance of access to affordable, comprehensive reproductive health care as part of the collective bargaining process.

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The culture of fear that the anti-abortion movement uses also underlines the anti-queer and anti-transgender movement. Garnet Henderson, Senior Multiplatform Reporter for Rewire News Group and host and producer of ACCESS: A Podcast About Abortion, sits down to talk with us about how these two movements are connected and how anti-rights actors may influence access to gender-affirming care in the near future.

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The Green Wave movement has swept through Latin America and has increased the liberalization of abortion law. Still, criminalization, and medical privacy and medical secrecy concerns can impact someone’s access to care or have patients and professionals facing prison sentences. Gloria Orrego-Hoyos, fellow with the Health and Human Rights initiative at Georgetown Law’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, sits down to talk with us about the status of criminalization, medical privacy and medical secrecy when it comes to abortion across Latin America.

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Abortions later in pregnancy can occur for a variety of reasons, and the later in pregnancy an abortion is needed, the more barriers patients face in accessing care. Many people in the U.S. who are seeking an abortion are also struggling to piece together resources to pay for care which pushes the timeline for access back farther each week. Dr. Diane Horvath, OBGYN, and Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer at Partners in Abortion Care, sits down to talk with us about the truths and misconceptions about abortions later in pregnancy.

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As an abortion care worker and doula, Hannah Matthews has seen a plethora of abortion journeys and responses. And while statistically nearly everyone knows someone who has or will access an abortion in their lifetime, one-note narratives bolster assumptions and we are awash in a sea of anti-abortion stigma. Hannah Matthews, abortion clinic worker, community care worker, doula, and author, sits down to talk with us about her new book, You or Someone You Love: Reflections from an Abortion Doula, and how to better support those accessing abortion.

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The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade no doubt impacted countless people in the U.S. But there are even some far-reaching impacts in other countries. Bergen Cooper, Director of Policy Research with Fòs Feminista, talks to us about a new organizational report that details Dobb’s ripple effects around the world. We also hear from Sharon Vilegwa with KMET, Daniel Arango with Oriéntame, Dr. Souvik Pyne with CommonHealth, and Ijeoma Egwuatu with GIWYN, global partners with Fòs Feminista, about how the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision has resulted in on-the-ground impacts in Colombia, Kenya, India, and Nigeria.  

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Starting in the late 1970s, people have been serving as clinic escorts at abortion clinics, guarding and protecting patients from anti-abortion protestors. Since then, volunteer clinic escorts have devised several strategies for making sure patients access the care they need and continue to use their bodies as shields against anti-abortion protestors every day. Lauren Rankin, writer, consultant, and author of Bodies on the Line, sits down to talk with us about the history of clinic escorting and the continued need for such a vital community-based practice. 

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Trigger Warning: In this episode we talk about intimate partner violence.

Over the course of a single year, more than 12 million people are victims of intimate partner violence in the United States. In the year since the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the National Domestic Violence Hotline has seen a 98 percent increase in survivors mentioning reproductive coercion as part of their experience as compared to the year before. Marium Durrani, Vice President of Policy at the National Domestic Violence Hotline sits down to talk with us about the rise of intimate partner violence and domestic violence after the overturning of Roe.  

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There have been and continue to be significant bans on abortion in the military (with limited exceptions), through TRICARE and at military treatment facilities. This means most military service members and dependents who need abortion care cannot access it through the military. Jackii Wang, Senior Legislative Analyst with the National Women’s Law Center, sits down to talk with us about a new policy memorandum that expands abortion access for military service members and their dependents.

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Patients needed abortion funds even before the fall of Roe v. Wade in order to access care, but those needs have skyrocketed after Dobbs and as the abortion access landscape becomes more fractured. Tyler Barbarin, Director of Grants and Development for the Louisiana Abortion Fund, sits down to talk with us about how abortion funds are working overtime to help people access the care they need in the United States.

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On July 13th, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Opill, a progestin-only birth control pill, for over-the-counter sale. The United States will now join over 100 countries where birth control pills are available without a prescription. Victoria Nichols, Project Director with Free the Pill, sits down to talk to us about what this approval means for birth control equity and access for those in the US.  

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Abortion rates around the world have stayed the same since the 1990s—except in countries where abortion restrictions have been newly introduced. Tarah Demant, Interim National Director of Programs, Advocacy and Government Affairs at Amnesty International USA, sits down to talk with us about the countries that have recently introduced abortion restrictions, the countries that have protected abortion care for decades, and what the future of global abortion access looks like moving forward.  

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June 24th, 2023 marks the one-year mark since the overturning of Roe v. Wade via the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court case. Between July and December 2022, an estimated 66,000 people have not been able to access abortion care in their home state. Becca Andrews, reporter at Reckon News and author of No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right, talks to us about the myriad of ways in which the abortion landscape has changed in the past year, including the ways anti-abortion ideology has led to a chipping away at democracy.

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At the end of May, Uganda’s president signed into law a piece of legislation that criminalizes the LGBTQI+ community it includes that death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” creates new crimes around “promotion of homosexuality,” and 10 years in prison for attempted same-sex conduct. Ophelia Kemigisha, human rights lawyer and feminist activist from Uganda, and Beirne Roose-Snyder, Senior Policy Fellow for the Council for Global Equality, sit down to talk with us about Uganda’s new anti-LGBTQI+ law and what human rights advocates can do to work against it.

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One year after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that served as the platform for Roe v. Wade’s overturning, 15 states have now banned all or most abortions. Garnet Henderson, Senior Multiplatform Reporter for Rewire News Group and host and producer of ACCESS: A Podcast About Abortion, sits down to talk with us about the country-wide need for abortion care and violence against providers and clinics, all of which has increased since last June.

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Since the start of the Green Wave movement, multiple countries across Latin America have liberalized their abortion laws. Ivonne Garza, Senior Associate at the O’Neill Institute for National Global Health Law at Georgetown University Law Center and Natalia Acevedo Guerrero, Senior Consultant with the Health and Human Rights Initiative at the O’Neill Institute, sit down to talk with us about recent court cases in Colombia and Mexico and how they have expanded access to abortion care across the region. 

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