Episodes

On May 2nd, 2022, a Politico article was released that contained a leaked copy of the Supreme Court’s draft decision of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that would most likely have been released formally in June or July of this year. The leaked decision, penned by Justice Samuel Alito, overturns Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that guaranteed the constitutionality of abortion in the U.S. Caroline Reilly, Reporting Fellow with Rewire News Group, sits down to talk with us about the recent leaked draft and what this decision means for the future of abortion in America.

Read More

Note: We recorded this episode prior to the leaked document showing the Supreme Courts intent to overturn the right to abortion. While unfortunately we don’t talk about it in the episode we will be recording an emergency episode soon to talk about what happened.

Women and girls in the Pacific region face a variety of barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare. Geographic isolation, lack of bodily autonomy, and some of the world’s highest rates of sexual and gender-based violence contribute to high maternal mortality, low contraceptive prevalence and pervasive gender inequality. Myths and misconceptions around sex, reproduction and gender norms are rife, creating stigma and further impacting access to SRHR services. Kelly Durrant, External Relations Director at MSI Asia Pacific, speaks to us about addressing some of these challenges.

Read More

Trigger Warning: In this episode we talk about intimate partner violence. If you need help or to talk to someone you can call or chat the National Domestic Violence Hotline at https://www.thehotline.org/ 1-800-799-SAFE or the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) at https://www.rainn.org/ 1-800-656-HOPE.

Intimate partner violence (IPV), or abuse or aggression in intimate or romantic relationships, takes many forms, including physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, financial violence, and psychological aggression. Monica Edwards, Federal Policy Manager at Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity (URGE), talks to us about the ways in which IPV and reproductive health, rights, and justice intersect, and the communities most impacted by IPV

Read More

It’s officially Black Maternal Health Week 2022! Dr. Jamila Taylor, Director of Healthcare Reform and Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation, sits down to talk with us about the current status of Black maternal health in the U.S., as well as what access to abortion, pregnancy and delivery care, and COVID-19 services look like for Black pregnant people and other people of color in this country.

Read More

Across the country, measures are being introduced to restrict gender-affirming healthcare, ban LGBTQ+ books, and prevent trans girls and women from participating in sports. Katelyn Burns, the first openly trans Capitol Hill reporter in U.S. history, freelance journalist, MSNBC columnist, and co-host of podcast Cancel Me Daddy, sits down to talk with us about recent and increasing attacks on the health and rights of transgender people across the U.S.

Read More

From abortion, to birth control, to LGBTQ+ issues, the Jewish faith informs many advocates, leaders, and believer’s work on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, Scholar in Residence at the National Council of Jewish Women, sits down with us to talk about the ways Judaism and reproductive health and rights intersect.

Read More

Young people face all the same barriers that adults face in accessing abortion care, but in states like Texas, youth also face a parental consent law. Rosann Mariappuram, Executive Director of Jane’s Due Process, sits down to talk with us about this extra barrier to care, and what it looks like after the passage of the six-week abortion ban, SB8.

Read More

“We believe that everyone who has abortions deserves unconditional love and support. We believe that people who have abortions deserve to be in every space where decisions are being made. To borrow from the disability justice movement, there should be nothing about us without us. We are the leaders we’ve been waiting for.” -We Testify.

For this incredibly special part two of our storytellers podcast series, tune in to hear the abortion stories of Kelsea McLain, Jack Qu’emi, and Veronika—abortion storytellers from We Testify.

Read More

“We believe that everyone who has abortions deserves unconditional love and support. We believe that people who have abortions deserve to be in every space where decisions are being made. To borrow from the disability justice movement, there should be nothing about us without us. We are the leaders we’ve been waiting for.” -We Testify.

For this incredibly special part one of our storytellers podcast series, tune in to hear the abortion stories of Anna, Sarah Lopez, Nick, and Stephanie Gomez—abortion storytellers from We Testify.

Read More

When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone--the first of two drugs used in a medication abortion-- in 2000, the approval process came with a myriad of restrictions. Kirsten Moore, creator and director of the Expanding Medication Abortion Access (EMAA) Project, sits down to talk with us about the evolution of restrictions on medication abortion over the past 22 years, as well as the future of medication abortion access.

Read More

The disability rights movement and reproductive rights movement both revolve around the ability to control one’s own body and life. Sam Crane, Legal Director at the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, talks to us about the disability rights movement’s long history of facing reproductive rights and reproductive autonomy restrictions, and why centering the experiences and voices of people with disabilities will increase access to basic reproductive healthcare.

Read More

Reproductive rights and the rights of transgender individuals are issues that are deeply rooted in bodily autonomy and have been under constant assault for the past year (and many years before). Jessica Mason Pieklo, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor at Rewire News Group and co-host of the Boom! Lawyered podcast and Katelyn Burns, columnist for MSNBC, writer for Medium, and co-host of podcast Cancel Me Daddy, talk to us about the ways in which these two issues are intertwined as well as the importance of supporting reproductive rights and transgender rights as their own, incredibly important individual human rights concerns.

Read More

Rape and other forms of sexual violence have been reported by health workers, human rights observers, and civilians in conflict zones, including Rwanda, Bosnia, Tigray, and Myanmar. Yet, survivors of these human rights abuses are rarely provided the sexual and reproductive healthcare they need. Jill Filipovic, freelance journalist and author of The H Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness and OK Boomer: Let’s Talk How My Generation Got Left Behind, talks to us about how U.S. foreign policy has prevented the support and care of women who have endured sexual violence in conflict zones.

Read More

On December 1st, 2021, the Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization—a 15-week abortion ban out of Mississippi, which will put the ability to access abortion care out of reach for so many. Dr. Diana Greene Foster, researcher at the University of California, San Francisco and author of the Turnaway Study: Ten Years, A Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having- or Being Denied- an Abortion, talks to us about her book on the study, the science and stories behind it, and why the upcoming Supreme Court case is a direct affront to reproductive health

Read More

It’s that time of year again—time to tune in for a reprisal of our most popular series! Longtime supporters of rePROs Fight Back have likely heard our past podcast episodes, SRHR Hero Origin Stories, SRHR Hero Origin Stories: Round 2, and SRHR Hero Origin Stories: Round 3, where we talked to a number of amazing heroes in the field of reproductive health, rights, and about how they began working in this space. This time, hear from abortion and sexual reproductive healthcare clinicians and providers themselves about their experiences and history working in this field.

Read More

On Monday, November 1st, 2021, the Supreme Court heard arguments on Texas’s extreme and dangerous abortion ban, SB8. Ianthe Metzger, Director of State Media Campaigns with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, sits down to talk with us about abortion access in Texas, the Texas SCOTUS case, and the upcoming Mississippi case in December that could threaten the very foundation of Roe v. Wade.

Read More

Purity culture, or the expectation that women remain sexually “pure,” is widespread throughout evangelical communities. Purity culture stems from the idea that men are inherently sexual beings and that women are not, placing the burden on women to be the gatekeepers of sexuality in evangelical communities, as well as to “control” the desires of men. Becca Andrews, reporter with Mother Jones Magazine, talks to us about purity culture and sexual assault at Christian colleges, with an in-depth look at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

Read More

Young people deserve access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare—but those needs aren’t always easy to acquire in the United States. Diana Thu-Thao Rhodes, Vice President of Policy, Partnerships, and Organizing at Advocates for Youth, sits down to talk with us about the barriers young people face when in need of sex education and sexual and reproductive health services.

Read More

On September 1st, 2021, Texas effectively banned abortion in the state. Amy Hagstrom Miller, founder and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health and Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, sits down to talk to us about the tremendous stress that Texas’s new legislation has already had on patients, abortion providers, clinic staff, and abortion funds.

Read More

Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban and the destruction caused to Haiti by a 7.92 magnitude earthquake have created two simultaneously unfolding humanitarian situations. Rachel Moynihan, Advocacy and Communications Specialist at the United Nations, sits down with us to discuss the work that UNFPA does to support and expand access to sexual and reproductive health and rights for populations in humanitarian settings, and how UNFPA is assisting in Afghanistan and Haiti specifically.

Read More