rePROs Fight Back

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. There are undeniable race-...

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...

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. GBV can include rape or sexual violence, domestic or intimate partner violence, human trafficking, child marriage, harassment, controlling...

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. “Theology of the body,” a theological idea developed by Pope John Paul II, teaches that God made men and women in a...

“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...

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! Support the show (https://www.reprosfightback.com/take-action#donate)

Medication abortion provides safe, effective, and time-sensitive medical care to patients around the U.S. that require an abortion. Unfortunately, medication abortion faces multiple restrictions, with the Supreme Court recently ruling 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...

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 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. Support the show...

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...

The 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...

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,...

Infertility is estimated to impact 10 to 15 percent of couples in the United States, making it the most common diseases 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. Support the show (https://www.reprosfightback.com/take-action#donate)

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...

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...

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...

The Commission on Unalienable Rights was convened by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The commission has championed religious freedom and property as human rights, but not reproductive health, LGBTQ+ wellbeing, immigrant rights, and more. Amanda Klasing, Interim Co-Director at the Women’s Rights Division at the Human Rights Watch and Tarah Demant, Director of Gender, Sexuality, and Identity Program at Amnesty International USA sit down to talk to us about this commission’s most recent report...

On September 18, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away from complications related to pancreatic cancer. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a fierce defender of justice for all. Leila Abolfazli, Director of Federal Reproductive Rights at the National Women’s Law Center sits down to talk to us about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s legacy and what’s at stake when it comes to our sexual and reproductive health and rights. Support the show (https://www.reprosfightback.com/take-action#donate)

A quick note that this episode was recorded before the heartbreaking death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In legislative sessions across the U.S. in the year of 2019, more than 300 anti-abortion bills were introduced and 58 restrictions were enacted. Some of these sexual and reproductive health-related laws will end up in front of the courts, meaning an individual’s right to abortion access in some states ends up in the hands of whatever judges preside in the court. Anisha Singh, Director...

The COVID-19 pandemic is both exacerbating and laying bare the ways in which marginalized communities continue to be further marginalized when it comes to healthcare access. Specifically, women, people of color, and transgender folks are often underrepresented or completely excluded from clinical trial and vaccine development. Jamille Fields Allsbrook, Director of Women’s Health and Rights at the Center for American Progress sits down with us to discuss the ways in which disparities in...