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rePROs Fight Back

News & Politics Podcasts

rePROs Fight Back, a multi-award winning podcast, does-dives into reproductive health, rights, and justice issues like abortion, birth control, sex education, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, gender equity, and more. New episodes debut every Tuesday, giving you an insider’s perspective on what is happening and what you can do to fight back.

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United States

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rePROs Fight Back, a multi-award winning podcast, does-dives into reproductive health, rights, and justice issues like abortion, birth control, sex education, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, gender equity, and more. New episodes debut every Tuesday, giving you an insider’s perspective on what is happening and what you can do to fight back.

Language:

English


Episodes
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Fertility Tracking Must Be Grounded in Evidence and Reproductive Justice

3/3/2026
Fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) are different approaches to tracking fertility and identifying which days someone is most likely to conceive if they are having sex without contraception. These include features such as tracking one’s menstrual cycle, basal body temperature, and cervical mucus, among others. Chelsea Polis, Principal Research Scientist at the Guttmacher Institute, sits down to talk with us about different FABMs, their effectiveness, advantages, and disadvantages, and why it is necessary for each method to be rooted in scientific evidence and reproductive justice. By tracking these markers, someone can choose to have sex for the purposes of pregnancy or abstain from sex/use additional contraception methods if they seek to avoid pregnancy. Based on their advantages and disadvantages, FABMs may work for some individuals and not others. Some people use FABMs for contraceptive purposes, yet not all of the methods have been tested for that purpose or approved by any regulatory body for that use. Some methods are engaging in inappropriate marketing as a contraceptive tool, when it is not backed up by science or regulatory approval. FABMs have also become a piece of the Make America Health Again (MAHA) movement, being touted as a substitute for the full spectrum of reproductive care. To best integrate FABMs as a contraceptive option into the full menu, we need to support providers, fund research, and combat misinformation. For more information, check out Future Hindsight: https://www.futurehindsight.com/ Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:43:52

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Shocking In Its Cruelty: Looking Back at The First Year of Trump 2.0

2/24/2026
It has now been one year of the second Trump administration, with many attacks to sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice aligning entirely with Project 2025’s blueprint. Amy Friedrich-Karnik, Director of Federal Policy at the Guttmacher Institute and Anna Bernstein, Principal Federal Policy Advisor at the Guttmacher Institute, sit down to talk with us about the year’s assaults on sexual and reproductive health and rights, LGBTQI+ rights, and science and healthcare by the Trump administration. From day one of their return to office, protections for abortion access put in place by the Biden administration were rolled back. This included several protections for privacy, emergency care, and veteran’s access. President Trump immediately pardoned anti-abortion activists who had previously violated the FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) Act and has stopped enforcing the act in most places. Anti-science rhetoric increases, with the Food and Drug Administration endorsing junk-science against mifepristone-- one of the drugs used in a medication abortion. To promote mis- and disinformation, data sets, research, and websites were removed from the internet. The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act defunded Planned Parenthood and set work restrictions on Medicaid coverage. Additionally, the administration froze Title X funding, expanded the already-expanded Global Gag Rule, and issued endless attacks to the transgender community. For more information, check out Future Hindsight: https://www.futurehindsight.com/ Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:37:06

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A Year of Harms: The Impact of US Foreign Aid Cuts on Women and Girls in Humanitarian Crises

2/17/2026
A humanitarian crisis-- where life has been upset by natural disaster, conflict, or forced displacement-- can disproportionately impact women and girls. Women and girls, at disproportionate risk for gender-based violence, maternal health complications, and barriers to accessing aid, have different requirements in these settings. Julianne Deitch, Associate Director of Research at the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC), looks back with us on this last year’s foreign aid cuts and talks to us about the substantial impacts on women and girls in crisis. Before 2025, the U.S. was one of the largest donors to humanitarian aid globally, with aid hovering at 13 billion dollars annually to address immediate needs for population in crises. Still, humanitarian aid made up less than 0.1% of the gross national income. In January 2025, the Trump administration froze all U.S. foreign aid and dismantled U.S. foreign assistance infrastructure (including closing USAID). Over the last year, WRC collected concrete evidence from over 32 countries. They found that women and girls in humanitarian crises: 1) have lost access to necessary health care (maternal health, sexual and reproductive health care, antiviral drugs, and more); 2) are less safe from gender-based violence; and 3) have lost access to women-led, targeted, trusted, local support. Increased funding, advancing the life-saving principle of gender-specific humanitarian aid, supporting local, women-led organizations, and holding governments accountable are all recommendations for addressing this reality. For more information, check out Future Hindsight: https://www.futurehindsight.com/ Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:41:04

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Abortion Criminalization and ICE Are Barriers to Reproductive Justice for AAPI Immigrants

2/10/2026
The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community is made up of various ethnicities, languages, and translation needs, requiring different and individualized advocacy and policy discussions-- particularly when that policy relates to sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. Christina Baal-Owens, Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) sits down to talk with us about recent research performed by NAPAWF showing the most pervasive barriers to abortion access for the AAPI community and AAPI immigrants in the U.S. Stigma, cultural differences, language and translation, and healthcare deserts prevent AAPI immigrants from accessing necessary services, such as abortion. Additional clinics and health centers, improved language accessibility, and expanded access to health insurance (regardless of immigration status) are all options for lowering barriers to this care. It is important to remember that ICE activity impacts AAPI communities, too. ICE’s presence negatively affects the realization of reproductive justice; many might be fearful to access services outside their homes, many might worry about their naturalization process, or others may be stymied by criminalization and stigma. For more information, check out Future Hindsight: https://www.futurehindsight.com/ Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:34:35

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The Global Gag Rule is Once Again Expanded, Maximizing Harm

2/3/2026
The Global Gag Rule, started by President Ronald Regan in 1984, prevented foreign NGOs from receiving U.S. family planning assistance if they performed, promoted, advocated for, counseled on, or referred patients for abortion. It has gone in and out of place since then, depending on who is in the White House. It was expanded during the first Trump administration to apply not only to family planning funding, but all of global health funding. Caitlin Horrigan, Senior Director of Global Advocacy at the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Beirne Roose-Snyder, Senior Policy Fellow at the Council for Global Equality, sit down to talk with us about the new and purposefully broad expansion on an already-devastating rule. The Global Gag Rule impacts the most marginalized—women and girls, Black and brown people, the LGBTQI+ community, those in humanitarian settings, those living rurally, people living with disabilities, and more. At the 2026 March for Life, JD Vance announced the policy, “Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance”, which includes three federal rules applying to grants and contracts coming from the State Department. It operationalizes and expands the existing global gag rule to all foreign assistance, to new actors (including new governments), and with new definitions. It also applies to those promoting “gender ideology” and “discriminatory equity ideology” or engagement in “unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion-related discrimination.” These rules are purposefully long and complicated to create less obvious legal challenges. This expansion lands on top of an already devastated global health landscape. Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:42:45

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An Administration of Violence and Its Tools of Authoritarianism

1/27/2026
It has officially been one year since the beginning of the second Trump term. Almost immediately, the administration dismantled global public health, including sexual and reproductive health. Gender equity and LGBTQI+ health and rights, especially transgender health and rights, have been consistently attacked. Jessica Mason Pieklo sits down to talk with us about the administration’s recent strategies of authoritarianism, and what to continue to watch for. In January, the Supreme Court heard arguments to a case challenging Idaho’s and West Virginia’s ban on trans girls playing sports. At its core, the cases ask the legal question as to whether categorical sports bans based on gender identity violate the Equal Protection Clause and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act. With this month marking Roe v. Wade’s decision anniversary, fears continue to grow over access to mifepristone and telehealth. The concept of fetal personhood is being brought into legislative sessions all over the country, while birth control could be a new target. Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:44:48

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Overlapping Attacks: Gender Equality, SRHR, and LGBTQI+ Rights After Trump’s First Year Back

1/20/2026
We are approximately one year into Trump 2.0, where the administration has dismantled the systems we have worked to build. Civil rights offices have been gutted, DEI programs paused or eliminated, data erased, and enforcement mechanisms present behind-the-scenes. Meanwhile, the decimation of USAID and the de-prioritization of global health have led to a radically different foreign policy architecture and the closure of health clinics, service disruption, and the shutdown of community organizations abroad. Gayatri Patel and Preston Mitchum, Senior Fellows with rePROs Fight Back, sit down to talk with us about attacks to LGBTQI+ rights and gender, and how these attacks intersect. Attacks on gender equality have been front and center, as evidenced by the early release and adoption of Project 2025. This is, of course, exacerbated by attacking DEI and inclusion. From the federal to the state level, all-out assaults on gender equality, transgender health and rights, and sexual and reproductive health and rights continues. Attacks on LGBTQI+ issues are insidiously persistent. This includes the restriction of access to gender affirming care, the banning of transgender people from school sports, and the stripping of inclusive terms from federal guidance. Black and brown LGBTQI+ people, especially those dealing with poverty, immigration systems, or disability, are disproportionately feeling the rollbacks in rights. Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:48:06

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Becca Rea-Tucker on Her New Book: The Abortion Companion

1/13/2026
If you're planning to have an abortion soon or you have had one in the past… if you’re feeling a strong emotion (or many of them) before or after receiving care… or if you are looking to support a friend, Becca Rea-Tucker’s (author, baker, and reproductive rights advocate) new book, The Abortion Companion: An Affirming Handbook for Your Choice and Your Journey, is a safe and supportive resource to learn more and have a safe space. Becca wrote the Abortion Companion after her own abortion. Many pre-existing products for abortion contribute to stigma, but Becca’s book emphasizes that any feeling (including joy, sadness, relief, or a mix) is ok to feel. The book features self-compassion exercises, comfort tv and movie sections, conversation scripts, affirmations, and more. The book also offers a break from the day-to-day fight for abortion care, imagining a future where the world is unapologetically pro-abortion. For more information, check out Seriously?!: https://liftlouisiana.squarespace.com/seriously?offset=1551988440394 Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:32:34

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You May Also Like: White Picket Fence Season 6: America's Gender Whiplash

1/8/2026
America is facing a gender backlash—a backlash so swift and severe, it feels more like a whiplash. Right now, no group is more at risk than trans Americans. On his first day back in the White House, Trump signed a controversial executive order meant to deny trans identity and push transgender people out of public life. Since then, attacks on trans rights—trans existence—have become increasingly hostile and widespread. But even as many conservatives work overtime to focus the public's ire on trans people, it's clear that their attempt to enforce a strict gender binary could have much broader consequences. Consequences that will reach all Americans. If you enjoy this drop, check out the season here. For more information, check out Seriously?!: https://liftlouisiana.squarespace.com/seriously?offset=1551988440394 Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:33:29

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Immigrant Justice and Reproductive Justice: Raising Families with Safety and Dignity

1/6/2026
In the U.S., a large proportion of immigrant communities remain unable to access healthcare. And even before the fall of Roe v. Wade, Latine people, immigrants, and communities of color faced disproportionate barriers to abortion care. Criminalization, ICE raids, travel, and language barriers further deter immigrant communities from seeking abortion care. Lupe Rodriguez, Executive Director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (NLIRJ), sits down to talk with us about how immigrant justice and reproductive justice intersect. Latine people make up 41% of uninsured people in the country, and a large portion of that number reflects immigrant communities. Many immigrants, depending on the type of immigration status they hold, are not eligible for Medicaid. In some states, undocumented immigrants are not able to buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) marketplace. In addition, language barriers increase the difficulty of navigating the healthcare system. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” (OBBBA), passed earlier this year, will be devastating. According the NLIRJ, nearly 1 in 3 Latine people around the country rely on Medicaid for healthcare access, and many Latine communities also rely on Planned Parenthood as a hub for healthcare access. Combatting mis- and dis-information, building community, and progressive policy change can make a difference in this horrible moment. For more information, check out Seriously?!: https://liftlouisiana.squarespace.com/seriously?offset=1551988440394 Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:33:54

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Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Hero Origin Stories: Round 8

12/23/2025
There’s still time in the year to hear from leaders and advocates in the sexual and reproductive health and rights field! On this episode of our most popular series, SRHR Hero Origin Stories, we talk to a number of amazing heroes in the field of reproductive health, rights, and justice about how they began working in this space. On this episode, hear from Lupe Rodriguez, Executive Director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, Dr. Monica McLemore, Professor at New York University’s Rory Meyer’s College of Nursing, Samira Damavandi, Senior Policy Associate for Federal Issues at the Guttmacher Institute, and Jennie Wetter, Director and Host of rePROs Fight Back. If you haven’t already, check out our previous episodes, SRHR Hero Origin Stories: Round 7, SRHR Hero Origin Stories: Round 6, SRHR Origin Stories: Round 5, and more. For more information, check out Amicus with Dhalia Lithwick: https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:33:28

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Feminist Foreign Policy: Centering Dignity, Equity, and Justice Worldwide

12/16/2025
Feminist foreign policy is a policy framework that challenges traditional understandings of foreign policy. It prioritizes peace, gender equality, human rights, and environmental integrity. Jill Montilla, Development and Communications Associate with the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative and Spogmay Ahmed, Senior Policy Advisor with the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative, sit down to talk with us about why a framework that disrupts colonial, racist, patriarchal, and male-dominated power structures is critical. Upwards of 15 global governments have formally committed to utilizing a feminist foreign policy, and many more have engaged with the topic in multilateral settings. A recent, re-occurring report from the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaboration, which analyses over 20 countries’ commitment to feminist foreign policy, found that these policies have survived more elections than they have lost, that several countries have expanded their commitments, and that several countries have increased multilateral, bilateral, and regional activity. Many governments have taken up sexual and reproductive health and rights, in particular, as a priority. Some countries have stepped back from their commitments, though, amongst a troubled landscape for funding. For more information, check out Amicus with Dhalia Lithwick: https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:43:15

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Rural Hospitals—and their Labor and Delivery Units—Face Rising Threats

12/9/2025
Impending Medicaid cuts, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s defunding of Planned Parenthood, and the freezing of Title X funding have fueled clinic closures across rural areas. Ashley Kurzweil, Senior Policy Analyst for Reproductive Health and Rights at the National Partnership for Women and Families and Sarah Coombs, Director for Health System Transformation at the National Partnership for Women and Families sit down to talk with us about the future of rural hospitals and clinics and the patients they care for. Many Medicaid cuts will take effect in January of 2027. One of the most immediate impacts of the law is the failure to extend premium tax credits-- which helps those who do not have access to Medicaid or employer-sponsored health coverage-- afford marketplace coverage. Rural residents, who have higher rates of Medicaid coverage and benefits from enhanced ACA premium tax credits, will be disproportionately affected. Increased financial strain will be placed on these rural hospitals, and maternal health programs, labor and delivery units, and reproductive health care clinics will be dire in rural areas. This will disproportionality impact Black communities, indigenous communities, and Latina communities, as well as rural health workers. For more information, check out Amicus with Dhalia Lithwick: https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:40:40

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Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Hero Origin Stories: Round 7

12/3/2025
It’s that time of year again! Ready for a reprisal of our most popular series, SRHR Hero Origin Stories? If you haven’t already, check out our previous episodes, SRHR Hero Origin Stories: Round 6, SRHR Origin Stories: Round 5, SRHR Hero Origin Stories: Round 4, and more, where we talk to a number of amazing heroes in the field of reproductive health, rights, and justice and about how they began working in this space. On this episode, hear from Christina Krysinski, Associate Director for Global Advocacy at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Asha Dahya, filmmaker, reproductive rights and freedom advocate, and mother of two, and Rachel Marchand, Senior Policy Analyst and Podcast Producer at rePROs Fight Back. For more information, check out Amicus with Dhalia Lithwick: https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:31:59

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Reproductive Justice, Economic Security, and the Fight Ahead

11/25/2025
No one’s health experiences exist in a vacuum. Individuals live multifaceted lives and often have multiple, intersecting health concerns. Our health influences our lives, and our lives (including our economic realities) influence our health. Nourbese Flint, President of All* Above All and All* in All Action Fund, sits down to talk with us about how comprehensive reproductive justice, including abortion access, requires economic security. To achieve full reproductive justice, people need access to abortion care. To access abortion care, people need economic security. Being unable to access abortion can lead to a host of negative outcomes, including but not limited to economic insecurity. In the U.S., money and access to healthcare go hand-in-hand. The Hyde Amendment refuses to cover abortion care for those who receive their insurance from the federal government, forcing specific people to pay out-of-pocket for an abortion. And, more broadly, general healthcare continues to be impacted by the government shutdown, which was negotiated on the back of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Since Trump’s second inauguration, funding freezes have impacted vast swaths of those working in sexual and reproductive health and rights both in the U.S. and abroad. General healthcare is not, in any way, disconnected from abortion access, and both issues closely intertwine. Maternal health, obstetrics, delivery, rural hospitals, and more are also impacted. For more information, check out Amicus with Dhalia Lithwick: https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:39:19

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A New Law Prevents Texans from Receiving a Telehealth Abortion

11/18/2025
Texas, long at the forefront of restrictive abortion policy in the U.S., has passed a new law (which goes into effect in early December) which would take state law and the already in-place abortion ban (SB 8) and apply it beyond its borders. Jessica Waters, Senior Scholar in Residence at the School of Public Affairs at American University, sits down with us to talk about Texas’ new law restricting telehealth medication abortion, an incredibly common and safe method of care. Specifically, the law prohibits the manufacturing and distribution of mifepristone in the state, and outlines the inability to mail, transport, deliver, prescribe, or provide abortion-inducing drugs to anyone in the state. Currently, pregnant people in Texas cannot receive legal abortion care, so they have relied upon out-of-state abortion care. This new law, though, allows for anyone to sue an out-of-state company or medical professional which provides a person in Texas with mifepristone, even if that doctor or company is in a state where abortion is legal. This law is in direct tension with the shield laws that protect against this very scenario. This will likely create a chilling effect on doctors and abortion funds out-of-state. Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:37:44

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Shout It From the Rooftops: Thanks, Birth Control!

11/11/2025
November 12, 2025, is #ThxBirthControl Day-- a day to celebrate the multiple methods of contraceptive care that allow people to live their fullest lives and reach their dreams and goals. Monica Edwards, Senior Manager, Public Policy at Power to Decide and Tara Mancini, Public Policy Director at Power to Decide, sit down to talk with us about the magic of #ThxBirthControl Day, as well as the recent attacks that threaten our access to the contraception that helps shape our lives. Over 90% of adults agree that birth control should be legal. Three out of four voters believe that it should be easier to access. And nine and ten women of reproductive age have used birth control at some point in their life. Yet birth control faces ceaseless attacks including misinformation and disinformation, the creeping reclassification of contraception as ‘abortifacients,’ and the withholding of funds from Title X grantees. Join the #ThxBirthControl online campaign to share your story and fight back against these attacks. Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:31:35

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Reimagining U.S. Foreign Assistance

11/4/2025
The U.S. government used to be the largest donor in family planning assistance at $400 million a year. There has been an explicit loss of U.S. leadership and resources in contemporary global health and foreign aid, with significant, negative impacts on supply and health outcomes. Anu Kumar, President and CEO at Ipas, sits down to talk with us about the current status of U.S. foreign assistance and how we can reimagine it for the better. The U.S. government has not been supporting abortion care for 50 years since the Helms Amendment was passed in 1973, and contraception has been facing increasing attacks. The campaign of incorrectly and harmfully equating contraceptives with abortifacients is coming to a head. In addition, there is $9.7 billion dollars’ worth of contraception impacted by Trump’s foreign aid freeze, which are now sitting in a Belgian warehouse. But we can imagine a more comprehensive, better performing foreign assistance: a reduced transactional quality and the ability for recipient countries to form their own assistance delivery. For more information, check out Pantsuit Politics: https://www.pantsuitpoliticsshow.com/s/podcast Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:39:20

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Rebecca Kelliher on Her New Book: Just Pills: The Extraordinary Story of a Revolution in Abortion Care

10/28/2025
In Brazil in the 1990s, women discovered using misoprostol for safe, self-managed abortion. In 1980 in France, mifepristone was discovered and in 1988, approved. Approval in the U.S. occurred shortly thereafter, in 2000. Rebecca Kelliher, journalist and author of Just Pills: The Extraordinary Story of a Revolution in Abortion Care, sits down to talk with us about her new book exploring the history of misoprostol and mifepristone. The comprehensive approval, and global dispersion, of misoprostol and mifepristone took decades. Yet now, the most recent numbers show that 63% of U.S. abortions are medication abortions. These medications—specifically mifepristone—are under increasing attacks, with anti-abortion actors targeting telehealth prescription. In addition, lawsuits attempting to prevent the mailing of pills to states with abortion bans are becoming more frequent. While these attacks are devastating, we can look to Latin America for hope: in Argentina, underground feminist organizations formed to disperse misoprostol while the country faced a near-total abortion ban. For more information, check out Pantsuit Politics: https://www.pantsuitpoliticsshow.com/s/podcast Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:37:54

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Preying With Pseudoscience: Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ New, Dangerous Rhetoric

10/21/2025
The term crisis pregnancy center (CPCs) refers to anti-abortion facilities that mislead, confuse, delay, misinform, and purposefully re-direct pregnant people looking for education and services, including abortion care. They are often referred to as fake clinics, but they are beginning to offer some medical services. Garnet Henderson and Susan Rinkunas, journalists and co-founders of Autonomy News, sit down to talk with us about the new, harmful deceptions that CPCs are rolling out nationwide. CPCs claim, without good evidence, an in-progress abortion can be halted through an “abortion pill reversal,” or the placement of progesterone between the ingestion of mifepristone and misoprostol—the two medications needed a medication abortion. This is based off myths of anecdotal regret, not scientific studies. In fact, the medical consensus is clear: the "abortion pill reversal" pseudoscience is ineffective and potentially dangerous. A case this Supreme Court term, First Choice Women's Resource Centers v. Platkin, stemmed from a subpoena from New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin to the First Choice chain of CPCs, seeking evidence on their abortion pill reversal claims. They have fought the subpoena up to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the "One Big Beautiful Bill" has cut Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid. Abortion providers are forced to make a choice: continue providing abortions and remain ineligible to participate in Medicaid, or halt abortion services. There is no early gestation ban on abortion in Wisconsin, but Planned Parenthood has chosen not to provide abortions in response to this law. For more information, check out Pantsuit Politics: https://www.pantsuitpoliticsshow.com/s/podcast Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Duration:00:39:26