rePROs Fight Back

Television and film often allow people to make sense of the world. With abortion being center stage in many national conversations and with so many myths circulating about this type of care, it is especially important that TV and film represent abortion stories accurately. Steph Herold , researcher studying abortion in television and film at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH),...

After the overturning of Roe v. Wade , the federal right to abortion was eliminated and sent back to individual states. The United States is now seeing a state-by-state patchwork of laws, court challenges, and disparate barriers to abortion access. Garnet Henderson , independent journalist and host and producer of ACCESS: A Podcast About Abortion, sits down to talk with us about the on-the-ground...

The ways in which abortion is often publicly debated can result in the harmful depiction of the experience of ending a pregnancy in overly simplistic terms . Rev. Katey Zeh , CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and Author of A Complicated Choice: Making Space for Grief and Healing in the Pro-Choice Movement , talks to us about her new book, the myths and stigma that people must...

On Friday the Supreme Court released their decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization where they rejected 50 years of precedent by overturning Roe v. Wade. The decision eliminates the federal right to abortion access and sends it back to the states to decide. This will decimate abortion access in this country, as 26 states are likely to ban abortion in the wake of this decision. Kyli...

As the future of Roe looks increasingly shaky, the implications of its overturning could result in a number of outcomes some of which may not immediately occur to many of us. Pamela Merritt , Executive Director of Medical Students for Choice, talks to us about what the likely overturning of Roe v. Wade may mean for criminalization, health outcomes, and abortion education and training for medical s...

From how we are preparing for the forthcoming Supreme Court ruling to how we are dealing with burnout, Tarah Demant , Interim National Director of Programs, Advocacy, and Government Affairs at Amnesty International USA, shares her thoughts on the current moment in reproductive health, rights, and justice and asks host Jennie Wetter a plethora of ask me anything (AMA) questions! Links INeedAnA.Com...

In the 2022 state legislative session, over 500 abortion restrictions were introduced, with many extreme and restrictive anti-abortion bills passing. Rachel Sussman , Vice President of State Policy and Advocacy at Planned Parenthood Action Fund, talks to us about what the recent Supreme Court leak that threatens Roe v. Wade means for multiple states in the South and Midwest United States.   Many s...

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...

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...

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...

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. ...

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 h...

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 Ruttenburg , 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.   Judaism teaches that abortion is permitted and is...

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.   While also having to navigate the labyrinth of g...

“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 pod...

“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 pod...

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...

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 disabili...

  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...

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...

Note: This episode and the episode’s shownotes utilize the term “women,” when talking about the Turnaway study results, because women made up all of the participants. Many people, including trans men and non-binary individuals, still require access to safe and timely abortion care. On December 1st, 2021, the Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organizati...

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...

(note recorded before the oral arguments in Texas case) 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 Decembe...

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 Magaz...

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. Young peopl...