rePROs Fight Back

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 neg...

Duration: 00:39:30

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...

Duration: 00:38:26

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...

Duration: 00:32:17

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...

Duration: 00:39:21

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 mi...

Duration: 00:37:55

The term crisis pregnancy center (CPC) 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 prog...

Duration: 00:39:27

Anti-abortion extremists are hard at work attacking access through the courts, policy, clinic harassment, and more. Simultaneously, the Trump administration’s chaos—including RFK Jr.’s harmful actions as head of HHS—are continuing to disassemble comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights, brick-by-brick. Mini Timmaraju, President and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, sits down to talk with us about how anti-abortion extremists are endlessly and strategically beelining for abortion and contraception.

One focus of attack centers on mifepristone, the first of two medications taken during a medication abortion. It is extremely safe and has been...

Duration: 00:34:23

The beginning of the new Supreme Court term has officially begun, and a storm of possible bad outcomes is brewing. Jessica Mason Pieklo, Co-Chief Content Officer of Rewire News Group and co-host of Boom! Lawyered, sits down with us to give us a holistic view of cases, tells us what to expect in the new court term, and highlights which cases we should be keeping an eye on in the lower courts.

A collection of cases over the summer gave us a peek into the health of the Supreme Court—especially the conservative majority’s will...

Duration: 00:36:02

Whether it’s communicated in polls or at the ballot box, access to abortion is extremely popular in the United States. Yet, our rights are being blatantly stripped away—and abortion care won’t be the only sexual and reproductive right to face attacks. Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, sits down to talk with us about the status of abortion access in the U.S., what to anticipate, and what brings her hope. 

We're experiencing a coordinated strategy by anti-abortion extremists to dismantle reproductive freedom nationwide. And they won’...

Duration: 00:31:46

Abortion later in pregnancy is often misunderstood and heavily targeted through both policy and stigma. Erika Christensen, co-founder of Patient Forward and later abortion patient and advocate, Jenn Chalifoux-Gene, later abortion patient and advocate, and Dr. Diana Greene Foster, demographer and Professor at the University of California San Francisco and lead of the Turnaway Study, sits down to share their personal stories and talk with us about why access to later abortion will always be needed.

Some people—including young people, people with chronic health conditions, and people who have been re...

Duration: 00:47:33

This week, we’re bringing you a special feed drop from Aborsh, a podcast that examines why talking about abortion is still such a big deal, what “choice” really means and looks like, and why that answer is different for different people.

In this episode, host Rachel Cairns takes a critical look at how abortion is represented in media and entertainment with the research initiative Abortion Onscreen and journalists Nora Loreto and Liz Renzetti—and what those portrayals reveal about the broader forces threatening bodily autonomy and gender equality, as well as how we can confront...

Duration: 01:12:14

Starting in her teenage years, Kate Helen Downey’s menstrual cycle was extremely painful. In her adult life, she received an endometriosis diagnosis, which can cause severe menstrual pain. Kate, host and producer of the podcast CRAMPED, sits down with us to share about her experience and encourage everyone to talk about their period pain. 

Kate’s podcast, CRAMPED, seeks to explore more about why the medical system—and all of us—know next to nothing about period pain. Many people learn about menstruation through movies and TV, where a young girl getting her period for the f...

Duration: 00:46:01

The State Department’s Human Rights Reports were mandated by Congress in 1974 to ensure funding did not go toward torture, involuntary detention, and suppression of fundamental freedoms. The reports collect information on human rights abuses around the world. But this year’s human rights reports were created under completely rewritten instructions, featuring a huge reduction in information on human rights abuses. Amanda Klasing, National Director of Government Relations and Advocacy at Amnesty International USA, sits down to talk with us about these devastatingly slashed human rights reports. 

The reports provide a human rights overview for any g...

Duration: 00:44:34

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), President Trump’s Tax and Spend mega bill, recently passed Congress. It will strip billions of dollars from essential health programs while paying for billions of dollars in tax cuts for the rich, expand mass deportation programs, and continue to harm reproductive justice. Madeline Morcelle, Senior Attorney at the National Health Law Program, sits down to talk with us about OBBBA and how it’s going to particularly impact Medicaid. 

Medicaid, the largest public health insurance program for people in the United States, including those of low incomes, curre...

Duration: 00:42:52

Fetal personhood, in short, labels a pregnancy as a person. It is the idea that anything a person is legally entitled to, a fetus is, as well. Karen Thompson, Legal Director at Pregnancy Justice and Garin Marschall, co-founder of Patient Forward, sit down to talk with us about viability, state involvement in pregnancies, and criminalization. 

Fetal personhood tracks alongside viability, which is the point in a pregnancy’s gestation in which the government recognizes personhood. Since Roe, and long before, viability limits became enshrined in law. Dobbs has now dropped all the guardrails. 41 sta...

Duration: 00:44:28

From recent court cases, to LGBTQI+ health and rights, to sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice, we have the perfect news source for you. Garnet Henderson and Susan Rinkunas, journalists and co-founders of Autonomy News, a worker-owned reproductive rights and justice publication, sit down to talk with us about their new publication platform and how it can not only teach, but empower.  

Recent reporting on Autonomy News includes a case in Texas involving the first federal lawsuit against Aid Access—a large provider of abortion pills in the United States. Other reporting als...

Duration: 00:43:58

Abortion clinics, their staff, and the patients seeking care often face instances of blockading, harassment, threats, and violence. This blockage of access to basic healthcare services resulted in the 1994 bipartisan passage of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. Erin Matson, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Reproaction, sits down to talk with us about the FACE Act and how the current Trump administration is attempting to disassemble its protection. 

Upon his return to office, Trump pardoned 23 individuals convicted of FACE Act violations, while at the same time, the Department of Justice announced it w...

Duration: 00:33:50

The Green Wave Movement began in 2018 in Argentina, focused on anti-femicide but quickly evolving into a bodily autonomy and abortion movement. Protestors took to the streets to not only change the law, but to change the culture across Latin America. Asha Dahya, head of Girl Talk HQ and creator and executive producer of the podcast Green Tide Rising and the short film Someone You Know, sits down to talk to us about this motivating movement across Latin America and what the U.S. can learn.

Latin America previously hosted some of most restrictive environments worldwide...

Duration: 00:41:32

“Democrats love to avoid it, and Republicans love to lie about it. But later-abortion care has never been more important.” Amy Littlefield, abortion access correspondent for the Nation and author of the new book Killers of Roe: My Investigation into the Mysterious Death of Abortion Rights, talks to us about her new article for the Nation, What Would It Mean to Defend All Abortions? Garin Marschall, co-founder of Patient Forward, joins to discuss the importance of protecting access to later abortion care. 

Amy’s new article in the Nation explores the use of disinfo...

Duration: 00:58:26

Find part 1 of this episode here.

In April 2025, some organizations and health centers receiving Title X funding were given sudden notice by the current administration that critical funding would be withheld. This action by the federal government threatens roughly $65.8 million in Title X funds and implicates an estimated 846,000 patients. It has resulted in massive layoffs, stopped contracts, mental strain, and confusion for both employees and patients. As patients are not receiving the care they need due to a stop in funding, possible results could include rising rates of unintended pregnancies, rising rates of STIs, poorer maternal health...

Duration: 00:46:11

T/W: Mention of sexual assault at 20:29

Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic was a Supreme Court case this term that specifically targeted efforts to kick Planned Parenthood and other reproductive healthcare providers out of Medicaid. In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court sided against access to care. Dr. Regina Davis Moss, President and CEO of In Our Own Voice, National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, sits down to talk with us about Medina v. Planned Parenthood and how this case is a direct assault on hard-fought reproductive justice progress.

Re...

Duration: 00:34:14

From Skrmetti to Medina to Mahmoud, the Supreme Court has been busy issuing devastating rulings on cases that carry profound implications for LGBTQI+ health and rights and reproductive health and rights. Chris Geidner, author of Law Dork, sits down to talk with us about these recent cases out of the Supreme Court, and what these rulings mean for our rights and wellbeing.

United States v. Skrmetti was a challenge of Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1, which prohibits gender-affirming care for transgender minors. By a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court ultimately upheld the state’s ban on gend...

Duration: 01:01:23

In April 2025, some organizations and health centers receiving Title X funding were given sudden notice by the current administration that critical funding would be withheld. This action by the federal government threatens roughly $65.8 million in Title X funds and implicates an estimated 846,000 patients. It has resulted in massive layoffs, stopped contracts, mental strain, and confusion for both employees and patients. As patients are not receiving the care they need due to a stop in funding, possible results could include rising rates of unintended pregnancies, rising rates of STIs, poorer maternal health outcomes, and later diagnoses of breast and cervical...

Duration: 00:29:08

Immediately after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court case that overturned Roe v. Wade,shock, sadness, and anger were predominant. But even still, abortion providers, abortion fund workers, and other advocates and leaders in the field provided, facilitated, and fought for access to care. Carole Joffe, professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco and professor emerita of sociology at UC Davis, and David Cohen, law professor at Drexel's Klein School of Law in Philadelphia and pro bono counsel to a number of Pennsylvania abortion cl...

Duration: 00:46:02

 We’re dropping in with an episode from Sex Ed with DB, a podcast all about inclusive, pleasure-focused sex ed. In this episode, host Danielle Bezalel sits down with Dr. Emily Nagoski — bestselling author of Come As You Are — to talk about what it really takes to keep sex fun and fulfilling in long-term relationships. They cover desire myths, polyamory, and the science behind sexual connection. Plus, Emily shares her top three tips for great sex with a long-term partner, and there’s a hilarious new listener story in their segment Booty Call. 

For more information, check out Seriou...

Duration: 00:51:37

2/3 of Massachusetts voters support expanding access to abortion later in pregnancy, according to recent polling. Massachusetts still has on the books a 24-week abortion ban, with additional exceptions later added. Jeanette Kincaid, Associate Director of Care Coordination at DuPont Clinic and Kate Dineen, abortion later in pregnancy patient and advocate and Board Member of Reproductive Equity Now, sit down to talk with us about Massachusetts’ abortion access status and the reality of exceptions.

When Kate, located at the time in Massachusetts, had a personal experience needing access to an abortion later in pregnancy, sh...

Duration: 00:45:11

The One Big Beautiful Bill is a reconciliation bill which passed the House and has moved on to the Senate. Included in this bill are provisions that would defund Planned Parenthood, threaten health insurance access, undermine access to abortion and gender-affirming-care nationwide, and raise costs on working families. Ianthe Metzger, Senior Director, Advocacy Communications at Planned Parenthood, sits down to talk with us about this insidious bill and how it, among other things, threatens the care Planned Parenthood provides.

Defunding Planned Parenthood, which refers to cutting the provider out of the Medicaid program, would threaten...

Duration: 00:28:11

Mifepristone is the first (and extremely safe) in two medications that people will take during a medication abortion—and access to it is under blatant attack in the courts. Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, Public Health Scientist based at University of California San Francisco, and Julia Kaye, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project, sit down to talk with us about recent anti-abortion propaganda and how it could be used to shape the FDA’s regulations of medication abortion.

A past case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, was brought by anti-abortion groups...

Duration: 00:39:00

There are many reasons why someone may require a third-trimester abortion, including both fetal implications and maternal implications (such as health diagnoses and difficult life circumstances). Dr. Shelley Sella, retired OB-GYN, first woman to openly provide third-trimester abortion care in the U.S., and author of Beyond Limits: Stories of Third-Trimester Abortion Care, sits down to share her expertise, discuss the multitude of reasons why someone seeks a third-trimester abortion, and touch on the personal stories shared in the book.

Dr. Sella became involved in the women’s health movement in college, which eventually sent he...

Duration: 00:45:02

Global reproductive rights and investment in the agencies and organizations that support reproductive rights have often been used as a political football. The bodies of women, girls, and LGBTQI+ persons have been used to push and pull power for decades—and this anti-rights, anti-choice framework has become increasingly exported around the world. Beth Schlachter, Senior Director for U.S. and External Engagement for MSI Reproductive Choices, talks to us about how attacks to human rights frameworks and funding will further endanger global reproductive health and rights.

Some apparatuses the U.S. have been using to re...

Duration: 00:47:14

Title X, under the Public Health Services Act, allows for a family planning and reproductive health-based pool of funding that government agencies and nonprofits can apply for and use to support patients. Providers who receive Title X funding see all patients regardless of insurance status and income level. Clare Coleman, President and CEO of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), sits down to talk with us about the recent and extremely harmful changes to Title X announced by the new administration.

At the beginning of April 2025, the government announced the withholding of 22...

Duration: 00:46:09

T/W: Discussions of suicide in the last 1/3 of this conversation

The health, rights, and wellbeing of the LGBTQI+ community are under increasingly distressing strain, with a collection of new court cases only cementing the burden. Preston Mitchum, writer, policy analyst, consultant, star of Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard, and Senior Fellow with rePROs Fight Back, sits down to talk with us about a host of Supreme Court cases that have broad and damaging implications for the health and rights of the LGBTQI+ community.  

Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc. is a SCOTUS case sur...

Duration: 00:39:43

The majority of people in the U.S. support abortion, yet access has been decimated around the country. That kind of disparity deserves evidence-based, practiced commentary, and we can think of no better doctors to share their experiences than Dr. Beverly Gray and Dr. Jonas Swartz, OBGYNs and co-hosts of the podcast Outlawed. They sit down to talk with us about being on the frontlines of abortion care in the U.S. at the moment and how their experience contributed to the desire to pursue their podcast. 

Both Dr. Gray and Dr. Swartz d...

Duration: 00:35:49

After personal experience with severe pregnancy complications and requiring a later abortion among a labyrinth of state abortion bans, Erika Christensen and Garin Marschall co-founded Patient Forward, a national strategy and advocacy organization. Erika and Garin sit down with us to talk about why people need abortions later in pregnancy, what barriers exist to accessing that care, and why government interference in pregnancy outcomes is overwhelmingly unpopular.  

Further into pregnancy, the cost of care goes up, the number of providers goes down, and more and more restrictions go into effect. People require abortions l...

Duration: 00:52:38

There’s a grab bag of sexual and reproductive health news from around the U.S. From the wins to celebrate to the updates to keep an eye on, Garnet Henderson, investigative reporter specializing in sexual and reproductive health and disinformation, sits down to talk with us about a host of SRHR issues that are moving through the political and judicial landscape.  

Issues discussed include: Nevada’s parental notification law, blocked since 1985 and made permanent in 1991, was overturned recently by a judge and will go into effect on April 30th; the Trump administration has been citin...

Duration: 00:35:08

Within hours of the new administration’s return-to-office, disorder took over. A foreign aid freeze, a stop-work order, and the dismantling of key foreign aid institutions commenced almost immediately. Gayatri Patel, Senior Fellow with rePROs Fight Back, sits down to talk with us about glimmers of hope for protecting this foreign assistance funding and relevant agencies, as well as how we can prepare for the realistic, long-term impacts of these attacks.  

The assault on foreign assistance funding by the new administration—which includes the blocking of U.S. foreign assistance funding, including for development programs, human...

Duration: 00:29:37

April 11th- 17th officially marks Black Maternal Health Week—a week-long campaign centered on activism, awareness, and community-building for Black mamas and Black birthing people. Elizabeth Dawes, Director of Maternal and Reproductive Health and Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation and Co-Founder of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, sits down to talk with us about the status of the Black maternal health crisis in the U.S. and the myriad, ongoing attacks to the Black community’s health, rights, and wellbeing from the new administration. 

The U.S. maternal mortality crisis has seen an overall reduc...

Duration: 00:35:16

A new case with tremendous possible consequences for U.S. sexual and reproductive health and rights has made its way onto the Supreme Court docket. Medina v. Planned Parenthood of South Atlantic is a culmination of decades of anti-choice activist’s attacks to Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health care providers, specifically targeting efforts to kick these providers out of Medicaid. Jessica Mason Pieklo, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor of Rewire News Group and co-host of Boom! Lawyered, sits down to talk with us about the implications of this case for the country’s most vulnerable. 

...

Duration: 00:36:20

This week, we’re bringing you a special feed drop from Rom Com Vom, a miniseries from Sex Ed with DB that unpacks beloved rom-coms, strips away their hidden toxic messages, and rewrites the script on love and sex.

In this clip, host Danielle Bezalel sits down with Dr. Gretchen Sisson, a sociologist and expert on adoption and abortion, to break down Juno’s portrayal of teen pregnancy, adoption, and reproductive rights. They discuss what the film gets right, what it glosses over, and why its cultural impact still lingers today. If you enjoy this conversation, check out...

Duration: 00:14:24

rePROs Fight Back released its 13th annual 50-State Report Card on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. The United States, overall, received an ‘F’ grade, while 5 states received an ‘A’ and 25 states failed. Jennie Wetter, Director of the rePROs Fight Back initiative and host of the rePROs Fight Back podcast, sits down to discuss this staggering loss of rights and the continuous fight for our right to bodily autonomy with Tarah Demant, Interim National Director of Programs, Advocacy, and Government Affairs at Amnesty International USA. 

While 2024 had some bright spots, including abortion-related ballot measures...

Duration: 00:43:17

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) is a landmark federal law that revolutionized the right to emergency healthcare and provides crucial protections for pregnant people. Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, Deputy Director at the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project, sits down to talk with us about the status of the case and what we can continue to do to protect emergency abortion services.

When EMTALA was originally passed by Congress in 1986, the law directed every hospital in the country with an emergency department to provide whatever healthcare was necessary to any individual who visited the ho...

Duration: 00:29:06

Medicaid, the United States’ largest public health insurance program, currently insures over 72 million people with low incomes. Medicaid covers a host of health needs, including those related to sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Madeline Morcelle, Senior Attorney at the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) and co-chair of the National Coalition for Gender Justice in Health Policy, sits down to talk with us about how Medicaid is indispensable for SRH coverage and how recent proposed cuts would impact those who are enrolled.

Medicaid plays an essential role in securing SRH for those with low incomes and ot...

Duration: 00:36:33

A complete lack of abortion access and a climate of fear amongst patients and providers has descended over Texas in the past few years. Wendy Davis, former Texas state senator and Senior Advisor for Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, sits down to talk with us about the current landscape for abortion access in Texas and her famous 2013 filibuster.

Texas currently has a complete ban on abortion with extremely limited exceptions. Only a few years prior, in 2021, Texas passed SB 8, which banned abortion at six weeks of pregnancy and allowed virtually any private citizen the ability to...

Duration: 00:40:11

Reproductive justice is the human right to control our bodies, our sexuality, our gender, our work, and our reproduction.  This right can only be achieved when everyone, especially those most marginalized, have the complete economic, social, and political power and resources to make healthy decisions about their bodies, families and communities. Bridgette Jackson, Director of Public Policy at In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, Kat Olivera, Director of Government Relations at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (NLIRJ), and Fajer Saeed Ebrahim, Senior Policy Manager at the Nat...

Duration: 00:38:22

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which was previously the largest bilateral donor across the world, was created in 1961 to use the U.S.’s soft power to influence and assist other countries. It has since grown into a department with more than 13,000 employees, the majority of which have worked overseas to provide emergency and humanitarian response, food assistance, economic growth activities, and more. Elissa Miolene, reporter at Devex, sits down to talk with us about the impact of the past few week’s chaotic attacks to USAID.

Within hours of President Trump retu...

Duration: 00:39:06

The first day of President Trump’s administration, the outright attacks on the transgender community began. A drove of extreme executive orders has ruthlessly targeted transgender individuals’ safety and wellbeing. Chris Geidner, author of Law Dork, sits down to talk with us about these heinous assaults, their already-felt impacts on transgender individuals, and what to expect in the near future.

The Trump administration’s collection of executive orders includes those that place rigid definitions on the term “sex” and force transgender women in prison to be housed in men’s facilities, ban transgender women from competing in...

Duration: 00:53:28

The global gag rule, which prevents non-governmental organizations who receive U.S. global health funding from providing, counseling on, referring for, or advocating for abortion in their own country and using their own, private resources, has been reinstated by President Trump. Lori Adelman, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Global, and Caitlin Horrigan, Senior Director of Global Advocacy at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, sits down to talk with us about what the expanded global gag rule is, what it means for health practitioners and patients abroad, and how it can be repealed.

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Duration: 00:35:49

The Helms Amendment stipulates that “no foreign assistance funds may be used to pay for the performance of abortion as a method of family planning” abroad and has been in effect since 1973. But the amendment is often overinterpreted as a complete and total ban on U.S. funding for abortion care, even in the most extreme cases and in countries where abortion is legal. Rachel Marchand, Public Policy Manager with rePROs Fight Back, sits down to talk with us about the direct harm of Helms and why it’s far past time the amendment is repealed. 

The H...

Duration: 00:36:14

2024 marked the 30th anniversary of a host of significant moments for sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. Dázon Dixon Diallo, Founder and President of SisterLove, Inc. and SisterLove International South Africa, sits down to talk with us about this momentous occasion, the timeline of reproductive justice, and a hopeful look into the future.

In 1994, an array of geopolitical events set the context for women’s leadership and representation. 1994 was also the year that a group of Black women in Chicago defined the concept of reproductive justice, the year that the Violence Against Women Act...

Duration: 00:47:17

All faith traditions have diverse opinions and practices on reproductive health, rights, and justice. In fact, the majority of people of faith in the U.S. support access to abortion care. Rev. Katey Zeh, ordained Baptist minister and CEO for the Religious Community for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), sits down to talk with us about the organization’s recent blessings and spiritual support provided at abortion clinics. 

The movement and infrastructure of Christian nationalism coopts Christian language for a political agenda, including one which is anti-abortion; still, individuals in faith groups aren’t a monolith. RCRC visit...

Duration: 00:36:01

Sexual and reproductive health faced unrelenting attacks this year, and the assault will likely only increase in 2025 under the Trump administration. Susan Rinkunas with the Cut, Jezebel, and Vice, and an independent journalist covering abortion and politics, sits down to look back with us on sexual and reproductive health and rights in 2024 and what we can expect in the coming year. 

2024 was marked by the attempted redefinition of abortion bans by incoming President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, extremists using the exact same playbook to attack both abortion and transgender health and rights, t...

Duration: 00:56:09

Human rights are born out of the belief that every individual is equal and deserving of life, dignity, respect, and freedom. States must then deliver on those obligations. But through nominations, harmful policy, and mass confusion, the returning administration has a broad ability to dissolve human rights. Rori Kramer, Director of U.S. Advocacy at the American Jewish World Service, sits down to talk with us about the foundations of human rights and what we can expect from the coming administration.

Human rights were codified via the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with the U...

Duration: 00:40:15

The incoming Trump administration won’t just devastate sexual and reproductive health in the United States—the harm will absolutely ripple abroad. Rachel Clement, Senior Director of Government Strategy at PAI, sits down to talk with us about the prospect of global human rights under the incoming administration and potential harmful policy to come.

Already, less than 1% of the U.S. budget goes to foreign assistance. And, under the Trump administration, it’s incredibly likely that UNFPA will be defunded, in tandem with cutting funding in other UN spaces like the WHO, UNESCO, and UN Women...

Duration: 00:44:40

A new Supreme Court case, United States v. Skrmetti, will challenge Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1, which prohibits gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Katelyn Burns, columnist for MSNBC, first ever openly trans Capitol Hill Reporter, co-host of the podcast Cancel Me Daddy, and co-founder of the publication the Flytrap, sits down to talk with us about this case and what realities the trans community will face under the new administration.  

Tennessee’s law would ban best practice medical care for trans youth up to 18, require youth being treated to cease care within nine months of the law’s...

Duration: 00:40:44

The November election will undoubtedly send sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice (SRHRJ) spiraling. Erin Matson, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Reproaction, sits down to talk with us about the devastating consequences of a second Trump administration and what actions can be taken now before inauguration day.

Top of mind is the implementation of Project 2025 and the Life at Conception Act, which would institute federal fetal personhood and override state law to act as a federal abortion ban. It would also ban contraception, invitro fertilization (IVF), and fertility treatment. There is also a likelihood...

Duration: 00:35:59

After the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, and for many years before, Florida served as an abortion access point for many people in the South. But with changing judicial interpretation of “privacy” in the state, access to abortion in Florida has shifted. Laura Goodhue, Executive Director of Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, sits down to talk with us about the status of abortion access in Florida and the outcome of the state ballot initiative in the November 2024 election. 

After the passage of S.B. 8 in Texas and the overturning of Roe, clinics in th...

Duration: 00:26:49

Power to Decide, a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing sexual and reproductive wellbeing for all, has launched a new survey initiative called the Youth Reproductive Health Access Survey. It aims to collect annual data on young people’s access to sexual and reproductive health services, with emphasis on contraception and abortion. Riley Steiner, Senior Director, Research and Evaluation at Power to Decide, sits down to talk to us about the survey’s findings—including information gaps, preferences, and service provision related to young people’s access to basic contraceptive care.

The survey’s data is collected...

Duration: 00:31:12

Today is already stressful as is—that’s why we thought it a perfect time for round 6 of our series, SRHR Hero Origin Stories! If you haven’t already, check out our previous episodes, SRHR Hero Origin Stories, SRHR Hero Origin Stories: Round 2, SRHR Hero Origin Stories: Round 3, SRHR Hero Origin Stories: Round 4, and SRHR Origin Stories: Round 5, where we talked to a number of amazing heroes in the field of reproductive health, rights, and justice about how they began working in this space. We hope you enjoy the reprisal of our most popular podcast episode, talking to leaders about...

Duration: 00:49:05

On election day, Arizonans can vote to amend the state Constitution to establish the fundamental right to abortion. This amendment, which would undoubtedly increase access to abortion care, is especially salient given that Arizona has become an abortion access battleground state since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Alex Gomez, Executive Director of LUCHA – Living United for Change in Arizona, sits down to talk to us about Proposition 139 and what its possible passage may mean for the future of abortion in the state. 

 Proposition 139, the Right to Abo...

Duration: 00:27:02

On election day, Arizonans can vote to amend the state Constitution to establish the fundamental right to abortion. This amendment, which would undoubtedly increase access to abortion care, is especially salient given that Arizona has become an abortion access battleground state since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Alex Gomez, Executive Director of LUCHA – Living United for Change in Arizona, sits down to talk to us about Proposition 139 and what its possible passage may mean for the future of abortion in the state. 

 

Proposition 139, the Rig...

Duration: 00:26:23

Disinformation around reproductive health and rights is highly strategic, leading to pervasive narratives that intentionally divide and control. Anneshia Hardy, scholar-activist, social impact entrepreneur, and narrative strategist, and Executive Director of both Alabama Values and Alabama Values Progress, sits down to talk to us about pervasive narratives and mis- and disinformation surrounding sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), particularly in the Black community, and how busting these narratives is crucial in the fight for bodily autonomy and liberation. 

 

This conversation is rooted in years of historical context. In the U.S...

Duration: 00:38:24

From self-care advice to an imaginary performance on the Great British Bake Off, Rachel Fey, Vice President, Policy, and Strategic Partnerships at Power to Decide, asks our host Jennie Wetter a collection of ask me anything (AMA) questions!

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