rePROs Fight Back

Jennie Wetter

1 Creator

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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Top 10 rePROs Fight Back Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best rePROs Fight Back episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to rePROs Fight Back for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite rePROs Fight Back episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Demystifying Self-Managed Abortion

rePROs Fight Back

06/29/21 • 30 min

When many people hear the term ‘self-managed abortion,’ they may think unsafe abortion or pre-Roe v. Wade methods of terminating a pregnancy. Nowadays, self-managed medication abortion is extremely safe, effective, and can be done in the comfort and privacy of one’s own home. Erin Matson, Executive Director of Reproaction, sits down to talk with us about the myths, barriers to care, and the actions folks can take around self-managed abortion.

Self-managed abortion refers to when somebody ends their pregnancy outside of a medical setting. “The World Health Organization (WHO) has put misoprostol on the list of essential medicines and created a protocol for how women may manage their abortion with misoprostol without direct provider supervision.” Many choose to end their pregnancies outside of clinic settings due to immigration status, fear of being misgendered or patronized by clinic staff, or fear of protestors.

Despite the fact that medication abortion has been approved by the FDA for over 20 years, providers who wish to dispense medication abortion have to jump through extra logistical hoops to do so. Patients themselves face an in-person dispensing requirement, meaning they have to be physically handed the medications by their doctor rather than picking them up at a pharmacy (during the pandemic, the Biden administration has repealed that rule so that folks can access medication abortion through telemedicine and not expose themselves unnecessarily to COVID-19). The FDA has also announced that it will be conducting a formal review of the restrictions set in place for medication abortion.

Abortion pill “reversal” is an unsubstantiated claim that a medication abortion can be reversed with progesterone. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says there’s no evidence that this procedure is effective. It’s misinformation like this, though, that permeates the public understanding of abortion and erects more barriers to care.

Links

Reproaction on Twitter

Reproaction on Facebook

Reproaction information on self-managed abortion

What do Bridges, Roads, and Abortions Have in Common? – article by Erin Matson

How to Spot a Fake Clinic

Take Action

You can follow Reproaction on Twitter and Facebook and stay up-to-date on their work.

Educate yourself on how self-managed abortion works! You can start by checking out Reproaction’s information

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Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

4 Listeners

Let's Get Proactive About Expanding Abortion Access!

rePROs Fight Back

05/18/21 • 35 min

While Roe v. Wade may be the law of the land, abortion has always been inaccessible and a right on paper only for so many in the United States. Since the passage of Roe, there have been 1,200 abortion restrictions enacted, with 2021 on track to be one of the worst years for abortion restrictions. Jamille Fields-Allsbrook, Director of Women’s Health and Rights at the Center for American Progress and Nora Ellmann, Research Associate for Women’s Health and Rights at the Center for American Progress, sit down to talk with us about what actions need to be taken to ensure a proactive abortion agenda for the U.S. from their report, A Proactive Abortion Agenda: Federal and State Policies To Protect and Expand Access.

First and foremost, the comprehensive right to abortion, without restriction and without political interference, must be codified at the legislative level. Championing laws like the Women’s Health Protection Act would help block many of these restrictions, such as 20-week bans and targeted regulation of abortion provider (TRAP) laws. Financial support for abortion access is also critical; passage of the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act would permanently repeal the Hyde Amendment and prohibits political interference with decisions by private insurance companies to cover abortion. Individual states can repeal harmful legislation and pass proactively progressive legislation to expand access to medication abortion, decriminalize self-managed abortion, and remove restrictions on physicians.

At the executive level, it’s important that they select judicial nominees that are diverse and have backgrounds in civil rights, reproductive rights, and abortion rights. The President must also have a budget that doesn’t allow for federal funding restrictions, like the Hyde Amendment, on abortion access. Finally, undue regulations on abortion-related insurance billing practices must be repealed. Already, the current administration has increased access to medication abortion during the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more about this step taken by the Biden administration, listen to our podcast episode here.

When it comes to the judiciary: we need to pay attention to the courts! Again, it’s critical that judges appointed to all levels of the U.S. court system come from diverse backgrounds and have supportive records for reproductive health, rights, and justice. The courts must continue to uphold precedent and respect abortion as a right that has been established under the Constitution.

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3 Listeners

How the Administration is Attacking Repro Rights in the US and Overseas

rePROs Fight Back

06/19/18 • 47 min

Every person, no matter who they are and where they live, should be able to make basic health decisions about their lives. Reproductive health and rights are both a domestic and international issue; we cannot talk about one without the other. But, attempting to keep up-to-date on the global fight on reproductive health can often be overwhelming. Helping us bridge that gap is Chloe Cooney with Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Because both in the United States and abroad, the intention behind every policy that limits reproductive health is an attack on women’s rights.

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How Trump is Reshaping the Federal Judiciary

rePROs Fight Back

12/18/18 • 42 min

The Trump administration is reshaping our judicial landscape. During his time in office, Trump has sent 157 judicial nominees to the Senate, which is bad news for reproductive and sexual health and rights. To help explain the sometimes daunting task of understanding the federal judiciary system under Trump, we're excited to have Kate Ryan from NARAL Pro-Choice America sit down with us!

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BMHW22: The Current Status of Black Maternal Health in the U.S.

rePROs Fight Back

04/12/22 • 31 min

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.

Even though the United States spends more per capita on health care than any other country, the maternal mortality rate is steadily worsening. Just last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data showing that Black women are three times more likely to die from maternal health issues and maternal morbidity than white women. These rates have steadily increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Social and structural inequality as well as racism in the healthcare system continue to contribute to the poor health outcomes of Black women. Racism in healthcare can result in physical and mental health impacts, weathering (wear and tear on the body), and increased likelihood of experiencing complications during the pregnancy and birthing process.

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the ways in which marginalized communities continue to be further marginalized when it comes to healthcare access. The pandemic’s restrictions on those allowed inside hospitals and clinics impacted Black birthing people’s abilities to bring along companions into medical settings, like a friend, family member, or doula to serve as an additional patient advocate.

Already, the U.S. is experiencing a maternal mortality and morbidity crisis, but tacking on extreme attacks to abortion care will worsen health outcomes. A possible overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in June will leave the United States woefully unprepared for a worsening maternal mortality crisis, exacerbated by a lack of access to abortion care for millions. States that are most likely to pass the most draconian abortion restrictions are the states with the highest maternal mortality rates, mostly concentrated in the American south.

The Momnibus package, which has been led by Congresswoman Lauren Underwood and Congresswoman Alma Adams, is a package of 12 bills that address almost every dimension of the Black maternal health crisis. This package of legislation addresses a variety of intersectional Black maternal health concerns, including the social determinants of health, vaccinations, climate, housing, insurance coverage and more. Passage of the Momnibus would make a momentous difference in addressing the U.S. Black maternal health crisis.

Links

The Century Foundation on Twitter

The Century Foundation on Facebook

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2 Listeners

Reproductive Rights, LGBTQ+ Rights, and the Catholic Church

rePROs Fight Back

03/09/21 • 38 min

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 specific way with specific anatomy to signal what God’s purpose for humanity, nature, and gender roles are for us. This deeply entrenched theological idea is taught widely at Catholic schools and universities around the U.S. It is this fundamental idea that underlines why the church opposes abortion, contraception, same-sex relationships and marriage, and women serving as faith leaders.

While it often largely seems as if the Catholic church is mostly focused on curtailing access to abortion, that isn’t the only sexual and reproductive health issue that is impacted by the political power of the church; the Catholic church has been a leading actor in opposing birth control access, LGB issues, trans issues, refusing basic healthcare in clinical settings, and more. It is often the Catholic church that is behind cases in the Supreme Court. Still, the teachings and beliefs of the Catholic church hierarchy do not necessarily inherently reflect that living reality of Catholic practitioners.

There has been a large broadening of how religious liberty is interpreted—Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrisey-Berru and Fulton v. Philadelphia are examples of court cases in which the Catholic church have expanded definitions of religious liberty in order to discriminate and refuse protections. These religious liberty extensions will be troubling not only for reproductive health and rights, but for a range of human rights issues.

President Joe Biden is America’s very first pro-choice, practicing Catholic president. This is an opportunity for a person of faith to promote and protect reproductive health and rights. President Biden’s Catholic faith informs much of the administration’s policy, and Catholics for Choice calls on President Biden to state that abortion access is also a value grounded in Catholic social justice.

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2 Listeners

Global Gag Rule Two Years In: What Are We Seeing?

rePROs Fight Back

07/23/19 • 34 min

The global gag rule, also known as the ‘Mexico City Policy,’ is a U.S. foreign policy that prohibits non-U.S., non-governmental organizations from using their own private funds to provide comprehensive abortion care, counseling for abortion, referral for abortion, or organizing/lobbying/conducting public campaigns in support of abortion on the condition of receiving global health funding. The rule has appeared under previous Republican administrations, but under the current administration it has been vastly expanded. Two years in to the expanded global gag rule, there are a plethora of negative effects. Vanessa Rios from the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC) and Jade Maina from TICAH talk to us about IWHC’s new report and why the global gag rule must go.

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It Shouldn't Be This Hard For Immigrants to Access Health Care

rePROs Fight Back

11/20/18 • 34 min

For clarity, these show notes and this podcast episode will be inclusive of undocumented immigrants and immigrants with legal status.

In the United States today, there are more than 8 million citizens who live with at least one family member who may be undocumented. Yesenia Chavez with the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) and Jaclyn Dean with the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) talk to us about the fight for access to healthcare for immigrants.

Children make up the majority of the millions of citizens who live with at least one family member. In fact, 6 million of these citizens are children. This means that many types of immigration enforcement actions come with severe emotional, mental, developmental, physical and financial repercussions for both the children and the undocumented individuals.

Immigrants are not able to legally access public benefit programs until they have proven their permanent resident status, and only after five years of having that status. These programs can help provide housing, food, and health security to these communities. It is important to note that this same five-year bar also prevents access to the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplace. This means that opportunities for immigrant individuals and families are already limited, and immigrants often rely on a patchwork of insurance sources to cover healthcare. If their employer does not cover insurance or if they do not qualify for Medicaid, then immigrants often have to turn to paying for emergency care out of pocket, or seeking help through a community health center.

46% of immigrant, non-citizen women of reproductive age in the U.S. are privately insured, 19% rely on Medicaid for their insurance, and 34% are completely uninsured. The uninsured rate for immigrant women of reproductive age who are living in poverty is 48%. Nearly half of all immigrants in the U.S. are women and children.

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You’d Be Surprised How Many Sexual and Reproductive Health Issues Are Included in Bridgerton

rePROs Fight Back

02/23/21 • 42 min

“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 London.

Issues of maternal mortality arise a few times in Bridgerton; The Duke’s mother dies after giving birth to him, while Eloise expresses anxiety to Daphne when remembering their mother’s close brush with death after giving birth to their youngest sibling. Girls and women are seen carrying the emotional weight of pregnancy and childbirth, as both were a necessary social role at the time and yet carried a very large health risk.

Gender roles are also starkly explored, as gender constrained and shaped the paths that both men and women took in the show. Throughout the season, Eloise rejects her “coming out” as a debutante while proclaiming value in education and writing. Early marriage in Bridgerton underscores the ways in which women and girls could protect their virginity, while men and boys were encouraged to engage in sexual promiscuity. And, after the death of the family’s father, Anthony, the eldest son, takes over as head of the household and must make increasingly intense decisions for the Bridgerton family’s future-- which often puts him in conflict with his mother.

Daphne has grown up protected in her class-defined bubble and it has kept her far from any kind of comprehensive sex education. When it becomes clear she is uninformed, she seeks knowledge about sex and marriage from her lady’s maid. Daphne becomes increasingly angry with her mother as she realizes her mother sent her out into the world without important information about sex and marriage. The Duke takes advantage of the fact that Daphne does not understand the way sex works, depending on the withdrawal method to not get her pregnant. Ultimately, Daphne discovers the Duke’s insistence that he cannot have children is a philosophical one instead of a physiological one, leading Daphne to sexually assault the Duke and engage in reproductive coercion.

Bridgerton reminds us that self-managed abortion has been around for a very long time. Out of desperation, Marina unsuccessfully attempts to induce a self-managed abortion by mixing herbs into a tea. Thankfully, in the U.S. and around the world today, self-managed medication abortion is much safer and more effective. Still, it is a reminder that pregnant people want and deserve to have complete autonomy over decision-making about their bodies.

Today, while some things differ from Regency-era London, access to sex education is still shockingly lacking for young people around the U.S. There has been no expansion in how many teens receive formal sex education in 25 years. When teens do get sex ed, it’s often abstinence-only, without any information

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Everyone Loves Someone Who Had an Abortion: Abortion Storytellers Part 2

rePROs Fight Back

02/22/22 • 65 min

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

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

Links

We Testify

We Testify on Twitter

We Testify on Facebook

Graphic artist Sage M Coffey

Passing the Women’s Health Protection Act Would Be Magical

Take Action

Follow We Testify on Facebook and Twitter to keep up-to-date on their essential work. You can also sign up to receive We Testify newsletters here.

You can also to get involved with We Testify, find more abortion stories, or share your abortion story.

Love the episode art? Find more of graphic artist Sage M. Coffey’s work here!

The Senate will be voting on the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) on February 28th. Call your Senators and tell them to support passing WHPA!! You can call the Senate Switchboard at (202) 224-3121

Find Intersectionality Matters where ever you get your podcasts: https://pod.link/1441348908

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2 Listeners

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FAQ

How many episodes does rePROs Fight Back have?

rePROs Fight Back currently has 254 episodes available.

What topics does rePROs Fight Back cover?

The podcast is about Health & Fitness, Society & Culture, Abortion, Podcasts, Sexuality and Politics.

What is the most popular episode on rePROs Fight Back?

The episode title 'Demystifying Self-Managed Abortion' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on rePROs Fight Back?

The average episode length on rePROs Fight Back is 38 minutes.

How often are episodes of rePROs Fight Back released?

Episodes of rePROs Fight Back are typically released every 13 days.

When was the first episode of rePROs Fight Back?

The first episode of rePROs Fight Back was released on Dec 19, 2017.

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rePROs Fight Back

Jennie Wetter

Top 10 rePROs Fight Back Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does rePROs Fight Back have?

What topics does rePROs Fight Back cover?

What is the most popular episode on rePROs Fight Back?

What is the average episode length on rePROs Fight Back?

How often are episodes of rePROs Fight Back released?

When was the first episode of rePROs Fight Back?

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