Students and Faculty Explore the Topic of Reproductive Justice

The Cambridge School of Weston held its annual Michael H. Feldman ’67 Social Justice Day on Wednesday, April 12. The topic of this year’s event was “reproductive justice.” 

 

The day started with a keynote address by Dr. Ruth Berggren. The daughter of public health physicians, Dr. Berggren spent her childhood in Haiti, where she grew up on the grounds of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, speaking French and Creole. She studied biology and humanities at Oberlin College, later attending Harvard Medical School and training at Massachusetts General Hospital.

 

Now a medical school professor and infectious disease specialist, Ruth has extensive experience in clinical AIDS and viral hepatitis care and research, as well as HIV care in resource-limited settings ranging from Haiti to post-Katrina New Orleans. As an educator, she creates transformational learning opportunities through community engagement for health equity, globally and locally. 

 

After the keynote, students and faculty attended a series of morning and afternoon workshops led by CSW faculty and/or outside speakers. Special guests included Dr. Bridgette Wamakima, a fourth year OB/GYN resident at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, who presented on Health Disparities, Social Determinants of Health, Maternal Mortality and Reproductive Justice; representatives from the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, who spoke about abortion access post Roe; representatives from “Love Your Menses,” an organization that promotes menstrual equity worldwide through education and resource connection; and Dr. Stephanie Ros, a Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, who spoke about the impacts of the Dobbs Decision. 

 

The day ended with advisory meetings, during which time students were able to reflect on the day and discuss ways in which they could incorporate what they had learned into their own lives.