Keynote Address: Whose bodies, whose laws, whose health? - Reproductive justice from a global health perspective.
Dr. Ruth Berggren
In the keynote presentation I will give an overview of trends and root causes of maternal mortality around the world, with individual stories, as well as examples of programs in countries that are seeing improvements. We will compare these positive examples to countries and populations that are seeing declines in maternal health and examine the root causes as well as downstream consequences on people's lives and communities.
Morning and Afternoon Workshops
From Awareness to Advocacy: How Can We Share Our Voices?
Dr. Ruth Berggren
In the workshop, we will establish a safe-space environment for participatory learning. A text to screen application may be employed, in which individuals use their smartphones to respond to prompts (anonymously if they so desire), through which we will explore our collective and individual responses to topics in the keynote address. Using an exercise called SHOWED, we will elicit the participants' creative ideas to explore diverse opportunities for Reproductive Justice Advocacy.
Consequences of the Dobbs Decision In the Care of Pregnant Patients
Dr. Stephanie Ros
In this workshop we will discuss ways in which the Dobbs decision has altered typical medical care for pregnant patients, highlight impact on patients from diverse backgrounds/emphasize disparities, and allow opportunity for questions from attendees.
Beyond Title IX: Reproductive Justice for Female Athletes
Meredith Mikell
Female athletes, in particular endurance athletes, accept a fundamental amount of gender-based injustice by participating in competitive sport. Even though Title IX made it possible for women and girls to have equal access to athletic opportunities as men and boys, it has not made athletic participation equal regarding the cost to women's health, with dire long-term consequences. This presentation will address the key areas in which female athletes are forced to compromise their long-term physical and reproductive health, encouraged into eating disorders to maintain a cultural aesthetic that satisfies "the male gaze", and financially punished for giving birth.
Black Maternal Health
Dr. Bridgette Wamakima
Join Dr. Wamakima for an in-depth Discussion on Health Disparities, Social Determinants of Health, Maternal Mortality and Reproductive Justice.
Abortion Access Post-Roe
Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM)
The Abortion Access Post-Roe workshop addresses the landscape of abortion access in the USA after the Dobbs Decision, the Supreme Court decision that overturned federal protection for abortion care. Participants will learn what these Supreme Court decisions mean and they will learn about barriers that stand in the way of people accessing abortion care. Participants will also develop their understanding of how abortion access is related to oppression and power as well as identify steps they can take to reduce barriers around abortion care.
IN•clued for Youth
Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM)
The IN•clued Program addresses the unjust sexual health outcomes for LGBTQ young people by providing accurate and nonjudgmental information about pregnancy and STI prevention options for members of the LGBTQ community. This program will help participants develop their understanding of the unique sexual and reproductive health risks LGBTQ people can experience, why it is important to stay sexually healthy, and what actions they can take to advocate for their own sexual healthcare needs or those of another person as an ally/coconspirator.
Men For Menstruation
Love Your Menses
Men For Menstruation is a course for men and non menstruators to help them better understand menstruation, get access to tangible resources and gain confidence to support menstruators in their lives and break the period taboo. Participants will learn the basics of menstruation and menstrual hygiene management, understand the importance of addressing period poverty and other forms of period trauma, and participate in group discussions and activities to practice how to effectively communicate and support people in their lives who have periods. At the end of the training, participants will have the knowledge and skills they need to support menstruators and feel comfortable sharing information about menstruation with others.
Menstrual Equity 101
Love Your Menses
Menstrual Equity 101 is a course designed to cover everything about menstrual equity. Menstruation is increasingly recognized as an issue in domestic and global public health. Menstrual cycles have not stopped during the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, period poverty — the inability to afford menstrual products — has increased as job insecurity, homelessness, and food insecurity continue to rise. There is a growing menstrual equity movement to not only end period poverty but to address menstruation education and stigma, and to ensure that people have access to health care resources, empowering a generation of unapologetic menstruators. Participants will learn the basics of reproductive health (specifically menstruation and menstrual hygiene management), understand the importance of addressing period poverty and other forms of period trauma, examine the existing methods of menstrual hygiene management and identify tools for supporting youth and adults who menstruate. At the end of the training, participants will have the knowledge to address period taboos and be empowered to make a difference in the lives of those who menstruate.
Period. End of Sentence
In rural India, where the stigma of menstruation persists, women make low-cost sanitary pads on a new machine and stride toward financial independence. This film from director Rayka Zehtabchi and producer Melissa Berton won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject.
The Racial Politics of Abortion
Acclaimed filmmaker Dawn Porter's intimate and personal view of the often-overlooked stories of Black women who seek out reproductive services in America. This documentary gives a snapshot into the lives of Black healthcare providers, mothers and pro-choice and pro-life activists and shows how laws that restrict abortion access impact Black women and their families.
The Philippines' Baby Factory
They call it the "baby factory". At the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in the Philippines' capital, Manila, an infant is born every 12 minutes. Many of the new mothers are teenagers, some just 13. This devoutly Catholic nation, where abortion is illegal, is the only Asian country where teenage pregnancy has increased in the last two decades. Authorities say they want to reduce the birth rate, but the fight to make contraception readily available has been plagued by setbacks. 101 East investigates why children are having babies in the Philippines and meets some of the country's youngest mothers.
What It’s Like To Have A Second-Trimester Abortion
In May 2019, Georgia passed its version of a “heartbeat bill,” legislation that bans abortion after six weeks of gestation. The bill — like other anti-abortion bills that cleared statehouses across the South and the Midwest this year — sparked protests, condemnation from doctors and advocates, and legal challenges. But for some women in Georgia, the abortion debate hasn’t included a key voice: women who have undergone the procedure themselves.
Women Are Being Sterilized in American Prisons
Eugenics is a concept so universally despised it is hard to imagine its existence in the Western world. But in California the forced sterilization of women in prisons is a terrifying, cruel reality.