rePROs Fight Back

The ability to control your body and when, how, and if you get pregnant and raise children is a fundamental freedom that should be recognized by the law. Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward, sits down to talk with us about the direct connection between the opportunities and support that women and girls have and the strengths of democracies, and how the U.S. (among other countries) is clearly experiencing a democratic backslide.

The FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) Act was passed in the early 1990s with bipartisan support. The law was put in place to address a surge in violence and harassment, targeting, and blockading of reproductive health care clinics. The Trump administration has consistently misrepresented and threatened the FACE Act, including going after litigators who prosecuted under FACE Act violations. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has put together a 900-page report intended to discredit prosecutors and civil servants and to create a narrative to justify those facing being fired by the department.

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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We repeat: your reason is the right reason.

For this incredibly special part four of our storytellers podcast series, tune in to hear the abortion stories of Candace and Trenece -- abortion storytellers from We Testify. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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Need a breakdown of the recent ruling on nationwide mifepristone access at the Supreme Court? Imani Gandy, Executive Producer, Legal Content & Culture with Rewire News Group, co-host of podcast Boom! Lawyered and host of podcast B*tch Listen and Jessica Mason Pieklo, Executive Producer, Legal Content & Advocacy with Rewire News Group and co-host of podcast Boom! Lawyered have got you covered. 

In 2024, the state of Louisiana sued the Food and Drug Administration over a rule change from 2023 that allowed mifepristone to be prescribed and dispensed remotely. Previously, the agency had required the pill to be dispensed in-person at a clinic or other health facility. On May 1, 2026, the FDA’s rule was temporarily blocked, restricting mifepristone access nationwide. Emergency petitions were filed with the Supreme Court the next day, and on May 4, the stay was applied to the block until May 11. On May 14th, the Supreme Court continued to allow patients to access mifepristone.

On Mother’s Day, a website for new and expectant mothers called moms.gov dropped, pushing pro-natalist, eugenicist propaganda.

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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Your reason is the right reason.

For this incredibly special part three of our storytellers podcast series, tune in to hear the abortion stories of Dr. Brendane A. Tynes and Kiah-- abortion storytellers from We Testify.

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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This week, we're bringing you a special feed drop from Disrupting Peace, a podcast from the World Peace Foundation, which explores why peace hasn’t worked, and how it still could. In each episode, Bridget Conley, research director at the World Peace Foundation, speaks with a researcher specializing in one obstacle to peace, and an activist who’s changing systems from the ground up. Together they explore what worked, what didn’t, and why we shouldn’t give up.

This episode focuses on Iceland, the country ranked number one for gender equality for 15 years in a row. The episodes explores what makes Iceland unique, how younger generations are pushing the feminist agenda forward, and why limiting freedom around parental leave has increased equality in this volcanic, Nordic country.

Access the Disrupting Peace podcast here: https://pod.link/1759500826

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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Indiana was the first state to sign, pass, and enforce an abortion ban after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision, which went into effect in 2023 (Missouri saw immediate enforcement via a trigger ban). Now, almost everyone must leave the state to access an abortion. Forest Beeley, Program Director for All Options, which runs Indiana’s singular abortion fund, sits down to talk with us about Indiana’s current sexual and reproductive health and rights landscape.

Reproductive healthcare and abortion in Indiana face an uphill battle. Title X clinics in the state of Indiana face increased limitations on what information they can provide, but they are there to see patients, nonetheless. The state has a Planned Parenthood affiliate, but two centers in Indianapolis are currently closing due to federal Medicaid cuts. Crisis pregnancy centers, (CPCs) or fake clinics, are extremely common in Indiana and across the U.S. Ultrasounds are performed by non-medical personnel, they are not bound by HIPPA, and abortion is often not offered as an option for care. 

Abortion funds need your support to continue providing on-the-ground services and resources to those seeking an abortion and to steer clear of harmful CPCs. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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Doulas, a non-medical birth professional, provide emotional, physical and social support and guidance through different aspects of sexual and reproductive health-- including labor and delivery, the prenatal and postpartum period, and during abortion care, miscarriage, or stillbirth. Amy Chen, Senior Attorney at the National Health Law Program, sits down to talk with us about the importance and benefits of doulas, Medicaid coverage of this care, and the challenges the U.S. faces in getting closer to a more supported, equitable birthing reality. 

Benefits of doula care include lower rates of low-birth-weight babies, lower rates of cesarian delivery, and higher rates of breastfeeding initiation. Doulas can also help reduce racial disparities in care, particularly for those who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). One of the core goals of increasing doula care surrounds the current Black maternal health crisis in the United States; doulas can provide support and act as an advocate when a patient faces individual, structural, or institutional racism. 

States, health plans, and employers have shown increasing interest in expanding and implementing access to doula care. Across the country, Medicaid covers close to half of all births. Over the past five years, 25 states and Washington D.C. have implemented Medicaid coverage of doulas, with half a dozen states in the process of implementation. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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“Family values” brings up a very specific image rooted in the narrow idea of what a family is—such as a white, heterosexual marriage with children and a picket fence. But this image leaves out a lot of people, and so many families do not look like the image of the “nuclear” family that is often uplifted. Preston Mitchum, attorney, advocate, activist, and sometimes-reality-tv-personality, sits down to talk with us about conservative definitions of “family” and “family values“ and how those concepts shift into real, harmful policy.  

Religion, tradition, power, and national identity tie closely into conservative interpretations of “family values.” This excludes nontraditional households, the LGBTQI+ community, and many more people, and ascribes political power to that exclusion. Housing, reproduction, immigration protection, marriage access, and adoption access are policy indicators that often do not reflect lived experiences for families and ultimately expose people to further marginalization. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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Across the spectrum, there are escalating attacks on women’s rights and freedoms, including attacks on the abortion pill, birth control, women’s suffrage, no fault divorce, higher education, and more. Courtney Hagle, Research Director at Media Matters for America, sits down to talk with us about the not new, but increasingly violent, rhetoric against women.

Attacks on abortion, birth control, sex education, and the LGBTQI+ community—both rhetorically and politically—have been increasing drastically. These attacks are often rooted in core values of religious extremism and protecting the nuclear family. The anti-abortion movement and media is seeking to hitch their wagon to the MAHA movement, (Make America Healthy Again) claiming that the abortion pill and the birth control pill have detrimental health and environmental side effects. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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A flurry of updates from the U.S. legal landscape have expanded recently; from cases examining birthright citizenship and conversion therapy to Pam Bondi’s bye-bye, Jessica Mason Pieklo, Executive Producer of Legal Content and Advocacy at Rewire News Group and host of Boom! Lawyered, sits down to talk with us about both the latest developments at the Supreme Court and Trump’s ousting of Pam Bondi, former U.S. Attorney General.

The Supreme Court heard a challenge to Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy (Chiles v. Salazar), in which the justices ruled 8-1 in favor of Chiles and sent the discussion of conversion therapy as “protected speech” back down to the lower courts. It represents a large shift in what the court considers “speech,” particularly “medical speech.” In Trump v. Barbara, the court scrutinized an executive order seeking to redefine birthright citizenship—specifically to restrict the citizenship of children who are U.S.-born but have non-citizen parents. The Supreme Court taking this case in the first place is concerning. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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