rePROs Fight Back

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’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 right-wing, 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 available on the market for 25 years. Yet, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA out of Texas saw anti-abortion advocates arguing against mifepristone (despite FDA approval of hundreds of studies proving its safety). It was headed by anti-reproductive health and rights judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who has now sent the case to Missouri. Judge Kacsmaryk has referenced the Comstock Act, which would ban the mailing of abortion pills. For more information, check out Pantsuit Politics: https://www.pantsuitpoliticsshow.com/s/podcast Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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 willingness to facilitate the Trump administration’s agenda. Coming up this term includes a challenge to Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy (Chiles v. Salazar), a West Virginia ban on transgender girl’s participation in sports (B.P.J. v. West Virgina Board of Education), a case on no-knock searches by law enforcement, and a redistricting case in Louisiana (Louisiana v. Callais). Cases in the lower courts that are not yet on the Supreme Court docket (but could head there soon) include challenges to state shield laws and administration attacks to mifepristone and the FDA. For more information, check out Pantsuit Politics: https://www.pantsuitpoliticsshow.com/s/podcast Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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’t stop just at abortion—contraception and gender-affirming care will face the exact same attacks, likely using the same strategies. The fight for emergency abortion care continues, too. Post-Dobbs and Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” hospitals, especially in rural areas, will continue to close their obstetrics wards. Abortion care will be continuously pushed farther out of reach. Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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, 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 recently pregnant—are late to discover they are pregnant. That means those who make this discovery later in pregnancy in states with six-week abortion bans do not have access to abortion. Further into pregnancy, costs rise, available providers decrease, and barriers to care mount. Since Dobbs, ten states have enshrined viability measures into their constitutions, and 41 states still ban abortion at some point in pregnancy. The good news? Culture is shifting—more Americans agree that legislators should not be involved in pregnancy decisions, including in the third trimester. There are also more clinics and providers for abortion later in pregnancy than there were previously, and states are continuing to repeal viability limits. Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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 them. If you enjoy this conversation, check out the Aborsh wherever you get your podcasts! https://www.aborsh.com Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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 first time is the primary representation of menstrual health. Rarely do we see reliable depiction of the pain that comes with menstruation. Talking openly with your friends and loved ones about the experience of menstruating can help us destigmatize periods, understand our own pain, understand other people’s pain, comfort one another, and heal. Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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 given country for the year, and they require human rights desk officers in embassies to engage with human rights defenders within the country and document any abuses. This allows Congress to make fact-based decisions and protect asylum seekers. This year’s human rights reports featured a complete rewrite of the instructions for dramatically reduced sections related to fundamental freedoms for particular populations (including women, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, and more). The reports are 1/3rd shorter than they were before. For more information, check out Well...Adjusting: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/well-adjusting/id1649386566 Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), President Trump’s Tax and Spend mega bill, recently passed by Congress. It will strip billions of dollars from essential health programs while paying for billions of dollars in tax cuts for the rich, expanding mass deportation programs, and continuing 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, currently provides coverage for over 71 million people. Medicaid is a critical line for people to access sexual and reproductive health care. OBBBA ushers in the most sweeping Medicaid cuts in U.S. history—specifically, $990 billion dollars in Medicaid cuts over the next decade and ending health insurance coverage for over 10 million people. OBBBA also requires mandatory, nationwide work requirements applied to beneficiaries ages 19-64. For more information, check out Well...Adjusting: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/well-adjusting/id1649386566 Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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 states currently ban abortion at some point in pregnancy - including six states that have enshrined viability limits in their state constitutional amendments. The granting of state power over pregnant people at a certain point has profound implications for criminalization—including for behaviors during pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and threats to bodily autonomy and diminished rights of pregnant people. For more information, check out Well...Adjusting: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/well-adjusting/id1649386566 Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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 also includes a threatened lawsuit from the Arkansas Attorney General who has sent cease and desist letters to Plan C and Mayday Health, which also provide medication abortion. Additional articles include those examining a circulated, biased survey sent to OBGYNs and the rising number of Planned Parenthood clinic closures. For more information, check out CRAMPED: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cramped/id1778101696 Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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 would only in “extreme” circumstances enforce the FACE Act. Shortly thereafter, the Heritage Foundation released a white paper calling for the FACE Act’s repeal. For more information, check out CRAMPED: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cramped/id1778101696 Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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 for the access of abortion services. Because of Argentina’s initial countrywide protests, the Argentinian government legalized abortion up to 14 weeks of pregnancy. Success in Argentina’s protest spirit then spilled into other countries, including Mexico and Colombia, creating broad judicial and legislative change. For more information, check out CRAMPED: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cramped/id1778101696 Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

“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 disinformation centered on abortion later in pregnancy. Amy spent time with providers and patients in abortion clinics to capture and share the truth about abortion later in pregnancy—which is that it is a necessary, compassionate form of healthcare provision. A better future must be imagined and provided for those needing an abortion, and especially those in need of an abortion later in pregnancy. For more information, check out CRAMPED: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cramped/id1778101696 Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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 outcomes, and later diagnoses of breast and cervical cancers. We sit down with CEOs and executive directors of some of these impacted organizations, including: Stephanie McDowell, Executive Director of Bridgercare in Montana Ayana Bradshaw, President and CEO of Access Matters in Pennsylvania Amy Moy, Co-CEO with Essential Access Health in California and Hawaii Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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 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. Reproductive justice is rooted in human rights and is about the ability to exercise economic, social, and political power to make decisions about one’s body, family, community, and other life aspects in a safe and sustainable environment. But Medina, which successfully displaced Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health care providers from Medicaid, threatens 200 Planned Parenthood health centers and 1.1 million patients who depend on Planned Parenthood for a spectrum of care. This extreme barrier will prevent people, families, and communities from accessing reliable health care and ultimately realizing reproductive justice. For more information, check out Aborsh: https://www.aborsh.com/ Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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 gender- affirming care for transgender minors. Medina v. Planned Parenthood of South Atlantic was another case heard this term—in fact, it was a culmination of decades of attacks to Planned Parenthood and other providers, specifically targeting efforts to kick these providers out of Medicaid. In another devastating 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court sided against reproductive health care. Mahmoud v. Taylor was a case related to LGBTQI+ inclusive textbooks in Maryland. If parents had a religious objection to anything in the curriculum, they fought to exempt their children from the lesson. By a 6-3 ruling, the Court ruled in favor of the Maryland parents. Lastly, Kennedy v. Braidwood Management Inc. upheld a key Affordable Care Act provision requiring health insurance companies to cover certain care cost-free, but also allows the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services –Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—more autonomy to reshape the provision. For more information, check out Aborsh: https://www.aborsh.com/ Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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 cancers. We sit down with co-founders and executive directors of some of these impacted organizations, including: Michelle Trippiano, Executive Director for the Missouri Family Health Council, and Danielle Lampton, and Jamie Bardwell, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Directors at Converge in Jackson, Mississippi. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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 clinics, sit down to talk with us about their book, After Dobbs: How the Supreme Court Ended Roe but not Abortion. Since Dobbs, abortion numbers have gone up, likely related to impassioned grassroots advocacy, media coverage, fundraising, and the help of abortion funds and patient navigators. Some additional developments since Dobbs include providers moving their offices to different states and abortion pills becoming increasingly depended on. In addition, some similarities in both legal ruling and repeal of bodily autonomy can be drawn between Dobbs and the recent, devastating Supreme Court ruling, United States v. Skrmetti, which upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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 Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

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, she was told travel would be necessary to obtain care. Kate then traveled to the Washington, D.C. area to receive the care she needed. Currently in the Massachusetts, Kate and other advocates are working to pass the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act, which would expand access to abortion care after 24 weeks of pregnancy based on the best professional judgement of a licensed physician. Getting rid of the state’s gestational ban would increase access to care and equity not only for Massachusetts, but for the Northeast region. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Support the show Follow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfb Facebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com Rate and Review on Apple Podcast Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!