Whose children are wanted?

Who receives support – and under what conditions – to fulfill their desire to have children? And who is prevented from doing so? The exhibition “Atlas of Reproduction” explores these questions by bringing together research, art, design, and the public in new formats for dialogue.

Text: Carolin Schurr, Laura Perler und Mirko Winkel
Sep 1, 2026

When we – Laura Perler, Mirko Winkel, and Carolin Schurr – began our adult lives in the 1990s and early 2000s, it seemed as though it was only a matter of time before reproductive rights became widespread throughout the world. Reproductive rights refer to human rights that guarantee all people the right to make free, self-determined decisions – without discrimination – about their bodies, their sexuality, and whether, when, and how many children they wish to have.

Today, however, we see that reproductive freedom – such as the right to abortion – have become the target of political attacks in many countries. Public debates on these issues in politics, the media, and society are becoming increasingly polarized. Through our research and our new exhibition and book project, “Atlas of Reproduction,” we aim to create a space for dialogue that facilitates nuanced, research-informed debates.

Continued: https://www.uniaktuell.unibe.ch/2026/whose_children_are_wanted/index_eng.html


Olivia Rodrigo’s festival uniting women behind nonprofits promoting their well-being

Rodrigo has made a name channeling the rage and dissatisfaction of modern romance into chart-topping songs that are equal parts Taylor Swift and Alanis Morissette.

By James Pollard | The Associated Press
August 30, 2026

Evoking the same do-it-yourself pop-rock feminism of her '90s musical influences, Olivia Rodrigo raised $20 million for women's well-being with a benefit show that activated her young audience.

Daisy Chain Fields united a women-led lineup boasting queer pop star Chappell Roan, breakout rapper Doechii and riot grrrl pioneers Bikini Kill behind issues of women's health, workplace protections and legal rights. Ahead of Saturday's festival in Irvine, California, Rodrigo announced the show had already raised enough to make a $10 million donation to 10 nonprofit partners including Planned Parenthood, National Women's Law Center and Black Mamas Matter Alliance.

Continued: https://www.nbcboston.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/olivia-rodrigo-festival-unites-women-girls-behind-nonprofits-promoting-well-being/4006120/


Poland – Former political prisoner Asia Bulybenka organizes an exhibition of paintings created after an abortion

"Only later did I realize that I was drawing her — my little one, as I called her," shares Asia in an interview with Most. Due to the ban on abortions in Poland, where the girl currently lives, she decided to travel to Lithuania.

July 31, 2026

An exhibition of paintings by former political prisoner Asia Bulybenka, who was convicted in the "students' case," will be held in Warsaw. Through art, the girl processes her difficult experience.

The Sununfollowers exhibition consists of a series of paintings with sunflowers that Asia created over several weeks after terminating her pregnancy. She took this step while in an abusive relationship with her former boyfriend.

… Through the exhibition, Asia wants to raise the issue of abortion restrictions in Poland and show the personal struggles women can face in similar situations.

Continued: https://nashaniva.com/en/401157


Baudouin, the former king of the Belgians who was willing to do anything to stop abortion

Personal diaries and archives shed new light on the ethical and spiritual dilemmas faced by the former monarch in the years before his death, just as Belgium was preparing to legalize abortion.

By Jean-Pierre Stroobants (Brussels, correspondent)
June 15, 2026

It was one of the most astonishing political sleights of hand of the 20th century, tinged with a dose of surrealism, and it played out in the Kingdom of Belgium. Yet, not all the details of this incredible episode, which took place in April 1990, were widely known: Baudouin (1930-1993), king of the Belgians, refused to sanction a law on abortion. This unprecedented act brought both the monarchy and the nation to the brink. In a country where the monarch "reigns but does not govern," Baudouin simply could not defy the will of a majority of lawmakers without consequence. After 20 years of debate, they had finally reached an agreement to legalize abortion.

Writing an extensive biography entitled Baudouin, un roi face aux crises de son temps ("Baudouin: A King Facing the Crises of His Time"), historian Vincent Dujardin, a professor at the Catholic University of Louvain, was the first to access the king's personal diaries and archives. In his book, he illuminates all the twists and turns of an event that stunned the world.

Continued: https://archive.is/2j9eZ
(https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/06/15/baudouin-the-former-king-of-the-belgians-who-was-willing-to-do-anything-to-stop-abortion_6754477_4.html)


USA — The war against women’s rights

Documentary film: 1 hour 16 minutes
Deutsche Welle
April 28, 2026

The situation of women’s rights in the USA is increasingly dramatic. Radical abortion bans and unequal treatment in the justice system are leading to significant restrictions on fundamental rights.

The documentary reports from the USA, a country where women go to prison for the crimes of their husbands, and a man is allowed to marry a ten-year-old girl. Abortions are illegal even in cases of rape and incest. The documentary sheds light on the mechanisms behind Trump's freedom-restricting policies. The rise of the conservative-puritanical ideology of Christian nationalism has led to a massive restriction of the fundamental rights of US citizens in the USA. In many places, women are dying because of a lack of gynecological care. In states with radical abortion bans, more than 100,000 women have already been forced to give birth to a child after being raped. Since Donald Trump's return as US president, the future for women in the US looks bleak. The documentary looks at the machinations of anti-abortion centers. Through interviews, it reveals how these freedom-restricting and backward-looking policies work. But the film also shows resistance, led by those who refuse to accept these developments.

Continued: https://amp.dw.com/en/usa-the-war-against-womens-rights/video-76966507


ZIMBABWE – Mystery over overnight graves in Epworth revealed

April 24, 2026 
Muchaneta Chimuka

Rows of graves that appeared overnight in Epworth, sparking widespread curiosity, public speculation, and viral social media debate, have been revealed to be a deliberate national intervention to shine the spotlight on unsafe abortion.

The graves are part of “In the Shadows of Epworth,” a hard-hitting investigative documentary seeking to expose the hidden human cost of unsafe abortion and to evoke urgent national dialogue grounded in public health, human rights, and lived realities.

Continued: https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/mystery-over-overnight-graves-in-epworth-revealed/


UK – New exhibition challenges how we think about miscarriage – and the stories we don’t hear

22 April 2026

A powerful new exhibition is set to open in London this spring, inviting the public to rethink one of life’s most intimate and misunderstood experiences: miscarriage.

Pregnancy Endings, part of the Feminist Miscarriage Project, brings together striking portrait photography and deeply personal stories to reveal the full spectrum of experiences surrounding miscarriage, abortion and other pregnancy endings.

Continued: https://www.lboro.ac.uk/news-events/news/2026/april/pregnancy-endings/


UK – Why are doctors in abortion clinics showing women scans without their consent?

As Apple TV’s new show, ‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’, depicts a woman being shown a foetal scan without her consent, Olivia Petter examines why medics are doing this and why it can be so damaging for those seeking abortions

Wednesday 22 April 2026

Whether a woman should or should not have an abortion is a choice that people make and others like to have opinions about. We know this – and have done for some time. Hence, terminations are still illegal in many parts of the world, including Malta, El Salvador, and Egypt, and highly restricted in even more – the overturning of Roe v Wade in 2022 has enabled 26 US states to have either hostile or illegal policies against it.

Sometimes, the people who are trying to influence your decision are a little closer to us. It might be your partner, a family member, or a friend. One person it really shouldn’t be, though, is your doctor. And yet, far too often this seemingly obvious fact is being ignored.

Continued: https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/abortion-consent-margo-got-money-troubles-b2962005.html


‘The Other Roe’ Film Shines a Light on Forgotten Abortion-Rights Case Doe v. Bolton

Roe v. Wade was only half the story. A new short documentary spotlights the case that made abortion rights real in practice.

4/15/2026
by Ava Slocum

On June 24, 2026, we’ll reach the fourth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. This year, which would have been Roe’s 53rd anniversary, also coincides with the United States’ 250th, reminding us that while the U.S. has been independent since 1776, American women are still far from having full rights and power over our own bodies.

Roe v. Wade, which passed in 1973 and stood for 49 years, gets most of the credit for establishing the national right to abortion. Many people think of Roe as the first big bookend ushering in the right to abortion in the U.S., with Dobbs as the other bookend taking that right away again.

However, Roe wasn’t the only groundbreaking case that paved the way for abortion rights in the U.S.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2026/04/15/the-other-roe-film-doe-v-bolton-abortion-rights-history-margie-pitts-hames/


Whistleblower says Trump officials thought USAID did ‘just abortions,’ asked for ‘Barney-style’ slides before gutting agency, per new book

Marisa Kabas
April 13, 2026

One of the first acts by the second Trump administration was the complete gutting of the US Agency for International Development, a workforce of more than 10,000 people that had administered humanitarian aid and public health support to nations around the world since 1961. Thousands of jobs were immediately slashed by Elon Musk’s para-governmental Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and political appointees took over posts previously held by career civil servants. An agency once charged with fighting poverty, curbing the spread of infectious diseases, and promoting education and democracy abroad had been effectively thrown in the woodchipper.

Continued: https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/trump-usaid-abortions-barney-nicholas-enrich-into-the-wood-chipper-book-exclusive