U.S. students gain global perspective on reproductive justice in South Africa

Course was one of 14 faculty-led education abroad programs offered by the College of the Liberal Arts this summer

July 27, 2026
by Divya Jyoti

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Eight Penn State undergraduates gained firsthand experience in nonprofit and activist work in Cape Town, South Africa, this summer as part of the three-week faculty-led program WMNST 399: The Quest for Reproductive Justice in South Africa.

The course — one of 14 faculty-led education abroad programs offered in the College of the Liberal Arts this summer — was designed and led by Susanne M. Klausen, Brill Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) and of African studies in the College of the Liberal Arts, alongside co-leader Camille Sluzis, sexual assault and relationship violence coordinator at Penn State’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).

Continued: https://www.psu.edu/news/liberal-arts/story/students-gain-global-perspective-reproductive-justice-south-africa

Black Maternal Health Week Isn’t Complete Without Our Abortion Stories

This Black Maternal Health Week, our abortion stories are essential—without them, neither progress nor celebration is complete.

By Ambreia Meadows-Fernandez
April 15, 2026

Long before I understood the systemic consequences of abortion stigma on Black women and girls, I felt its harm. I had an abortion after an unintended pregnancy at 17. The would-be father’s hateful email, the crisis pregnancy center’s insistence that I give birth, and the protestors at the clinic suggested I’d proven that the most dangerous place for a Black child was in the womb. The resulting shame followed me. Even after I’d finished college, gotten married, and given birth to my first child, abortion stigma wasn’t done with me.

After delivery, an emergency room visit revealed retained placenta tissue as the cause of my low milk supply, weakness, and intense bleeding. Nearly six weeks after delivery, I received a positive pregnancy test and needed a Dilation and Curettage (D&C). The medical team said that the procedure helped save my life and avoid infection.

Continued: https://www.essence.com/health-and-wellness/abortion-black-maternal-health/

Building Reproductive Justice with Women of African Descent

April 13, 2026
Women’s Link Worldwide

In February, our legal associate at Women’s Link, Eliana Alcalá De Ávila, participated in a community meeting in Cali, Colombia, alongside women leaders and women of African descent from the organizations La Comadre and AFRODES. The goal was to share information about access to abortion in the country from an intersectional perspective and to open a conversation about the specific barriers that Black women—women of African descent—face in exercising their sexual and reproductive rights.

The gathering took place in Llano Verde, a neighborhood in the Aguablanca district that is home to a significant Afro-descendant population and has welcomed many people displaced by violence in the country. There, at a local public school, the women who organized the event welcomed us with a deeply meaningful gesture: a space for harmonization to begin the day.

Continued: https://womenslinkworldwide.org/en/building-reproductive-justice-with-women-of-african-descent/

13.04.2026

Commentary

Eliana Alcalá De Ávila

La Comadre

reproductive justice

Ruling C-055 of the Constitutional Court of Colombia

sexual and reproductive health

Western ‘family values’ rhetoric undermines ubuntu and reproductive justice for all in Africa

After commemorating International Human Rights Day on 10 December, a look at how Western-influenced right-wing movements are gaining traction in Africa and are using so-called traditional family values to undermine sexual and reproductive health rights and LGBTQIA+ rights.

By Sesona Buyeye and Duduetsang Mmeti
16 Dec 2025

Across the world, right-wing movements – often cloaked in the language of “moral and religious preservation” and “anti-wokeness” – are pushing back against progressive human rights advancing reproductive freedoms for women, girls and queer people.

Alarmingly, these movements are also gaining traction across parts of Africa, where significant strides have been made in embracing democracy, advancing constitutionalism and advocating non-racialism and reproductive freedoms in the post-colonial era.

Continued: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-12-16-western-family-values-rhetoric-undermineines-ubuntu-and-reproductive-justice-for/

Global Trends in Opposition to Women’s Reproductive Autonomy

10 September 2025
International Confederation of Midwives

Sexual and reproductive health and rights are increasingly under threat. The Trump Administration in the United States has restricted dialogue about and access to contraception and safe abortion causing a global ripple effect. A troubling trend is emerging: other governments and international organisations are following suit by limiting funding and avoiding the language of reproductive rights.

Defunding SRHR – Global Impact and Consequences
The Trump Administration has overseen the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), withdrawn 500 million USD in global health funding, and terminated all US contributions to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN agency for sexual and reproductive health. The result is the destabilisation of global sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) initiatives, undermining progress toward gender equality, jeopardising the 2030 Agenda for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Continued: https://internationalmidwives.org/global-trends-in-opposition-to-womens-reproductive-autonomy/

Canada – Abortion is an economic issue: Reflections from the federal election

Access to reproductive care not only provides for better health outcomes for women and people who can become pregnant, but economic ones as well.

by Jacqueline Potvin
August 26, 2025

These impacts would have been just one consequence of a Conservative Government’s embrace of right-wing ‘anti-woke’ discourse and policy, which also included attacks on gender diversity and trans rights. Despite the threats posed by such discourse, the Conservative Party garnered significant support during the election campaign, positioning themselves as the party best able to grow Canada’s economy. Shortly before the election and in the context of threatened tariffs from the US, Canadians identified the cost of living and affordability as the issue that was most likely to influence their vote.

For advocates of gender equality and reproductive rights, Canada’s 2025 federal election was particularly nerve-wracking. Despite Pierre Poilievre’s claim that his party would not seek to make abortion illegal, the Conservatives ran several new candidates who were explicitly anti-choice, and the party platform would have had a negative impact on reproductive rights, including by reducing access to abortion.

Continued: https://rabble.ca/feminism/abortion-is-an-economic-issue-reflections-from-the-federal-election/

26.08.2025

abortion and economics

abortion and the economy

economics and abortion

Women and Gender Equality ministry

‘Repropulse’ Dashboard Launched to Track Reproductive Justice Across Africa

By Catherine Namugerwa
Sunday, August 10, 2025

Afya na Haki, a rights-based health advocacy organization known for championing sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) and social justice, has unveiled Repropulse, an online dashboard designed to track analyse, and share reproductive justice cases across Africa in real time.

The launch took place during the 3rd Annual Reproductive Justice Litigation Baraza 2025 in Wakiso, following six months of research, development, and testing.

Continued : https://nilepost.co.ug/health/279078/repropulse-dashboard-launched-to-track-and-advance-reproductive-justice-across-africa

10.08.2025

Reproductive Justice Litigation Baraza

Canada – Resilience in the digital fight for reproductive justice

Social media is an ideological battleground where advocates for reproductive rights are fighting back against anti-choice misinformation.

by Mathilde Beauvais
August 5, 2025

In the age of algorithms, the fight for reproductive justice has entered a new and urgent terrain. Anti-choice rhetoric is no longer confined to political speeches or fringe websites—it now saturates the digital spaces where many, especially youth and equity-deserving communities, seek out information, connection, and belonging .

From trending TikToks and viral tweets to podcasts and anonymous comment sections, social media has become both a lifeline and a battleground: a place where we build community, but also where we must constantly confront attacks on bodily autonomy and truth. In this landscape, resilience is more than endurance—it’s an active, daily practice of reclaiming narrative and space amid a growing wave of hostility and misinformation.

Continued: https://rabble.ca/feminism/resilience-in-the-digital-fight-for-reproductive-justice/

05.08.2025

digital privacy

digital safety protocols

digital security and abortion

What Arizonans can learn from Brazil’s near-total abortion ban

By Rep. Analise Ortiz
June 13, 2025

This is the powerful translation of Nem Presa, Nem Morta, the name of an advocacy organization that is leading the resistance against anti-abortion laws in Brazil. In a country with a near-total ban, this is more than a name, it is a rallying cry against restrictions that can lead to jail time and death.

I met them, and other activists, on a legislative delegation to Brazil made possible by the State Innovation Exchange and the Women’s Equality Center. Why should a State Senator from Arizona care about abortion policy in Latin America when our state just passed Prop. 139 to enshrine a right to abortion in the state constitution? Because by strengthening connections between the U.S. and Brazil, we can exchange strategies and deepen our understanding of how to stand in resistance to protect each other across the globe.

Here are four ways:.

Continued: https://coppercourier.com/opinion/opinion-what-arizonans-can-learn-from-brazils-near-total-abortion-ban/

‘Reclaiming our bodies,’ a revolution towards sexual reproductive justice for Women in Africa

Some Women make decisions with fear while others live with stigma because the laws have stippled them their sexual reproductive health rights.

By ROSEMARY ONCHARI
April 22, 2025

KISII, Kenya – For decades ,Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) narratives of African women are narrowly told in a dehumanizing lens, reducing them into numbers and problems which can be solved without giving these women a right over their bodies ,choices and their future.

In the 21st century, women in Africa have no freedom as many access health care with shame, some make decisions with fear while others live with stigma because the laws have stippled them their sexual reproductive health rights.

Continued: https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2025/04/reclaiming-our-bodies-a-revolution-towards-sexual-reproductive-justice-for-women-in-africa/

22.04.2025