American Dreams: Reproductive Justice

Oct 12 2024 9 ep. 31 mins 2

American Dreams: Reproductive Justice Podcast artwork

As 2023 dawns, women in the U.S. look back on the last year and see one glaring issue: 2022 was the year their right to have an abortion was severely curtailed. But many women did not have access to abortions even before the Dobbs decision. Women on Medicaid, in the same states that are outlawing abortion now. Women who live in rural areas. Women who don’t have access to good doctors, and good advice. One thing the popular press doesn’t seem to talk about is how many women and trans men (anyone with a uterus) want to have children, but find that the systems as they are set up in this country mitigate against them. You read that right: women want to have children, but don’t because it is so hard to do so.

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This Isn't Our Destiny

Oct 12 2024 53 mins

This season we are following stories of people touched by incarceration, all pushing forward to find their way into a better space. Episode one introduces you to Marcus, a 28 year old serving a life sentence in prison. How does an aspiring actor, who can play the piano by ear and have such a desire to help and inspire people end up serving a life sentence. He told us his story over

Best Practices

Feb 26 2023 28 mins

This last episode of American Dreams: Reproductive Justice is about the best practices for achieving healthy pregnancies and births, and that involves working together.We spoke to Dr. Saraswathi Vedam with The Birth Place Lab, a division of the University of British Columbia. This lab conducts research and helps provide equitable access to reproductive care. As stated on their webs

Midwives and Reproductive Justice

Feb 19 2023 28 mins

Ashlee Hernanz Alvarez was 18 when she had her first daughter, Mimi. She was on Medicaid, and went to the only public hospital in Southern Nevada. She was not treated well. The labor and delivery nurses were understaffed, her doctor was not around, and when a fill-in doctor walked in, he treated her as if she was disturbing his night. Ashlee describes the birth as "savage." For her

Birth Stories, Part 2

Feb 12 2023 30 mins

Three women tell the stories of their traumatic experiences giving birth.Amy Courts Koopman wanted a natural birth, despite a family history of pregnancy complications. She was in good health, but the pregnancy was tricky. Her birthing in-hospital midwife didn't read the notes in her chart. She was at one of the premiere hospitals in the U.S.Brenda Zamora got pregnant at 18 with no

Birth Stories

Feb 05 2023 29 mins

Three women tell the stories of their traumatic experiences giving birth.Amy Courts Koopman wanted a natural birth, despite a family history of pregnancy complications. She was in good health, but the pregnancy was tricky. Her birthing in-hospital midwife didn't read the notes in her chart. She was at one of the premiere hospitals in the U.S.Brenda Zamora got pregnant at 18 with no

Criminalization of Pregnancy

Jan 29 2023 25 mins

Personhood. It's a concept pushed by anti-abortion activists that says fetuses are people, who deserve rights - often at the expense of the pregnant woman. We look at how pregnant people are criminalized, and often serve time in prison while pregnant, because of this misguided philosophy.

Nazis, Eugenicists and the History of Controlling "Deviance"

Jan 22 2023 27 mins

The U.S. has a dark history of "Master Race" thinking - which the Nazis studied and learned from. In this episode, we look at eugenics, forced sterilization and supremacy.In 1961, 44-year-old Fannie Lou Hamer went to Sunflower County Hospital in Mississippi to have a minor tumor removed. Instead, the doctor gave her a "Mississippi Appendectomy." In other words, they sterilized her.

Reproductive INjustice

Jan 15 2023 30 mins

Reproductive justice cures the injustices birthing people face. In this episode, we explore the historic and current challenges to reproductive health, safety and autonomy.In this episode, we’re exploring medical systems in Black and Brown communities. The maternal mortality rate for Black women is THREE TIMES the rate than it is for white women. More surprisingly, the ALMOST mor

The Birth of a Movement

Jan 10 2023 30 mins

Reproductive Justice was an idea birthed in 1994, by 12 Black women who felt unseen by the white establishment. We talked to two of those women, as well as women working in the Reproductive Justice space now about what RJ is and how it affects real people.In 1994, 12 women walked into a hotel room in Chicago. They came out with a blueprint for what would become the Reproductive Jus