Reproductive health access has become a major issue in U.S. elections in the nearly two years since Roe v. Wade was overturned. A series of elections and ballot initiatives in which reproductive rights have been at stake have driven high turnout, and more critical decisions for voters are on the horizon. Meanwhile, human rights advocates and activists link the issue to civil and human rights, specifically, the right to privacy and bodily autonomy. In our latest IJNotes episode on reporting on reproductive health, we spoke with Regina Mahone, a senior editor at The Nation magazine and co-host of The A Files: A Secret History of Abortion podcast alongside Renee Bracey Sherman. Mahone and Sherman are also co-authors of the forthcoming book, “Liberating Abortion.”Mahone discussed how reproductive rights are linked to the health of democracy in the U.S., and detailed how reporters can cover the wide-ranging issue in the context of the country’s upcoming presidential election. Listen here: Support the Show.

In Latin America, legislation and debates around reproductive rights are moving in different directions. Abortion has been banned in Nicaragua and Guatemala in recent years, but other countries such as Mexico and Colombia have decriminalized or even legalized it.In Brazil, Latin America’s largest nation, abortion laws remain restrictive. Today, abortion is only allowed in the case of rape or incest, if there is a risk of death for the pregnant woman, or in cases of anencephaly, a serious, fatal birth defect. In our latest IJNotes episode on reporting on reproductive health, I spoke with Ester Pinheiro, journalism producer at Revista AzMina, a Brazilian outlet that covers stories with a gender focus. Pinheiro is also the founder of Feminismos del Sur, a podcast that addresses gender issues in the Global South. Support the show

In India, as in many other countries, abortion is a divisive social and political issue. Although it is legal to get an abortion in India, there are many obstacles to obtaining one. In our latest podcast, we spoke with two reproductive health professionals from CommonHealth India, a coalition that advocates for increased access to sexual and reproductive health care for women and marginalized communities. Dr. Alka Barua leads the organization’s abortion portfolio and Sanjeeta Gauri is a consultant on maternal health. They  discuss the alternative methods people turn to when denied access to abortion services, and bring to light under-reported topics and ways to discover new data that journalists can use  to inform coverage. Support the show

For our latest podcast on reporting on reproductive health, Sofia Heartney with the ICFJ communications team spoke with Dr. Camilla Fitzsimons, a professor in the department of adult and community education at Maynooth University and the author of “Repealed: Ireland’s Unfinished Fight for Reproductive Rights.” In this episode Fitzsimons discusses the role of journalists in the movement for reproductive rights, how reporters can continue to cover the issue even after abortion access moves off the front page, and intersectional approaches journalists should consider on the relationship between reproductive access, race and immigration.Support the show

Mis- and disinformation surrounding reproductive health is not new. But since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the U.S. in June 2022, the consequences of the vast amounts of false information seeking to affect the reproductive choices of millions of Americans have made their way front and center in people’s minds. In our second IJNotes episode on reproductive health reporting, IJNet’s Disarming Disinformation Intern, Mya Zepp, spoke with Felice Freyer, a health care reporter at the Boston Globe and president of the Association of Health Care Journalists. Freyer discusses the prevalence and impact of disinformation surrounding abortion and reproductive health, and what journalists should do to promote credible information on abortion safety and access. Listen here: Support the show

Our new IJNotes podcast series will dive into reproductive health, how journalists globally are reporting on this highly personal and political issue, and the ways in which reporters can accurately and ethically cover the many related topics. To kick off the series, I spoke with Maya Miller, a reproductive health reporter at the Gulf States Newsroom, on the role local journalism plays in covering reproductive rights. In this episode, Miller discusses the importance of local journalism, how restricted access to abortion coincides with maternal health deserts across the Gulf States, and the ways reporters can best cover Dobbs’ consequences in their own communities.Support the show