How should science shape laws and policies on reproductive health? What happens when ideology overrides evidence in decisions about IVF, abortion and reproductive autonomy? And why is the right to science a critical yet overlooked human right?
In this thought-provoking episode of the SRHM Podcast, host Eszter Kismődi speaks with four authors of a groundbreaking SRHM paper: The right to science in sexual and reproductive health and the legal status of the human embryo. Guests Professor Silke Dyer, Professor Alison Edelman, Professor Joanna Erdman and Professor Asha George explore how scientific progress, human rights and law intersect in debates on the status of the human embryo—and the consequences for people seeking fertility and abortion care around the world.
Together they discuss:
Why personhood laws rooted in ideology threaten reproductive rights and public health
How misinformation shapes policy and restricts evidence-based care
The right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress as a human right
The importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration for sexual and reproductive justice
This episode is essential listening for anyone working in global health, human rights, law, public policy, advocacy or SRHR research.
👉 Read the full article, open-access, at srhmjournal.org
👉 Join the conversation ahead of Human Rights Day on the future of the right to science in SRHR.
On 8 October 2025, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters (SRHM) co-hosted a global webinar titled “Surrogacy as a Matter of Sexual and Reproductive Justice” in partnership with the Just Futures Collaborative, Center for Reproductive Rights, Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA), and the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice.
This event situated surrogacy within the wider framework of sexual and reproductive justice, human rights, and bodily autonomy.
The webinar explored human-rights approaches to surrogacy, the effects of criminalization and prohibition, and evidence-informed regulatory and feminist perspectives. The discussion showed how surrogacy can be grounded in autonomy, dignity, equality, and protection from exploitation.
Guided by an intersectional lens, the webinar examined how gender, sexuality, race, class, religion, migration, economic inequality, and labour rights shape surrogacy. Participants also considered evidence on how restrictive frameworks undermine rights and discuss strategies for coalition-building and advocacy across movements.
Speakers
Sarojini Nadimpally | Co-founder of Sama Resource Group for Women and Health
Eng Chandy | Executive Director of Gender and Development for Cambodia (GADC)
Verónica Esparza | Research Coordinator, Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida (GIRE)
Nerima Were | Legal Director at The Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA)
Subha Wijesiriwardena | Co-director of Just Futures Collaborative
Moderator:
Eszter Kismodi | Chief Executive of Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters
On 9 September 2025, SRHM hosted a thought-provoking webinar to launch the open-access book Female Genital Mutilation in Africa: Politics of Criminalisation, edited by Satang Nabaneh, Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Dayton Human Rights Center, and affiliated faculty at the Center for Human Rights, University of Pretoria.
Introduced by Eszter Kismödi, Chief Executive of SRHM, the event brought together contributing authors to reflect on the complex and evolving debates around FGM in Africa, particularly the role and limits of criminalization.Speakers:
In this episode of the SRHM Podcast, host Eszter Kismödi speaks with Katie Mayall, Laurenne Ajayi, and Caitlin Gruer—authors of the article Global progress in abortion law reform: a comparative legal analysis since the International Conference on Population and Development. Together, they unpack three decades of global shifts in abortion law, drawing on unique legal mapping by the Center for Reproductive Rights.
The conversation explores key findings, including the surge of countries adopting abortion on request in recent years, the influence of feminist and intersectional movements, and the role of courts and constitutions in shaping access. The guests also discuss regional patterns, from the momentum of Latin America’s “green wave” to restrictive backlashes in places like the US, Poland and Nicaragua.
As they highlight, while more than 825 million women of reproductive age now live in countries that have liberalised their laws since ICPD, one in four still live under highly restrictive regimes. The episode closes with a reflection on both the progress to celebrate and the urgent need for vigilance, coalition-building, and a vision of true reproductive autonomy where abortion is not only legal, but fully accessible as a human right.
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In this episode, SRHM Chief Executive Eszter Kismödi speaks with Dr Faysal El Kak, Associate Professor at the American University of Beirut and newly elected President of the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS).
Against a backdrop of global political and economic turbulence, Dr El Kak reflects on the pressing challenges and emerging opportunities for sexual health worldwide—from rising anti-rights movements and economic pressures to bold youth activism and growing intersectional approaches.
He shares his vision of WAS as a powerful convening force, uniting organisations, agencies, and advocates to protect and promote sexual health, dignity, and rights across the life course.
The conversation also previews the upcoming World Sexual Health Assembly in Porto, set to bring together major international players to shape a collective roadmap for the next five years.
In this episode of the SRHM Podcast, we explore how people in Kenya are accessing safe abortion care online in the face of restrictive laws and limited health system support.
Host Julia Hussein is joined by researchers Kenneth Juma (APHRC), Hazal Atay (Women on Web/Sciences Po), and Céline Miani (Bielefeld University) to discuss their study analysing nearly 900 telehealth abortion consultations via Women on Web between 2013 and 2019.
The conversation dives into who is using these services, why they turn to teleabortion, and how this mode of care fits within broader frameworks of self-care and reproductive rights.
Recorded during #SelfCareMonth, this episode highlights the power of self-managed abortion as both a health intervention and a means of reproductive autonomy.
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In this episode, re-released from August 2024 for World IVF Day 2025, Nina Sun, the Associated Editor of the SRHM journal, speaks to Trudie Gerrits and Andrea Whittaker, the authors of a recently published paper: Assisted reproductive technologies in sub-Saharan Africa: fertility professionals' views.
Andrea is a Professor of Anthropology at the School of Social Sciences at Monash University. Trudie is an Associate Professor at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research at the University of Amsterdam. Trudie and Andrea talk about their study, which involved semi-structured interviews with fertility specialists and embryologists from six sub-Saharan countries, and was funded by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council.
Specifically, they speak to the rationale or gap in knowledge behind this study, the implications of the findings, and ways to increase access to low-cost yet effective assisted reproductive technologies to address infertility in sub-Saharan Africa.
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In this episode, host Nina Sun is joined by Dana Johnson, lead author of a new SRHM study exploring the acceptability of misoprostol-only medication abortion accessed via mail-order or retail pharmacies in the United States. As abortion access is increasingly restricted across the country, many people are turning to self-managed care options—including medication abortion outside of traditional clinical settings.
Drawing on in-depth interviews, the conversation highlights how people experience and navigate this method of abortion, with attention to the legal, emotional, and logistical factors shaping their decisions. Special focus is given to the distinct needs of adolescents, who often face additional barriers to care and support.
The episode also ties into SRHM’s ongoing call for papers on abortion as a matter of rights, equity and justice, open until 31 August 2025.
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In this powerful conversation, host and SRHM Editorial Board member Laura Ferguson is joined by reproductive justice scholars Cordelia Freeman and Hala Shoman, authors of “No Justice in a Genocide”, to explore the devastating impact of war on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Gaza.
They speak about:
— What’s happening to SRH services under siege
— Why reproductive justice is a critical framework
— The barriers to speaking truthfully in academia
— What a rights-based response could look like—even now
— What sustains their work, and what gives them hope
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What does abortion access really look like in Ireland—before and after legal reform? In this powerful episode of the SRHM Podcast, host Mindy Jane Roseman is joined by three leading researchers—Niamh Skelly, Dyuti Chakravarty, and Lorraine Grimes—whose work reveals the lived realities behind Ireland’s evolving abortion landscape.
From the emotional weight of unspoken stories in pre-liberalisation Ireland to the persistent gatekeeping and policy gaps today, this conversation unpacks how legal change alone doesn’t guarantee meaningful access. The episode also offers vital lessons for countries undergoing or anticipating abortion law reform, while highlighting how research can drive action, advocacy, and justice.
Tune in for evidence, insight, and hope in the fight for reproductive rights.
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Dans ce premier épisode du podcast du Hub Afrique francophone de SRHM, fondé en 2019, Bouchra Assarag et Vincent De Brouwere accueillent Vanessa, autrice d’une étude percutante sur les normes sociales autour de l’avortement chez les jeunes femmes au Bénin. Ensemble, ils explorent les pressions normatives, les dynamiques familiales, et les enjeux d’accès à l’avortement sécurisé dans un contexte légal et social complexe.
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In this first episode of the SRHM Francophone Africa Hub podcast, founded in 2019, Bouchra Assarag and Vincent De Brouwere speak with Vanessa, author of a powerful study on social norms surrounding abortion among young women in Benin. Together, they delve into normative pressures, family dynamics, and the challenges of accessing safe abortion in a complex legal and social context.
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In this episode of the SRHM Podcast, SRHM Advcocacy and External Relations Manager, Lisa Welsh, speaks with Lore Remmerie, Nicole Leonetti and Aslan Temirkhanov — co-authors of a new research article in Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters — about reimagining how we define and support sexual well-being among young people.
Together, they present a youth-centred, culturally sensitive framework that challenges dominant narratives and power structures in sexual and reproductive health.
The conversation highlights the importance of inclusion, subjectivity, and systemic awareness in shaping meaningful policies and programmes. A must-listen for researchers, policymakers, educators and youth advocates alike.
Read the full open access article at srhmjournal.org.
In this episode, SRHM Chief Executive, Eszter Kismodi, speaks to Gustavo Ortiz Millán, Editor in Chief of the recently launched journal 'Bioética UNAM', an academic journal publishing in bioethics, including in SRHR, from UNAM University, Mexico.
The UNAM Bioethics journal , published by the UNAM Bioethics University Program, is dedicated to communicating the results of research related to this discipline at the national and international levels.
UNAM Bioethics publishes content addressing the ethics of topics in the biomedical and biological sciences, environmental issues, and our relationship with animals. It also publishes texts with cutting-edge analyses (decolonial, feminist, and sexual diversity approaches, among others) of ethical, legal, political, and artistic issues affecting areas of bioethical interest, as well as fundamental concepts, principles, and theories on these topics.
It is aimed at individuals dedicated to research, teaching, and dissemination of bioethics, as well as researchers beginning their academic careers. Articles are published in Spanish and English.
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In this episode, Eszter Kismodi, Chief Executive of SRHM, speaks to Nelly Munyasia and Edison Omollo from the Reproductive Health Network Keyna (RHNK) about the upcoming 8th Pan-African Adolescent and Youth SRHR Scientific Conference on 24th - 27th June 2025 in Mombasa, Kenya.
It is still possible to register for the conference and organize side events or panels until 31 May. We encourage the SRHM community to follow the developments from this important Pan-African Conference.
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In this episode, Emma Pitchforth, Executive Editor of the SRHM Journal, speaks to three of the authors of the recently published paper, Barriers and facilitators of participation in syphilis vaccine trials: a qualitative analysis to inform trial design and community engagement in the United States.
We hear from Suzanne Day, Joseph Tucker and Justin Radolf about the long shadow of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, recommendations for engaging marginalized populations in syphalis vaccine trials and insights into meaningful community engagement.
In this episode we hear from Sundari Ravindran, Senior Editor of Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters (SRHM) Journal and Emma Pitchforth, Executive Editor of the SRHM Journal.
They introduce our newest call for papers — one that focuses on a topic as urgent as ever: ensuring access to abortion as a matter of rights, equity and justice. This call builds on the legacy of SRHM but also responds to the current moment.
This episode is a chance for us to share more about the thinking behind the call, what we’re hoping to achieve, and how you can be involved. Whether you’re a researcher, activist, advocate, or someone working in service delivery, we invite you to contribute to this important collection.
Read the full call for papers at srhm.org.
This episode of the SRHM Podcast is an audio recording of the paper, 'Educating ideal neoliberal citizens: discourses of agency and responsibility in comprehensive sexuality education' read by the author, Sarah Lewinger, and published in the SRHM Journal in October 2023.
This paper includes an initial review of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) interventions in the global south and a call to action to reimagine CSE as transformative praxis, "which does not teach students to individually aspire to sexual “respectability” but to demand structural change to ensure more equitable sexual health for all".
Please note that references, citations and tables have been removed from this audio recording for ease of listening.
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In this episode, we explore the urgent impact of HIV funding cuts on trans health—and the ripple effects beyond. We hear from three advocates working at the frontlines of trans health and rights across the globe.
Joining us are:
Anil Padavatan (he/she), Health Lead at Global Action for Trans Equality, based in South Africa.
Amanita Calderón-Cifuentes (she/her), HIV Research and Advocacy Officer at Trans Europe and Central Asia, based in Germany.
Adrian King Kibe (he/him), Programme Consultant at East Africa Trans Health & Advocacy Network, based in Kenya.
Together, they share insights from their work, reflect on the consequences of recent cuts to HIV resources, and highlight what’s needed to ensure sustainable, trans-led responses moving forward.
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Welcome to another thought-provoking episode of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters podcast! Today, we’re diving into a fascinating study published in the SRHM Journal titled “Attitudes toward sexual and reproductive health and rights and their associations with reproductive agency: a population-based cross-sectional study in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.”
Joining us to discuss this important research is Karin Båge, a Phd Student at the Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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In this episode, we’re tackling a pressing issue: the maternal health disparities faced by Black and Latine women—and how systemic barriers within healthcare contribute to these inequities.
We’re honored to have two special guests with us today, Lucia Guerra-Reyes, Associate Professor, and Ruhun Wasata, a PhD Candidate in Health Behaviour, both at the Department of Applied Health Science, School of Public Health, Indiana University Bloomington. We talk to these authors of a compelling new study published in the SRHM Journal: Provider Perspectives on Maternal Care Challenges for Black and Latine Women in Indiana.
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