May 10, 2023: A conversation with leading practitioners on the frontlines driving action and building unified coalitions for sexual and reproductive health and rights across the Americas.
Date
May 10, 2023
Time
12:00—1:00 PM PT
Location
Online
Hosted by
World Affairs
Category
Clips and HighlightsThe US Supreme Court ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022 sent shockwaves around the country, dismantling the nearly 50-year constitutional protection of a woman’s right to choose. The aftershocks continue as 12 states have since passed laws enforcing near-total bans on abortion, and the nation stands in limbo as federal courts battle over FDA approval of mifepristone, a drug commonly used in medication abortions. Yet the threats to bodily autonomy extend beyond access to safe, legal abortions. Today, the US stands at a crossroads: one path leading to criminalization and unsafe abortions, and the other towards the recognition of reproductive justice—control over sexuality, gender, work and reproduction as a human right.
Activists in the “Marea Verde” (or Green Wave) movement mobilize grassroots action to shift national consciousness and push for legal action across Latin America and the Caribbean to promote access to safe and legal abortion. How are these activists and others worldwide building coalitions that unify across political, religious and cultural divides? What lessons can be taken to invoke tangible protections for bodily autonomy in the US? Why do the United Nations and other international organizations affirm legal access to reproductive care as a human right?
Join World Affairs on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at 12:00 PM PT for an online conversation with leading practitioners on the frontlines driving action and building unified coalitions for sexual and reproductive health and rights across the Americas. Paula Ávila-Guillen, a New York-based human rights lawyer, helps lead the fight to decriminalize abortion in her home country of Colombia and has contributed to the freedom of over 66 Salvadoran women persecuted for obstetric emergencies. Eugenia López Uribe started advocating for gender equality and sexual and reproductive rights in rural and urban marginalized areas of Mexico and now directs regional efforts with International Planned Parenthood Federation.
Paula Ávila-Guillen, Executive Director at La Women’s Equality Center
Eugenia López Uribe, Americas and the Caribbean Regional Director at International Planned Parenthood Federation
Yuri Avila, Graphics Reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle