The FMUS podcast

Contraceptive methods based on awareness of one’s own fertility seem to be everywhere these days – promoted by MAHA health influencers, touted by evangelical Christians and ultra-Catholics, advertised by FemTech. But do they work? Why are women and persons capable of pregnancy turning to them? Did the field of sexual and reproductive health err in shunning them? Should we be worried by the deep-pocketed economic and religious forces behind them? Two experts in the field – Drs Rebecca Simmons and Chelsea Polis – provide nuanced and thought-provoking answers.
 
Méthodes de contraception basées sur la connaissance de la fertilité : pour ou contre ? avec les Dres Chelsea Polis et Rebecca Simmons
Les méthodes contraceptives basées sur la connaissance de sa propre fertilité semblent omniprésentes aujourd’hui : promues par les influenceuses santé MAHA, vantées par les chrétiens évangéliques et les ultra-catholiques, mises en avant par FemTech. Mais ces méthodes sont-elles efficaces ? Pourquoi les femmes et les personnes capables de procréer y ont-elles recours ? Le domaine de la santé sexuelle et reproductive a-t-il eu tort de les rejeter ? Devons-nous nous inquiéter des puissants intérêts économiques et religieux qui les appuient ? Deux expertes en la matière, les dres Rebecca Simmons et Chelsea Polis, nous offrent des réponses nuancées qui invitent à la réflexion.
 
 
 
 
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Women’s Rights and Democracy in Poland – with Wanda NowickaTwo years after the far-right Law and Justice party lost control of the government in Poland, have progressives and feminists been able to reverse the damage to democracy and human rights, including women’s rights? Wanda Nowicka, member of the Polish Parliament and longstanding feminist activist, outlines what has been achieved despite significant challenges.
 
Droits des femmes et démocratie en Pologne – avec Wanda Nowicka
Il y a deux ans, le parti d’extrême-droite Loi et Justice perdait le contrôle du gouvernement en Pologne. Les progressistes et féministes ont-elles depuis réussi à réparer les dégâts causés à la démocratie et aux droits humains, notamment aux droits des femmes ? Wanda Nowicka, députée au Parlement polonais et militante féministe de longue date, dresse le bilan des progrès accomplis malgré d’importants obstacles

Jessica Stern, former U.S. Special Envoy to Advance Human Rights for LGBTQI+ persons and founder of The Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice, discusses with Françoise the connections between feminism and LGBTQI+ rights, why politicians weaponize LGBTQI+ communities and especially trans rights at election time, and why she’s working to center human rights as a core principle of US foreign policy. Tune in to learn how defending the human rights of marginalized people can strengthen democracies worldwide.
 

Globally, girls experience adolescence very differently than boys do, explains Evalin Karijo, award-winning leader and Associate Director of the GIRL Center at the Population Council. 40% of adolescent girls (10-19) are neither in school nor in training or paid employment, as compared to 10% of boys their age. Early and forced marriage and early pregnancy still limit girls’ opportunities, and HIV incidence amongst girls remains high in sub-Saharan Africa. But we shouldn’t despair. Karijo shows that investing in comprehensive programs rather than in single approaches--for example, combining support for girls’ secondary education and job training, reproductive and sexual health services, with prevention of gender-based violence--generates impressive change. Learn more about the GIRL Center here. 

Dr. Rebecca Steinfeld (PhD, Political Science) is a leading expert and campaigner on reproductive health and rights. In this conversation with Françoise, she explores the complex world of infant feeding — from the cultural and medical pressures around breastfeeding to the realities many new mothers face.
 
Is breastfeeding always best? Why do so many mothers feel judged no matter what they choose? And how can parents make informed, confident decisions that work for them and their babies?
 
Tune in for an honest discussion about choice, empowerment, and the real challenges of early motherhood.
 
La Dre Rebecca Steinfeld (Ph. D. en science politique) est une experte et militante reconnue en santé et droits reproductifs. Dans cette conversation avec Françoise, elle explore le monde complexe de l’alimentation des nourrissons — entre les pressions culturelles et médicales liées à l’allaitement et les réalités auxquelles font face de nombreuses jeunes mères.
 
L’allaitement est-il toujours la meilleure option ? Pourquoi tant de mères se sentent-elles jugées, quel que soit leur choix ? Et comment les parents peuvent-ils prendre des décisions éclairées et sereines, adaptées à leur situation et à celle de leur bébé ?
 
Écoutez une discussion sincère sur le choix, l’autonomie et les véritables défis du début de la maternité.

American researcher, medical doctor, and President of Gynuity Health Projects, Beverly Winikoff, tells Françoise Girard about the latest research into ulipristal acetate, also known as the emergency contraceptive Ella. Available over the counter in many countries, ulipristal can be used as a much-needed additional option for terminating pregnancy. But would its use as an abortion pill endanger its emergency contraception application? And why has the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) been so afraid of mifepristone, ulipristal's close relative?

 
What if healthcare, including reproductive healthcare, education and housing were rights recognized in your country’s constitution? In South Africa, they are! Sasha Stevenson, a human rights lawyer based in Johannesburg and the Executive Director of SECTION27, talks with Françoise about the brave and passionate work her organization has done, in partnership with community-based groups, to turn those rights into reality. From preventing HIV in newborns to ensuring anti-retroviral treatment to everyone and securing effective access to second trimester abortion, SECTION27 has led the charge.

Neil Datta, Executive Director of the Brussels-based European Parliamentary Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF), discusses EPF’s new report Beyond The Chaos, a New World Is Emerging: Making Sense of the Trump Administration’s Impact on Reproductive Rights and Gender Equality. EPF provides technical support to 30 all-party parliamentary groups across Europe to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights. Under Neil’s leadership, EPF has also become a prominent source of information and analysis on the strategies and funding sources of far-right anti-gender movements in Europe and beyond.  Neil explains how he expects Trump 2.0 to pivot from destruction towards the consolidation of new norms and creation of an entirely new set of global and regional organizations and programs dedicated to a religious right-wing vision of sexual and reproductive health.

Dr. Satang Nabaneh, an award-winning legal scholar and Director of Programs at the University of Dayton’s Human Rights Center, discusses her recent edited volume, Female Genital Mutilation in Africa: politics of criminalization, that examines the role of criminal law in combatting this harmful traditional practice. Nabaneh reflects on legal strategies to end FGM, the situation in The Gambia and elsewhere in Africa, and how African feminist movements are organizing to end FGM.

María Antonieta is a Mexican feminist, an advocate for women’s and youth rights with over 20 years’ experience as a leader in the struggle for sexual and reproductive health and rights. Early in her career, she founded Balance, a feminist organization that supports women and adolescents in Mexico to make free choices about their sexuality. Most recently, she was the Executive Director of Ipas Latin America and Caribbean, where she help spearhead advances in abortion rights across the region. In this episode, she and Françoise discuss the ongoing decriminalization of abortion in Mexico, the strategies used by the feminist movement to achieve this stunning success, the inspiration the movement draws from abortion activism across the region and notably in Argentina (the “Marea Verde”), and the challenges that remain.