Published Feb 17 2023

‘What Happens Next?’: Are Reproductive Rights Human Rights?

Susan
Carland
Academic, author and social commentator
Paula michaels
Associate Professor, History
Safeera hussainy
Senior Pharmacy Research Manager, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Sabatino ventura
Senior Lecturer, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

When the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in June 2022, it was a blow not only to reproductive health in the States, but to human rights across the globe. Reproductive justice – individuals’ freedom to control decisions regarding contraception, abortion, sterilisation, and childbirth – is a human right. Given the influence of American politics around the world, the decision set a dangerous example.

Listen: Now that Roe v Wade has been overturned, what are the consequences?

A new series of Monash University’s podcast, What Happens Next?, examines the state of reproductive health and rights today. Women's reproductive healthcare has historically been overlooked by medical science and is still treated as taboo in many cultures. Is women's healthcare behind men's? How does making reproductive healthcare inaccessible hurt us all?

Host Dr Susan Carland is joined by guests including medical historian Dr Paula Michaels, human rights law expert Dr Tania Penovic, pharmacist Dr Safeera Hussainy and pharmacology researcher Dr Sab Ventura.

A listener note: What Happens Next? uses the word “women” throughout the series, but we acknowledge and emphasise that these matters are not restricted to cisgender women alone. All people assigned female at birth are affected by these issues and often face even greater challenges because of them. Including everyone in the conversation and when advancing solutions is the only way forward.

Please also note that since this episode was recorded, the FDA has removed the wording about preventing implantation from the Plan B label – a major step forward – due to advocacy and lobbying by policy/public health organisations.

“The priorities for research are set by men, and until very recently, also the parameters of how studies are conducted.”

Paula Michaels

What Happens Next? will be back next week with part two of this series, "What Is Reproductive Justice?".

If you’re enjoying the show, don’t forget to subscribe on your favourite podcast app, and rate or review What Happens Next? to help listeners like yourself discover it.

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About the Authors

  • Susan carland

    Director, Bachelor of Global Studies, and Lecturer, School of Language, Literature, Cultures and Linguistics

    Susan's research and teaching specialties focus on gender, sociology, contemporary Australia, terrorism, and Islam in the modern world. Susan hosted the “Assumptions” series on ABC’s Radio National, and was named one of the 20 Most Influential Australian Female Voices in 2012 by The Age.

  • Paula michaels

    Associate Professor, History

    Paula is a historian of twentieth-century medicine. Her work bridges the histories of Eastern and Western Europe, integrating the USSR into a global narrative. She is especially interested in the ways that medicine is mobilised to further political and social objectives.

  • Safeera hussainy

  • Sabatino ventura

    Senior Lecturer, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

    Dr Sab Ventura obtained his PhD in Pharmacology from Monash University in 1992 and has held research positions at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, University College London (UK), and Monash University. He was appointed as a Senior Lecturer (Teaching & Research) at Monash University in 2004 and maintains this position in the Drug Discovery Biology Theme of the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University’s Parkville Campus. Dr Ventura teaches undergraduate Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science students and is the Head of the Male Reproductive Pharmacology Research Lab. His research investigates the physiology and pharmacology of male reproductive organs with a view to identifying novel therapeutic targets for male contraception.

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