Published Feb 24 2023

‘What Happens Next?’: What Is Reproductive Justice?

Susan
Carland
Academic, author and social commentator
Sabatino ventura
Senior Lecturer, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Safeera hussainy
Senior Pharmacy Research Manager, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Danielle mazza
Professor, General Practice, Monash University
Tania penovic
Former Senior Lecturer, Law Resources

Reproductive rights are human rights, and it's incumbent upon all of us to protect and advance them.

In the wake of the US Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v Wade, women and pregnancy-capable people were left reeling. It was a clear example of how hard-won gains can be reversed, even decades later.

The silver lining is that the decision brought attention to issues surrounding reproductive care that had long been overlooked or simply ignored. Protests in the US and beyond highlighted the global importance of continued advocacy for access to healthcare, better education, and adequate resources.

Listen: Senate submission to raise the bar in reproductive healthcare

On a new episode of Monash University’s What Happens Next? podcast, host Dr Susan Carland talks to the healthcare providers and advocates working tirelessly to educate people about their health options, ensure that we don't lose ground in the global fight for reproductive justice, and dismantle the systems that have left women's healthcare on the back burner.

This episode’s guests are human rights law expert Dr Tania Penovic; pharmacist Dr Safeera Hussainy; pharmacology researcher Dr Sab Ventura; Louise Johnson, former CEO for the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority; and Dr Danielle Mazza, head of Monash’s Department of General Practice and director of the SPHERE Centre of Research Excellence in Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health and Primary Care.

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.

“If you think about the average woman having two children, she might spend five years of her life trying to become pregnant, pregnant, or recovering from a pregnancy. But that's 30 years of her life that she spends trying to avoid a pregnancy or wanting to. And so we need to try our best to help her to do that.”

Danielle Mazza

This is the final episode of season seven of What Happens Next?. The podcast will return in a few short months with a new series investigating new challenges and how each of us can make a difference. In the meantime, be sure to explore our back catalogue of episodes here on Lens, or on your favourite podcast app.

Do you have a topic you'd like the podcast to examine? Email podcasts@monash.edu with your idea.

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

Listen on Apple Podcasts

 
 
 
 

Listen to more What Happens Next? podcast episodes

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.

  • 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.

  • Safeera hussainy

  • Danielle mazza

    Professor, General Practice, Monash University

    Danielle major interest is in translational research, with particular focus on closing evidence practice gaps in women's sexual and reproductive health, preventive care, and primary care aspects of cancer. Her methodological expertise lies in primary care research, the development and trial of complex interventions in the general practice setting, using routinely collected primary care data to inform policy and practice and in guideline development and implementation. She is particularly committed to improving the quality of sexual and reproductive health care for women in general practice.

  • Tania penovic

    Former Senior Lecturer, Law Resources

    Tania is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Law and a Deputy Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law. She teaches civil procedure, torts and a number of areas of international and domestic human rights law, including women's rights and refugee law. She has published widely on human rights, including the rights of asylum seekers, access to civil justice and women's and children's rights. Tania has been involved in a number of enquiries into federal and Victorian law reform and in professional human rights training programs for judges and Australian and international government officials.

Other stories you might like