Doulas, a non-medical birth professional, provide emotional, physical and social support and guidance through different aspects of sexual and reproductive health-- including labor and delivery, the prenatal and postpartum period, and during abortion care, miscarriage, or stillbirth. Amy Chen, Senior Attorney at the National Health Law Program, sits down to talk with us about the importance and benefits of doulas, Medicaid coverage of this care, and the challenges the U.S. faces in getting closer to a more supported, equitable birthing reality.

Benefits of doula care include lower rates of low-birth-weight babies, lower rates of cesarian delivery, and higher rates of breastfeeding initiation. Doulas can also help reduce racial disparities in care, particularly for those who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). One of the core goals of increasing doula care surrounds the current Black maternal health crisis in the United States; doulas can provide support and act as an advocate when a patient faces individual, structural, or institutional racism.

States, health plans, and employers have shown increasing interest in expanding and implementing access to doula care. Across the country, Medicaid covers close to half of all births. Over the past five years, 25 states and Washington D.C. have implemented Medicaid coverage of doulas, with half a dozen states in the process of implementation.

For more information, check out: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/2058-two-blocks-from-the-white-house

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“Family values” brings up a very specific image rooted in the narrow idea of what a family is—such as a white, heterosexual marriage with children and a picket fence. But this image leaves out a lot of people, and so many families do not look like the image of the “nuclear” family that is often uplifted. Preston Mitchum, attorney, advocate, activist, and sometimes-reality-tv-personality, sits down to talk with us about conservative definitions of “family” and “family values“ and how those concepts shift into real, harmful policy.

Religion, tradition, power, and national identity tie closely into conservative interpretations of “family values.” This excludes nontraditional households, the LGBTQI+ community, and many more people, and ascribes political power to that exclusion. Housing, reproduction, immigration protection, marriage access, and adoption access are policy indicators that often do not reflect lived experiences for families and ultimately expose people to further marginalization.

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Across the spectrum, there are escalating attacks on women’s rights and freedoms, including attacks on the abortion pill, birth control, women’s suffrage, no fault divorce, higher education, and more. Courtney Hagle, Research Director at Media Matters for America, sits down to talk with us about the not new, but increasingly violent, rhetoric against women.

Attacks on abortion, birth control, sex education, and the LGBTQI+ community—both rhetorically and politically—have been increasing drastically. These attacks are often rooted in core values of religious extremism and protecting the nuclear family. The anti-abortion movement and media is seeking to hitch their wagon to the MAHA movement, (Make America Healthy Again) claiming that the abortion pill and the birth control pill have detrimental health and environmental side effects.

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A flurry of updates from the U.S. legal landscape have expanded recently; from cases examining birthright citizenship and conversion therapy to Pam Bondi’s bye-bye, Jessica Mason Pieklo, Executive Producer of Legal Content and Advocacy at Rewire News Group and host of Boom! Lawyered, sits down to talk with us about both the latest developments at the Supreme Court and Trump’s ousting of Pam Bondi, former U.S. Attorney General.

The Supreme Court heard a challenge to Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy (Chiles v. Salazar), in which the justices ruled 8-1 in favor of Chiles and sent the discussion of conversion therapy as “protected speech” back down to the lower courts. It represents a large shift in what the court considers “speech,” particularly “medical speech.” In Trump v. Barbara, the court scrutinized an executive order seeking to redefine birthright citizenship—specifically to restrict the citizenship of children who are U.S.-born but have non-citizen parents. The Supreme Court taking this case in the first place is concerning.

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After the Dobbs case (which overturned Roe v. Wade) was decided, several grassroots activists in various states appealed to the ballot constitutional amendment to protect reproductive freedom in their state constitutions. Brigitte Amiri, Deputy Director at the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project, sits down to talk with us about recent reproductive freedom amendments, equal rights amendments, and current litigation around the U.S.

By getting measures on the ballot, collecting signatures, and gathering funds, activists have been committed to protecting reproductive autonomy via the state constitution. Cases are currently pending in Missouri, Ohio, Arizona, and Michigan, where litigators are in the process of blocking down and striking various abortion restrictions.

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Comprehensive sex education can help young people navigate relationships, traverse sexual and reproductive decision-making, and learn more about their own minds and bodies. Yet, sex education often varies in the U.S. from state-to-state, school district-to-school district, and teacher-to-teacher. Callie Simon, Executive Director of SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, sits down to talk with us about the importance of achieving comprehensive sex education and the coordinated opposition of the anti-rights minority.

Comprehensive sex education, which includes not only discussion of sex, but of anatomy, consent, sexual orientation and gender identity, healthy relationships, violence prevention, media literacy, contraception, and more, is delivered in age-appropriate ways. Yet, last year, SIECUS found over 1,000 pieces of legislation at the national and state level impacting young people’s access to healthcare and education. There was a 20% increase in aggressive legislation against sex education as compared to 2024. 18 bills were ultimately passed into law in 2025, which were aimed at restricting comprehensive, medically accurate sex education and information. For example, Baby Olivia bills require AI-generated, anti-abortion videos be shown to children starting in third grade.

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Approximately 10 million students per year are attending community colleges in the U.S., and many students are balancing multiple responsibilities while they study. Yet, most community colleges do not offer robust health care services, like contraception, STI testing and treatment, and pregnancy testing. Dr. Martinique Free, Director of Connect for Success at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, talks to us about the state of limited access to sexual and reproductive health services and care on community college campuses and the program that is seeking to change that reality.

The Connect for Success Initiative considers the dramatic shift of the sexual and reproductive health and rights landscape in the U.S. over the past five years. The program gives funding support to nonprofits, health departments and community colleges that are working to provide SRHR care and information to students across the U.S.’ geography and policy environments. Connect for Success also works hand-in-hand with students that attend partnership universities to make sure the programming matches their true needs.

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From an IRS agent who originally penned the Hyde Amendment to the lawmakers involved in creating parental consent laws, there are several actors in the antiabortion movement’s fight to dismantle Roe v. Wade. Amy Littlefield, abortion access correspondent at the Nation, freelance abortion writer, and author of Killers of Roe: My Investigation Into the Mysterious Death of Abortion Rights, sits down to talk with us about the motives, means, and opportunities behind the antiabortion movement's victory, and helps us more closely unpack the murder of Roe.

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