How should science shape laws and policies on reproductive health? What happens when ideology overrides evidence in decisions about IVF, abortion and reproductive autonomy? And why is the right to science a critical yet overlooked human right?
In this thought-provoking episode of the SRHM Podcast, host Eszter Kismődi speaks with four authors of a groundbreaking SRHM paper: The right to science in sexual and reproductive health and the legal status of the human embryo. Guests Professor Silke Dyer, Professor Alison Edelman, Professor Joanna Erdman and Professor Asha George explore how scientific progress, human rights and law intersect in debates on the status of the human embryo—and the consequences for people seeking fertility and abortion care around the world.
Together they discuss:
Why personhood laws rooted in ideology threaten reproductive rights and public health
How misinformation shapes policy and restricts evidence-based care
The right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress as a human right
The importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration for sexual and reproductive justice
This episode is essential listening for anyone working in global health, human rights, law, public policy, advocacy or SRHR research.
👉 Read the full article, open-access, at srhmjournal.org
👉 Join the conversation ahead of Human Rights Day on the future of the right to science in SRHR.