A Bold Beginning: Launching the Reproductive Justice Hallmark Research Initiative
The Reproductive Justice Hallmark Research Initiative made a powerful official debut on Tuesday, 11th February at Melbourne Law School, drawing a crowd of over 200 passionate attendees. Professor Paula O’Brien from Melbourne Law School opened the evening with a warm welcome, setting the tone for a powerful and inspiring event. Professor Louise Keogh, Chair of the Hallmark, followed with introductions to the driving forces behind the initiative—shining a spotlight on the Hallmark Steering Group, the Early Career Researcher (ECR) Network, and the Australian Reproductive Justice Network.
The program began with a compelling talk by internationally renowned abortion rights activist and author Renee Bracey Sherman, who shared insights from her new book Liberating Abortion. Following her reading, Renee sat down with Emily Duyen Dang, Project Coordinator at 1800 MY OPTIONS, for a lively and thought-provoking Q&A.
The event continued with an inspiring panel discussion featuring leading voices in reproductive justice in Australia: Professor Cath Chamberlain, Professor of Indigenous Health at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health; Delaram Ansari, Research, Advocacy, and Policy Manager at the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health; and Lily McAuliffe, Co-Founder of The Abortion Project Inc. Together, they explored the urgent priorities and challenges shaping the future of reproductive justice in Australia and beyond.
Special thanks to the Health Law and Ethics Network, the Nossal Institute for Global Health, and the Centre for Health Equity for their generous co-sponsorship and support in making this landmark event possible.
If you were unable to attend the event and would like to view the recording, please contact Bronwen.Merner@unimelb.edu.au
Notable quotes from the launch:
Renee Bracey Sherman: "Liberating abortion is a vibe.... It's truly a feeling right?... It is the way in which every single one of us can feel like we can make a decision about our bodies or our pregnancy and not have to check our bank account first. Not have to wonder who's going to be mad at me about this? Who's gonna support me? Am I going to get kicked out of my house? Will they still love me? Do I have what I need? Where am I going to buy diapers? How am I going to put food on the table? It is literally just being able to make a pregnancy decision and being like, do I want to be pregnant or not? That is wild because we all know that's not how anyone makes a pregnancy decision in this country or any other."
Cath Chamberlain: "Thinking about reproductive justice not just being about abortion, but being about birthing rights. That's something that we've got a huge movement about in Australia at the moment, the Birthing on Country Movement. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have always... we know that that's really important for people to be able to give birth on their country. The connections to land and country is critically important. And at the moment there's been a lot of restrictions with the maternity care system about where women give birth. We don't have those birth choices."
Delaram Ansari: "But one thing that stood out for me [in Renee's book] particularly was a story [Renee] shared about a young woman of colour who could not access abortion. And then [she] said this line which I loved... [She] said "She didn't choose to continue her pregnancy. Capitalism chose that for her." I think that stood out for me, because that's the approach we take when we talk about reproductive coercion, how is reproductive coercion showing up for migrants and refugees. It is about the system that reinforces that kind of oppression, but also takes away the agency and choice."
Lily McAuliffe: "I really loved [Renee's] stories from Nancy and Sarah who had liberated abortions. I thought that was so beautiful to hear that if you have the information, the choices and community care, along with policies, that you can have a good abortion experience. What also resonated were the injustices, and also the opportunities to self advocate, realising that they can change the system and create something new, so that others don't have to go through the same experience."
Louise Keogh: “One of the things I particularly love about [the Reproductive Justice] Movement, and particularly Renee's writing, is the call to use our imagination to come up with new solutions. The more constrained and charged the political environment gets, the more creative we need to be.”
Above: Renee Bracey Sherman (Photo courtesy of Tom Hvala)
Above L-> R: Lily McAuliffe, Delaram Ansari, Cath Chamberlain, Emily Duyen Dang (Photo courtesy of Tom Hvala)