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Reproductive justice roundtable held at UCC

1 Nov 2024

The Radical Humanities Laboratory and Comhrá (Cork Medical Humanities Research & Teaching Alliance) hosted a roundtable event on reproductive justice at UCC on October 30. Dr Céire Broderick, (PLRG), Dr Claire Murray and Dr Basia Sliwinska spoke about their work in this area. Dr Kylie Thomas - Senior Lecturer at the Radical Humanities Laboratory and in Art History at UCC – then facilitated a panel discussion on points of connection, with audience input. and Dr Sara Leitao also attended on behalf of the PLRG.

Dr Céire Broderick is Lecturer in Latin American Studies, Department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, UCC and a Co-PI on . Her research interests are broadly related to gendered approaches in Latin American cultural studies, with a focus on Chile. Céire researches feminist cultural activists whose work contributes to the struggles against socio-historical and geopolitical challenges. Much of her work has focused on feminist readings of marginalisation in Chilean culture, but more recently on comparing experiences in Ireland and Latin America. During the event, Céire spoke about the . In particular she discussed the performance piece ‘Abortistas’ by the Yeguada Latinoamericana in Chile and the poem ‘Granuaile’ by Róisín Kelly in Ireland examining how the creative practitioners' discursive construction of insurgent bodies aids critique of the lived experiences of women and pregnant people under the restrictive reproductive laws of both countries.

Marita Hennessy PhD, a Postdoctoral Researcher within the Pregnancy Loss Research Group highlighted areas of work led by the Group that align, or could potentially more align, with the core principles and values of reproductive justice. These included:

• Termination of pregnancy / abortion: Impacts & outcomes following introduction of legislation
• PLACES project: Workplace experiences of pregnancy loss
• SPRING project: Supporting Pregnancy & Reproductive Health Information for Teenagers
• Evaluation of online content – miscarriage, , medications for miscarriage / infertility (misinformation)
• Perinatal death review processes
  • ACHIEVE project: Structured evaluation and implementation of a national perinatal mortality review tool for Ireland
  • Coronial investigation into perinatal deaths
  • Why my baby died graphic narrative: involving bereaved parents in perinatal death review processes
• Development of information resources, including multi-lingual videos and information booklets
• Clinical guideline development
• Education, training & support for health professionals.

is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Law, UCC and specialises in the areas of maternal and reproductive rights, amongst others. Claire spoke about work she led, with Professor Mary Donelly, on the Irish Research Council New Foundations-funded CPAC Project (: The Role of Law). Their research highlighted that, for many providers, the choice to provide was grounded in a moral commitment to protecting women’s rights to autonomy and health and ensuring that the harms of the past were not repeated. Dr Murray is also a collaborator on the PLACES Project (Pregnancy Loss in Workplaces: Informing policymakers on support mechanisms) led by and funded by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

Dr Basia Sliwinska is a Researcher at the Institute of Art History of Universidade NOVA de Lisboa). Her work is situated within feminist art history, theory and practice, focusing on visual activism and artivism within transnational global frameworks. She researches aesthetic mobilisation and activation of women’s rights for social justice, women’s agency and ways of visibilising her-stories. These are explored through artistic and visual practices informed by and committed to feminism and ethics of care. Basia edited the recently published book, ‘’. She spoke about various projects / works, including the , a ‘soft advocate’ for improving the delivery of lactation care following infant death (by Rebecca Mayo, Lucy Irvine, Katherine Carroll, Debbie Noble-Carr) and the by Brigitta Nordström, a textile artist based in Gothenberg who creates shrouds for babies who die during pregnancy or childbirth.

Many thanks to Professor Des Fitzgerald (Professor of Medical Humanities and Social Sciences at UCC) and Dr Kylie Thomas for hosting this event; we look forward to future collaborations.

More information

Established in 2024, COMHRÁ – the Cork Medical Humanities Research and Teaching Alliance – is an initiative at UCC aimed at exploring the intersection of medicine and the humanities. COMHRÁ aims to facilitate collaboration and resource sharing across diverse departments to enhance research and teaching within the growing field of medical humanities.

The Radical Humanities Laboratory at ��ҹ���޸����þ� College Cork opens a space for post- and anti- disciplinary practices across the university's four colleges. It puts critical and experimental work from the Humanities at the heart of fundamental research addressing the causes and consequences of the present: on how it can be understood, changed, and how it can be seen or lived differently, as new trajectories emerge. It builds on a sense of place; the clear view from a periphery within a periphery; the possibilities of an island.