A panel of experts fighting for reproductive justice and access discusses today’s most pressing issues and roadblocks.

Featuring:

• Lourdes Rivera, President of Pregnancy Justice


• Dr. Meera Shah, Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic


• Reva Siegel, Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Professor of Law at Yale Law School


• Jessica Bruder, Journalist and Author

Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively overturned Roe v. Wade with its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the future of abortion access, reproductive rights, and women’s healthcare is murkier than ever. Doctors, advocates, and lawyers examine the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision, including what they’re seeing on the ground and where we might be headed in this significant election year.  

To join the event in person | Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins. For LIVE from NYPL events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment; we will do our best to accommodate everyone. Booked seats that have not been claimed will be released shortly before start time, and seats may become available then. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

To join the livestream | A livestream of this event will be available on the NYPL event page. To receive an email reminder shortly in advance of the event, please be sure to register! If you encounter any issues, please join us on NYPL's YouTube channel.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Lourdes A. Rivera (she/her/ella) joined Pregnancy Justice as its first president in 2023, bringing more than 30 years of experience as a respected leader in reproductive rights and justice, health law and policy, and philanthropy. She recently served as a senior vice president of U.S. Programs at the Center for Reproductive Rights, overseeing comprehensive litigation, policy advocacy, and partnership strategies. Lourdes is a co-founder of California Latinas for Reproductive Justice and the Groundswell Fund, a board member of the National Health Law Program, and board president of the Brush Foundation. She also received an American Bar Association presidential appointment to the ABA’s Coalition on Racial and Ethnic Justice. She earned a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. from Yale University. An enthusiastic salsa dancer since childhood, Lourdes can lead and follow with grace.

Dr. Meera Shah is a family medicine physician, currently serving as the Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic in New York. Most recently, she published a book about abortion access called, You're the Only One I've Told: The Stories Behind Abortion. She completed medical school at George Washington University in Washington D.C. and then family medicine residency at Mount Sinai/Beth Israel Medical Center and the Institute for Family Health in New York City. She has an MS in Nutrition as well as an MPH, both from Columbia University. Meera has been a contributing writer for Bedsider and Jezebel. She has been interviewed for her expertise by The Washington Post, MSNBC, Teen Vogue, Buzzfeed, ThinkProgress, Elle, NPR, Refinery29 and SELF to name a few. She is a fellow with the Physicians for Reproductive Health and serves on the board of Whole Woman's Health Alliance.

Reva Siegel is the Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Professor of Law at Yale Law School. Professor Siegel’s writing draws on legal history to explore questions of law and inequality and to analyze how courts interact with representative government and popular movements in interpreting the Constitution.

Jessica Bruder is the author of three non-fiction books including the New York Times bestseller Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, which has been translated into two-dozen languages and adapted into a triple-Oscar-winning film. Bruder has written cover stories for The Atlantic, Harper’s and WIRED magazines, and her long-form journalism has also appeared in such publications as New York, The Guardian, The Nation and The New York Times. She recently completed a fellowship at the Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, where she worked on her forthcoming book about mutual aid and abortion access. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

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ACCESSIBILITY

In-Person | Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue. You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template. This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs. 

Livestream | Captions and a transcript will be provided. Media used over the course of the conversation will be accompanied by alt text and/or audio description. You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.

CONNECT

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LIVE from NYPL is made possible by the continuing generosity of Celeste Bartos, Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos and Adam Bartos, the Margaret and Herman Sokol Public Education Endowment Fund, and the support of Library patrons and friends.

Courtesy Lourdes A. Rivera
Courtesy Dr. Meera Shah
Reva Siegel © Harold Shapiro
Jessica Bruder © Devin Oktar Yalkin