Events
Center for Reproductive Rights professionals often participate in panels and events around the world addressing current topics in reproductive rights and health. Below are recent and upcoming events.


Times are Eastern Time except where specified.
May 11, 2022, 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm IST; 9:30 pm – 1:30 am KST; 12:30 pm – 4:30 pm GMT: “Symposium on Global Reproductive Politics, Reproductive Justice, and Limits of Law.” Mark your calendars now to attend this virtual event featuring an exciting conversation to discuss reproductive justice through an intersectional framework. This symposium will bring together experts, academics and activists from around the world. The event is free and open to the public. For details and registration information, click here.
April 26, 2022, 8:00-9:30 a.m. EST: “The Cost of Criminalizing Essential Health Care: Barriers to Gender Equality in Sustained and Inclusive Economic Growth.” The Center for Reproductive Rights is organizing a virtual side event to the 55th Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development (CPD). Co-hosted by the Governments of Canada and Mexico, the side event will feature global health care and human rights experts from Nepal, Kenya, and El Salvador, who will examine the economic, social, human rights, and public health impacts resulting from the restriction and criminalization of abortion around the world. The event is free and open to the public. Register here.
April 20, 2022 @ 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. EST: “Abortion is Essential for Democracy.” The Center will participate in a virtual event, co-hosted by Ms. Magazine and the Brennan Center, along with NYU Law’s Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network, which will highlight how attacks on democracy have led to the biggest threat to abortion access since Roe v. Wade. Lourdes Rivera, Senior Vice President of U.S. Programs at the Center, will participate as a panelist. The virtual event is free and open to the public. Details and registration information here.
April 13, 2022 @ 4:00am EST/10:00am CET: Virtual Event: First Ever Feminist Foreign Policy Summit. The Center for Reproductive Rights is co-sponsoring this virtual presentation, hosted by the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy (CFFP). The Summit will bring together leading feminist thinkers to discuss new foreign policy approaches to advance global justice, equality, and sustainable peace and will feature the Center’s Enid Muthoni Ndiga as a speaker. The event – which will be held Wednesday, April 13 – is hosted by the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy (CFFP), and virtual participation is free and open to the public. More details and registration information here.
March 17, 2022 @ 9:00 am ET/3:00 pm CET: “In Our Own Words: The Role of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Fulfilling the Rights of Young People to Sexual and Reproductive Health.” The Center for Reproductive Rights and Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights will host a virtual side event co-sponsored by Permanent Mission of Mexico to the UN during the 66th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The event is free and open to the public, and will be an inter-generational dialogue about the work young activists are doing to overcome the challenges and promote access CSE. Watch the replay here.
March 8, 2022: “F for Feminism.” In Nepal, the Center and partners celebrated the 112th International Women’s Day with an event called “F for Feminism” that combined art and activism centered on the theme “My Body, My Right: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.” The event featured the launch of a fact sheet, published by the Center and the South Asia Reproductive Justice and Accountability Initiative (SARJAI), entitled “Advancing Public Health and Human Rights Standards: Safe Abortion through Medical Abortion and Self-Management in Select Asian Countries.” Read more details about the event here.
March 8, 2022, 10:30 am ET: “Centering Their Voices: Accountability for Women and Girls in Humanitarian Situations.” The Center for Reproductive Rights and several international partners will host a virtual side event to the 49th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council aimed at advancing accountability around the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls in humanitarian settings. The event is free and open to the public. Watch the replay here.
February 15, 2022: “Engaging in the UPR: Capacity Building for SRHR Advocates in the Philippines.” In partnership with Global Affairs Canada, the Center for Reproductive Rights, together with the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights, OxFam, and SHE, organized a virtual event to build and strengthen the capacity of national and local sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) advocates in the Philippines to engage with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. The Philippines will be reviewed during the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) this year. Read more here.
February 3, 2022: Human Rights Watch Film Festival. The Center for Reproductive Rights is a presenting sponsor of the 12th Annual Human Rights Watch Film Festival, which will feature critically acclaimed films on topics including reproductive rights, the lives of foster youth, indigenous rights, poverty, inequality and immigration reform issues. Join us for a screening of ON THE DIVIDE, a documentary film directed by Maya Cueva, which centers the story of the last remaining abortion clinic on the US/Mexico border – and the members of the Latinx community that are most impacted by laws banning abortion. Buy tickets here, and enter code JUSTICE22 at checkout to get a $6 ticket.
January 31, 2022, 9:00 – 10:30 AM EST: “Global Dialogue on Impacts of U.S. Regression in Abortion Access.” This virtual dialogue will convene international reproductive health, legal, human rights experts to examine the global implications of U.S. regression on abortion rights. The event is open to the public and pre-registration is required. Watch the replay here.
January 26, 2022, 9:00 AM EST: “Using Litigation to Accelerate the Protection of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Across the Globe.” At this virtual panel discussion, leading global SRHR experts will discuss the impact of litigation in advancing SRHR worldwide, covering findings from the Center’s new report, “Across Borders: How International and Regional Reproductive Rights Cases Influence Jurisprudence Worldwide.” Watch the replay here.
December 13, 2021, 2:00 PM EST: “Preserving Roe and the Rule of Law” — At this panel program, presented by the American Bar Association’s Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, you’ll hear from legal experts including the Center’s Julie Rikelman, who argued at the Supreme Court on December 1 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. Register here.
8 December, 2021: “National Level Capacity Building Workshop with Youth Champions: Role of Youth Champions on Protecting the Gains and Advancing SRHR.” The Center and partners at FWLD hosted a workshop in Nepal aimed at equipping youth champions with the knowledge and tools to build, enforce, and defend SRHR nationwide. Sessions and a keynote speech focused on reproductive rights as human rights, jurisprudence, adolescent-friendly SRHR guidelines, and more. More details here.
7-8 December, 2021: 2021 EU-NGO Human Rights Forum. From December 7-8, 2021, the EU-NGO Human Rights Forum will be held virtually, with two panels featuring speakers from the Center for Reproductive Rights. The Forum will discuss policies to support a human rights-based recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and panels will cover European Union policies to address barriers to SRHR access, advance universal health care, and more. More details and registration information here.
1 December 2021: Supreme Court Oral Arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. On December 1, 2021 at 10 AM ET, the Center will present arguments in Dobbs. v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization before the Supreme Court. The case challenges Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban and it will be the first time the Court will rule on the constitutionality of pre-viability abortion bans since Roe v. Wade in 1973. Listen to oral arguments in Dobbs on December 1.
23 November 2021: Accountability for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Humanitarian Settings. On Tuesday, November 23, at 6:30pm CET/12:30pm ET, the Graduate Institute, Geneva and the Center for Reproductive Rights will host this virtual panel event. You’ll hear from a panel of global experts about gender and international humanitarian law, including the growing attention to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) under international law. More details and registration information here.
17 November 2021: “LGBTI and Feminist Movements: Pushing Back on the Pushback.” Join us and other reproductive health and rights organizations at the United Nations on November 17, 2021 at 9 AM ET for the event LGBTI and Feminist Movements: Pushing Back on the Pushback. The event will discuss the challenges of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and the importance of inclusive, intersectional feminism. The event is open to the public and you can register here.
1 November 2021: Supreme Court Oral Arguments in Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson. On November 1, the Center’s senior counsel Marc Hearron argued Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson before the Supreme Court. The case challenges Texas’s abortion ban, S.B. 8. Read more about Hearron’s presentation before the Court here. Listen to the audio and read the transcript of the arguments here.
27 October 2021: “An Emergency Moment”: The Center Defends Abortion Rights Before the Supreme Court. On October 27, 2021 at 7 PM ET, Big Tent USA will feature Center President and CEO Nancy Northup as part of their Spotlight Speaker Series. Northup will speak on the Center’s experience advocating for abortion rights at the U.S. Supreme Court and its upcoming Supreme Court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Woman’s Health Organization, and its litigation against Texas’s abortion ban, S.B. 8. Register for the event here.
2 October 2021: Rally For Abortion Justice. Join the Center and its movement partners for the Rally for Abortion Justice in cities across the U.S. and demand a stop to the attacks on abortion access. With over 600 events involving over 100,000 people, this groundswell of energy will send a clear message to legislators across the country: The continued attacks on abortion justice will not be tolerated. Find an event near you.
28 September 2021: “Reproductive Rights of Romani Women and Girls,” a virtual panel discussion, part of EU Romani Week. The panel discussion will feature leading Romani women activists, and will focus on the pressing issue of human rights violations against Romani women and how EU and national policy leaders can effectively address these grave concerns. Click here for registration information and more details. Registration deadline: September 25.
25 September 2021: Regional Advocacy for Decriminalization of Abortion in Asia and Role of Pro-Bono Partners. At the 10th Asia Pro Bono Conference & Access to Justice Exchange, the Center hosted a session highlighting the need for decriminalization of abortion to ensure safer, better abortion access. The session also discussed the initiatives and successes that Center and the partners, including pro-bono partners, have taken so far to decriminalize abortion in Asia. Learn more and watch the video replay here.
20 September 2021: “After Texas: The Fight for Abortion Access,” a virtual workshop, was organized by The Meteor Fund and the Center for Reproductive Rights. It was recently held to discuss Texas’s extreme abortion ban that took effect September 1 and the ramifications for abortion rights in other states. Learn more and watch the video replay here.
22 July 2021: Abortion Access in the Southeast: What You Need to Know. Join this free Facebook live event sponsored by Access Reproductive Care-Southeast, Inc. and Center for Reproductive Rights for a discussion about the current legal landscape of abortion access in the Southeast and learn how you can get involved in the fight for abortion access and reproductive justice. Details here.
1 July 2021: Generation Equality Forum. The Center and its partners will hold an interactive and intergenerational discussion on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) at the Generation Equality Forum, a major global event organized by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France. The session, titled My Body is My Own: Young Women’s and Adolescent Girls’ Bodily Autonomy and Decision-making, will take place on July 1 and will be available for viewing via live feed. Click here for more information about the event, including the video replay.
28 June 2021: Accountability for Women’s and Girls’ SRHR in Humanitarian Settings. Join the Center for Reproductive Rights on June 28 for a virtual discussion with global experts about accountability for women and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in humanitarian settings. The event will take place at 13:00 – 14:30 Central European Time (CET). Click here for details.
24 June 2021: Sustaining Positive Measures to Ensure Access to SRH Services During the COVID Pandemic and Beyond. At this June 24 webinar sponsored by the Center for Reproductive Rights, global experts will discuss initiatives that protect—and in some ways improve—access to care and the need to continue them beyond the pandemic. Click here for speakers and program details. Register here for the webinar, which is free and open to the public.
11 June 2021: Decriminalization of Abortion in Asia. Co-organized by the Center, this session at Safe Abortion Dialogue-Asia highlighted the barriers and harmful consequences of criminalization of abortion in Asia with examples of country contexts from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The session was co-moderated by the Center’s Prabina Bajracharya, Capacity Building Manger for Asia. In the two-hour session, safe abortion activists in the region collaborated on strategies for advancing abortion rights and law reforms, with focus on the use of legal and movement building strategies.
4 June 2021: Combatting Opposition, Barriers, and Threats: Evidence from the Ground. Co-organized by the Center, this session at Safe Abortion Dialogue-Asia highlighted the challenges and initiatives of safe abortion rights advocates in Asia. The session featured the Center’s Jihan Jacob, Senior Legal Adviser for Asia, as well as speakers from Afghanistan, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, and the Philippines, who presented case studies of how these barriers and opposition to abortion are manifested at the country level. The two-hour session also provided an opportunity for safe abortion activists in the region to come up with strategies to counter the opposition and break down the barriers to safe abortion rights.
2 June 2021: Panel Discussion About Film Featuring Center’s Salvadoran Client, 1:30 pm ET/7:30 pm CET screening of Fly So Far followed by 3:00 pm ET/9:00pm CET panel discussion. The film, Fly So Far, about Teodora del Carmen Vásquez will premiere at the One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival. A panel discussion featuring Teodora del Carmen Vásquez and Celina Escher, film director, will be moderated by Catalina Martínez Coral, Senior Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Center. Registration information. Watch the replay of the discussion here.
5 May 2021: Webinar–Guaranteeing Undocumented Migrant Women’s Access to Affordable Maternal Health Care in the EU, 10:00 to 11:30 am CEST. Featuring the Center’s Katrine Thomasen, Senior Legal Advisor for Europe, Enid Muthoni, Senior Vice President, Global Legal Program, and officials from the European Parliament, Office of the Council of Europe Commissioner of Human Rights, the WHO, and other organizations. Click here for more event details. Click here to watch the video replay.
15 April 2021: Black Maternal Health Roundtable. The Center’s Senior Manager for Maternal Health, Breana Lipscomb, will join a virtual town hall to discuss the state of Black Maternal Health in North Carolina, Thursday April 15 at 7 pm ET. The event is hosted by North Carolina state officials and will also feature representative from Equity Before Birth, Moms Rising, and Duke Health. Register here.
12 April 2021: Black Maternal Health Virtual Town Hall on Twitter. Join the Center and @BlackMamasMatter (BMMA) on Twitter today at 4:30 pm EST for a virtual town hall on Black Maternal Health. The Center’s Senior Manager for Maternal Health, Breana Lipscomb, will provide insight into policy initiatives seeking to address maternal health disparities.
30 March 2021: Behind the Legislative Curtain: Strategies for Reproductive Freedom. Join the Center and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice for a conversation with state legislators who support reproductive freedom. Panelists include Rep. Athena Salman (AZ), Sen. John Marty (MN), and Rep. Maurice A. West II (IL), with the Center’s Nancy Northup moderating. Register here.
29 March 2021: Addressing the Barriers to Achieving a Just and Equal Future. This online forum highlights Filipino women and girls’ initiatives in ensuring an equal and just future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Organized by the Center for Reproductive Rights, Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR), the Philippine Safe Abortion Advocacy Network (PINSAN), and SheDecides Philippines in partnership with the Embassy of the Netherlands in the Philippines. Watch a recording of the livestream on Facebook here.
26 March 2021: “Lessons from the Movement to Overturn Ireland’s Abortion Ban,” at Columbia University. Leah Hochter, Senior Regional Director for the Europe at the Center for Reproductive Rights, will be a panelist.
17 February 2021: The Global Gag Rule Explained. This live webinar, featuring the Center’s Martin Onyango, Senior Legal Adviser for Africa, will discuss the effects of the Global Gag Rule on sexual and reproductive health and rights, specifically on abortion provision, in the region. Watch it at 2 pm EAT/6 am EST here.
16 December 2020: Maternal Health: Justice for Mothers in 2021. The Meteor Fund hosts a free virtual workshop series with the Center for Reproductive Rights, featuring legal experts and grassroots organizers. The Dec. 16 workshop features Breana Lipscomb, Senior Manager of the Center’s Maternal Health and Rights Initiative. 7 p.m. Click here to register.
9 December 2020: Reproductive Rights: What’s Ahead in 2021. The Meteor Fund hosts the first in a free virtual workshop series with the Center for Reproductive Rights, featuring legal experts and grassroots organizers. The first event features the Center’s Fajer Saeed Ebrahim along with Dahlia Lithwick of Slate and Michelle Wilson of Women Engaged. 7 p.m. Click here to register.
3 December 2020: Situación de las personas privadas de libertad en El Salvador en el contexto de la pandemia, con enfoque de género. The Center’s LAC (Latin America and the Caribbean) team along with local partners in El Salvador will participate in a public virtual hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights concerning the rights of women deprived of liberty during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Spanish. 2 p.m. To register, click here.
16 November 2020: What You Need to Know: The State of Reproductive Rights In Florida. The Center’s Diamond Brown and Arielle Humphries and one other speaker (TBD) will host a webinar discussing reproductive rights in the state of Florida, with an emphasis on restrictive legislation involving abortion and its impact on marginalized communities. 6 p.m. To register to attend, click here.
13 November 2020: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Briefing on Maternal Health Disparities. Jennifer Jacoby, Federal Policy Counsel at the Center, testifies at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. 10 a.m. For a live stream click here. To read the Center’s written testimony, click here.
29 October 2020: Serving Those Who Serve: a Congressional Briefing on Servicemembers’ and Veterans’ Barriers to Infertility Care. The Center’s Freya Riedlin and Karla Torres participate in a briefing co-hosted by the Center and RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. 1 p.m. Click here to register.
28 September 2020: BLACK LIVES MATTER: The Impact of Racism on Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice. The Center’s Diamond Brown, counsel, Lawyers Network, participates in a panel on the historical context of reproductive health and justice, anti-Black racism, and the role of power and privilege. 4 p.m. Click here to register.
24 September 2020: Take Action: Defund ICE and CBP and Stop Reproductive Violence. American Friends Service Committee, one of the co-authors of the Center’s new issue brief on U.S. mistreatment of pregnant immigrants, participates in a Detention Watch Network Facebook Live discussion of the report’s findings. 4 p.m.
27 August 2020: How Legal Decisions and Policy Making Impact Reproductive Rights in 2020 and Beyond. Johns Hopkins University hosts a panel featuring the Center’s senior federal legislative counsel, Sara Outterson. 3 p.m. Click here to register.
24 August 2020: A Decade of Existence: Tracking Implementation of Article 26(4) of the Kenyan Constitution. The Center presents a panel on the 10th anniversary of Kenya’s constitution, progress on rights, and failure to implement its constitutional guarantees to legal abortion. Panel includes the Center’s Evelyne Opondo, senior regional director for Africa. 11 a.m. East Africa Time, 4 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Attend via Facebook at the Center for Reproductive Rights or Reproductive Health Network Kenya.
12-16 August 2020: RePRO Online Film Festival. Proceeds go to the Center for Reproductive Rights and allied organizations. Pilar Herrero, senior staff attorney for human rights at the Center, will be on the Policing Pregnancy Call to Action panel after the films 62 Days and Personhood on August 14. Visit the mama.film website for schedule and tickets.
12 August 2020: Youth Engagement for Global Action. Reproductive Health Network Kenya hosts a conversation that unpacks the challenges of engaging young people in Kenya around issues like teenage pregnancy. Featuring the Center’s Martin Onyango, senior legal adviser for Africa.
5 August 2020: Defending Reproductive Rights Panel with Special Guest Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. New York State Attorney General Letitia James hosts a panel with Center for Reproductive Rights president and CEO Nancy Northup, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and others. Video replay
5 August 2020: Reflections From the Supreme Court: Julie Rikelman & Arguing June v. Russo. The National Association of Women Lawyers hosts a webinar in which Julie Rikelman, the Center’s senior director, litigation, will be speaking about her experience arguing June Medical Services v. Russo before the Supreme Court, the impact of the decision, and joining the ranks of women who have argued before the Supreme Court.
16 July 2020: Reproductive Rights in 2020. Harvard Law School’s Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics hosts a panel featuring Julie Rikelman, the Center’s senior director, litigation, discussing the June Medical v. Russo Supreme Court decision. Video replay