October 21, 2019
Reproductive Rights panel discussion at SIU on Thursday
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Many states have been reexamining their laws pertaining to women’s reproductive rights in recent months. In light of these conversations, changes and the surrounding controversy, Southern Illinois University Carbondale is hosting a public panel discussion about the issue on Thursday.
“Reproductive Rights Panel: A Public Health, Legal and Medical Discussion” is set for 12:20 to 1:30 p.m. Thursday in the Hiram H. Lesar Law Building Auditorium (Room 102) at the SIU School of Law.
Everyone is welcome to attend the event, which will take an interdisciplinary approach to understanding women’s health rights.
Diverse viewpoints featured
Kristen Brewer, an SIU public health doctoral candidate and Patricia Pfeiffer, president of Law Students for Reproductive Justice and a 2020 law degree candidate, are collaborating to create the panel discussion to inform people about the health rights of women.
The panel will provide legal and public health perspectives and give people an opportunity to consider various aspects and viewpoints on the issue.
“It is easy for me to say, a woman should have a right to an abortion at any point because it is her body, but I don’t have the legal background,” Brewer said. “I don’t have the medical background to say, ‘Well, sometimes this happens’ or “You can do this but you can’t do this,’ and you know that is how we all tend to work.”
Topic invokes strong feelings
Brewer said it’s easy for people to examine an issue with tunnel vision, focusing only on the areas which they know most about of have strong feelings about.
“Hopefully it is a good experience for everyone to realize that there are people in other fields that are also passionate about these specific topics,” Brewer said. “This is a way we can reach out and met people in different areas and work together.”
Additional information
Refreshments will be provided. For more information, email kristen.brewer@siu.edu. To request special accommodations for people with disabilities, call 618/453-5738.