Episode 68: Indra Lusero of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women

On this episode of en(gender)ed, our guest is Indra Lusero, a staff attorney at the National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW), a non-profit organization that combines pro-bono criminal defense and civil rights legal work, advocacy, and public education and organizing to ensure that no one is locked-up, shamed, or denied constitutional or human rights because they have the capacity for pregnancy, are pregnant, or because of any outcome of pregnancy, including abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth and birth.

We speak with Indra today about the work their organization does to educate the public about the weaponization of motherhood and pregnancy and how it supports those accused or criminalized for their pregnancy choices or outcomes. 

During our conversation, Indra and I referenced the following resources:

• The difference between reproductive justice and reproductive rights
• How the "Chemical Endangerment Law" is being used against pregnant people
• The case of Marshae Jones in Alabama
• The Rinat Dray case in which a New York hospital's secret policy led to woman being given C-section against her will
• Obstetric violence as a human rights violation and Make Mothers Matter's report on obstetric violence
• Our interview with Bethany Johnson and Maggie Quinlan, authors of You're Doing It Wrong!  Mothering, Media, and Medical Expertise
• Roberta Baker's premature birth at home leading to her being charged with felony child abuse and neglect
• Christine Taylor's arrest for attempted fetal homicide for falling down the stairs
• Faren Tang's work on the idea that birth people choose who they parent with
• Bei Bei Shuai's arrest for attempting suicide while pregnant
• Indra's reference to Tracy is actually Laura Pemberton of Florida
• NAPW's representation of Sara McKenna during her fight for custody of her child with Bode Miller
• Teri's reference of how abusers use a disinformation campaign to discredit their victims' claims of abuse in custody cases

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