Reproductive (In)Justice in an Unequal world: Who Gets to Be Born and Who Gets to Be Pregnant?

Birth rates are declining worldwide. This trend reflects divergent dynamics. On the one hand, women experience greater reproductive choice. On the other hand, various constraints persist including environmental crises, precarious labour conditions, housing insecurity, armed conflict, and inadequate healthcare. In addition, infertility and access to assisted reproductive technologies are not evenly distributed but are deeply embedded in global inequalities.

In response to declining fertility rates, selective pronatalist ideologies are gaining traction in different parts of the world, while in others antinatalist policies continue to shape population strategies - encourage some populations to reproduce while discouraging, excluding, or restricting others from parenthood. 

At the same time, with developments in reproductive technologies we witness new forms of eugenic thinking, influencing not only who gets to be pregnant, but also who gets to be born.

Bringing together activists and scholars from around the world, this three-part webinar series examines declining fertility rates as a political issue. The first two webinars focus on the economic constraints and global inequalities that shape who is able to become pregnant and become a parent. The third turns to the ways in which Big Tech oligarchs are promoting selectively pronatalist agendas and reproductive futures.

These webinar series are organized and supported by Global Unit for Feminism and Gender Democracy, Gunda Werner Institute and PRiNA network.

Contact:

Naida Kucukalic, Global Unit for Feminism and Gender Democracy naida.kucukalic@de.boell.org

Amina Nolte, Gunda Werner Institute nolte@boell.de 

Web 1: 23 June, 2026 Who gets to become a parent? The Politics of Birth Rates (Alanna Armitage and Ralf Ruckus) - Register here -

Web 2: 30 June, 2026 Who is allowed to reproduce? Reproductive Racism and Global Inequalities (Sophia Siddiqui, Sethembiso-Promise Mthembu, and Susanne Schultz) - Register here -

Web 3: 7 June, 2026 Who shapes the future of reproduction? Future of Reproduction: Demographic anxieties and Reproductive Technologies (Helen Hester and June Sternbach) - Register here -