Rebecca Gomperts

Speaker June 6, 2026: Dr. R. (Rebecca) Gomperts, Dutch physician, well-known activist for women's rights, particularly abortion rights, through her organizations Women on Waves and Women on Web
Title lecture: Politics of (un) pregnancy

Abstract

During the 19th century, the United States and the Netherlands underwent major demographic and political shifts that reshaped reproductive life. Fertility among White women declined sharply as industrialization, urbanization, rising education, and lower child mortality encouraged smaller families and informal contraceptive use. In response, both countries enacted restrictive laws on abortion and contraception: the U.S. criminalized abortion in nearly all states and imposed the Comstock Act (1873), while the Netherlands maintained strict prohibitions under its penal codes. In the United States, these restrictions were deeply entangled with racial anxieties, as declining White birthrates fueled fears of losing demographic dominance.
In the present, both countries face renewed debates shaped by low fertility and political polarization. The U.S. has re-fragmented after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, with access varying sharply by state and demographic inequalities intensifying.