SOC Blog 1: Guidado Digital: Reproductive Rights, Abortion, and Digital Network of Care in Latin America
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Exploring how digital tools and networks plays a crucial role in supporting reproductive rights and abortion access in Latin America. Highlighting the challenges activists face from censorship on social media and the importance of building community care.
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Guidado Digital: Reproductive Rights, Abortion, and Digital Network of Care in Latin America
The speakers Livia Garofalo, a researcher; Eugenia Ferrario, a feminist activist from Argentina; and Rebeca Ramos Duarte, a lawyer from Mexico—bring together their expertise in reproductive rights, law, activism, and digital tools in Latin America. They discuss how digital networks play a crucial role in helping people access abortion care and support, while also highlighting the challenges activists face when sharing abortion information online, which is often blocked or censored. Using examples from Argentina and Mexico, they explore the ongoing legal and social struggles for abortion rights. The conversation takes place within the broader context of Latin America, where strict abortion laws, cultural stigma, and increasing digital censorship create a complex environment. Activists rely on platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram to communicate, but these technologies sometimes limit their messages. The urgency of the issue stems from limited or illegal abortion access in many regions, making digital spaces vital for safely sharing information despite censorship risks. The speakers emphasize the importance of “social decriminalization”, reducing the stigma around abortion, which has paved the way for legal reforms. They also critique digital platforms for unfairly blocking abortion-related content and advocate for building resilient digital networks to support care and resist censorship. Ultimately, this discussion matters because reproductive rights are fundamental to many people’s health and freedom, and digital control over information reveals how technology profoundly affects human rights. For technologists, it highlights the critical need to design and protect platforms that promote social justice and care.
In the talk, the speakers emphasize the importance of “social decriminalization” and digital networks in supporting reproductive rights, despite censorship. How do you see the role of technology evolving in the next decade to either support or challenge reproductive justice movements, especially considering the increasing power of algorithms and surveillance? What ethical responsibilities do tech companies and activists have in navigating this landscape?
I chose this question because it connects directly to the discussion on digital censorship and activism in the video, but it pushes further into the future and ethical dimensions of technology. It invites the speakers to reflect on how tech changes might impact reproductive rights advocacy, especially as platforms become more controlled by algorithms and surveillance tools. This helps explore the tension between technology as a tool for liberation versus control, a theme highly relevant beyond Latin America. It encourages deeper thinking about the responsibility of both companies that design these platforms and activists who depend on them, opening the door to broader conversations about digital rights, privacy, and justice.