Love Data Week 25 Research Talk: Reproductive Justice and Open Information Access on Wikipedia

Speakers: Alicia Puglionesi, Siân Evans, and Sophie Reverdy

It can be hard to find accurate, up-to-date information about reproductive health and justice issues. Wikipedia is where people go when they want to answer a question without extensive research or reliance on unverified AI summaries. Questions about reproductive issues may come up in civic life ("what policies align with my values?") or in personal life ("is abortion legal in my state?"). Access to information about reproduction, contraception, abortion, and birthing has always been unequal, with people of color, young people, and the poor facing higher information barriers, and this is exacerbated by state policies activated by the 2022 Dobbs ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.  High-quality Wikipedia articles make reproductive health information accessible in a transparent way: they cite sources and are collectively reviewed by a community of editors. This talk will cover the intersection of reproductive justice with open-source Wikipedia editing, sharing case studies of articles that have been revised with this approach, and leading participants through the process of setting up their own Wikipedia account and identifying articles in need of revision.   Understanding how an information source works is critical to being a responsible reader and citizen. The open nature of Wikipedia, where all edits are sourced, tracked, reviewed, and contestable, makes it a valuable site of tension and consensus-making. At the same time, many important scholarly sources are not accessible to non-academic users, therefore contributions by editors working within institutions can help to move information out from behind paywalls.  We will also discuss the relationship between data and narrative framing, exploring how the language used to present data can exacerbate structural biases and how appropriate language and framing can counter bias. This is especially important when providing information about reproductive justice issues. Articles may use biased framing or language that perpetuates stigma. Users who contribute to Wikipedia are empowered to reframe these issues and introduce inclusive language.

Registration link: https://bit.ly/JH_lovedataweek

** This session is part of Love Data Week 2025. To attend this session, first register here: https://bit.ly/JH_lovedataweek and then follow the instruction under "Registration and Creating an Itinerary" in the description to add this session to your itinerary. **