Virginia Espino: No Más Bebés

Sarika D. Mehta » Podcast

For International Women’s Day this year, I am showcasing an interview with Virginia Espino: she’s UCLA scholar and Program Coordinator of Latino & Latina Studies and producer of the film, No Más Bebés.

Last month, PBS Independent Lens screen the powerful documentary, No Más Bebés, which investigates tubal ligations given to working class Latina women in 1970s Los Angeles, without their informed consent. Included in the film is a profile of the obstetrician who acted as the whistleblower and the resulting lawsuit Madrigal v. Quilligan.

Virginia Espino

It was Espino’s dissertation research and conversations with director, Renee Tajima-Peña, that led to this film. The filmmakers also investigate the role of white feminists fighting for on-demand sterilization – in a Roe v. Wade era – without directly considering the Chicana women who were fighting for their own reproductive rights.

This interview was featured on the March 7th, 2016 episode of Intersections Radio, a new independent podcast which also airs on XRAY.FM. Check out the podcast!

Air date: 3/7/2016 https://sarikadmehta.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/virginiaespino_xray_vol.mp3

**Read the transcript of the interview: 030716 Intersections with Virginia Espino transcript