Claire Greshaw is a Gender and Health minor majoring in public health. This summer, she traveled abroad to examine reproductive rights in Ireland. With her public health cohort, Greshaw researched how reproductive rights have shifted in Ireland throughout history. They explored mother and baby homes, contraception bans, and the Catholic Church’s influence on legislation and social attitudes.
Greshaw studied with Caelainn Hogan, journalist and author of Republic of Shame: How Ireland Punished ‘Fallen Women’ and Their Children. With Hogan’s insight, Greshaw described how she and her cohort gained “an inside look at how the Irish have been affected by the constantly-changing laws and institutions.”
Greshaw also reflected on how the Gender and Health program informed her experience in Ireland. She said two classes in particular stood out: “Women’s Reproductive Health” with Professor Lisa Harris and “Psychology of Women and Gender” with Professor Sara McClelland. She explained, “As I learned about contraceptive bans in Ireland, I reflected on Dr. Harris’s lectures . . . I find myself reviewing the readings from Dr. McClelland’s class at least once a month.”
