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Institutional silence and the governance of women college athletes’ reproductive autonomy in the United States
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DOI：10.1080/14413523.2026.2663410.png)
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Abstract
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This study examines how women college athletes understand their pregnancy-related rights and protections and how institutional communication – or its absence – shapes reproductive autonomy within college sport. Guided by a reproductive justice framework, it conceptualizes pregnancy as a site of reproductive governance shaped by institutional policies, norms, and silences within performance-oriented sport organizations. The analysis draws on semi-structured interviews with 25 women college athletes from various NCAA Division I institutions in the United States, conducted between September 2023 and July 2024 in the post-Dobbs legal context, and uses reflexive thematic analysis to examine athletes’ knowledge of Title IX and NCAA pregnancy protections. Five interrelated themes were identified: institutional silence and non-communication regarding pregnancy rights; the consequences of institutional silence for athletes including fear, stigma, and uncertainty surrounding scholarship security and athletic eligibility; the prioritization of performance over athlete well-being; structural sexism reflected in male-dominated leadership and the privileging of men’s revenue sports; and athletes’ calls for reproductive health literacy and standardized education. The findings illustrate how institutional silence functions as a form of reproductive governance that constrains women college athletes’ reproductive autonomy.
Keywords:
Reproductive justice
institutional silence
women college athletes
Title IX
pregnancy rights
athlete welfare
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