Krystal Leaphart

Remembering, Restored and Ready: The Radical Roots and Ongoing Fight for Reproductive Justice! 

Krystal Leaphart

Senior Policy Analyst, Reproductive Health Impact: The Collaborative for Equity and Justice

 

Thirty years ago, Dr. Toni M. Bond Leonard, Reverend Alma Crawford, Evelyn S. Field, Terri James, Bisola Marignay, Cassandra McConnell, Cynthia Newbille, Loretta Ross, Elizabeth Terry, 'Able' Mable Thomas, Winnette P. Willis, and Kim Youngblood came together to coined the Reproductive Justice framework.  Reproductive Justice is defined as the right to have a child, the right to not have a child, the right to raise your children in safe and sustainable communities and the right to bodily autonomy (Sister Song, n.d.).  This group of Black women, who later referred to themselves as the Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice, believed it was necessary that reproductive rights and health work take intersectionality into consideration, in every way and at all times.   

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The Illinois Pro-Choice and Ms. Foundation for Women hosted a conference in hopes of presenting a statement in response to former President Bill Clinton’s universal health care plan. This event purposefully happened before the International Conference on Population and Development, which has just reached a vital decision regarding family planning. The framers of Reproductive Justice were critical of the health care plan. They published a statement called “Black Women on Universal Health Care Reform” with 800+ signatures in Roll Call and the Washington Post (Williams, 2019). 

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Reproductive Justice is rooted in Black Feminism, civil and human rights frameworks. It uniquely declares that it is impossible to discuss the reproductive health and rights of Black women and other women of color without talking about racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia and all forms of oppression. The Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice are an example of the long legacy of Black women that have organized around racialized gendered oppression. Black Women have always understood that the fight for Black maternal health and wellness, reproductive chronic illness detection and treatment, and the right to safe and legal abortion are inherently tied to climate change, access to affordable housing and the health of our democracy overall.

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The overturning of Roe vs. Wade makes it clear why the Reproductive Justice movement is not just essential, but necessary. While the Dobbs decision has had an unprecedented harmful impact on access to abortion and reproductive health, rights and justice overall, the country’s stance is clear. Vermont, Michigan, California, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, and Ohio have had recent ballot initiatives that spoke directly to abortion and reproductive health, rights and justice. And in all seven states the voters voted in favor of strengthening and protecting the right to abortion and other forms of reproductive healthcare. While this may be a surprise for some, the reality is the majority of our nation has been in favor of the tenets of reproductive justice (Pew Research Center, 2024). 

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Various organizations have done polling to better understand how people are connecting their values with the voting. According to KFF, voters across party lines believe that getting an abortion should be a personal decision and should not be regulated by the law (Kearney et. al, 2022). Half of those polled also expressed that they are committed to defending the right to an abortion. Additionally the organizations under the umbrella of Intersections of Our Lives, which are In Our Own Voice: The National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, National Asian American Women's Forum and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, conducted polling to better understand how women of color think about their voice and votes! In a national poll, 86 percent of women of color want politicians to respect a woman's right to their own reproductive health decisions (Intersections in Our Lives, 2019). Also some of the top issues that are on their minds are access to clean water, health insurance and they want their leaders to do more about racial and ethnic discrimination. This polling combined with what has happened in recent elections proves that reproductive justice is a winning electoral strategy! 

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As we look forward to the general election, there will be even more opportunities to defend the right to bodily autonomy and other vital reproductive health, rights and justice concerns.  According to the Guttmacher Institute, in 2023 there were 2,393 provisions introduced to protect reproductive health and rights overall and 1,098 provisions to restrict those same exact rights (Forouzan & Guarnieri, 2023).   And while there seems to be more support for these rights, the reality is about 15 percent of both categories have been enacted, with a small majority in support of reproductive rights, health and justice. With that, opposition to progress is aiming to restrict ballot measures in favor of reproductive justice, which is a direct attack on democracy (Ollstein & Messerly, 2023). 

In this election,  the nation will decide if it is for reproductive coercion and control or if it is for reproductive equity and justice. Those that believe will continue to fight until reproductive justice is everyone's reality. 

 

References 

Forouzan, K., & Guarnieri, I. (2023, December 19). State Policy Trends 2023: In The First Full Year Since Roe Fell, A Tumultuous Year For Abortion And Other Reproductive Health Care. Guttmacher Institute. https://www.guttmacher.org/2023/12/state-policy-trends-2023-first-full-year-roe-fell-tumultuous-year-abortion-and-other 

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Intersections of Our Lives. (2019, April 4). New National Poll: Women of Color Are A Powerful Voting Bloc, Holding Elected Officials Accountable For Action. The Intersection of Our Lives. https://intersectionsofourlives.org/new-national-poll-women-of-color-are-a-powerful-voting-bloc-holding-elected-officials-accountable-for-action/  

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Kearney, A., Kirzinger, A., Stokes, M., Brodie, M., Sobel, L., Long, M., Salganicoff, A., & Ranji, U. (2022, June 9). KFF Health Tracking Poll: Views On And Knowledge About Abortion In Wake of Leaked Supreme Court Opinion. KFF. https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/poll-finding/kff-health-tracking-poll-views-knowledge-abortion-2022/  

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Ollstein, A. M., & Messerly, M. (2023, December 18). Conservatives Move To Keep Abortion Off The 2024 Ballot. Politico. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/18/first-rule-of-the-anti-abortion-playbook-dont-let-the-public-vote-on-abortion-00132049