If you really care about
Racial Discrimination
Then you should care about
Reproductive Justice
Jill C. Morrison
National Women’s Law Center
202-588-5180 ◊ jmorrison@nwlc.org ◊ www.nwlc.org
About this series
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Developed to address intersection between
Reproductive Justice and other progressive
issues.
Introduces Reproductive Justice to new
communities that may only know of reproductive
rights advocacy that focuses on abortion and
contraception.
Educates on RJ’s three components in a context
with which other progressives are familiar.
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So far includes…
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Intimate Partner Violence (October 6th)
Race Discrimination (today)
Education (October 20th)
Environmental Justice (October 27th)
Please let us know
if there are other issues you’d like to see
explored through an RJ lens!
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What is Reproductive Justice?
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What distinguishes it from the traditional
reproductive rights movement?
What are its components?
How does it relate to social justice
movements generally?
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The Reproductive Justice
Movement was Created as a
Response to Movements that
Failed to Meet the Needs of
Communities of Color
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What distinguishes RJ from the traditional
reproductive rights movement?
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The traditional reproductive rights frame focuses
on liberty, autonomy and equality, while the
Reproductive Justice (RJ) movement places
reproductive health and rights within a social
justice framework.
RJ acknowledges that each person’s ability to
effectuate their rights is uniquely shaped by
social injustices including: poverty, racism,
sexism and gender identity discrimination,
heterosexism, language discrimination and
disablism.
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What are the components of
Reproductive Justice?
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The right of individuals to:
 have the children they want
 raise the children they have, and
 plan their families through safe, legal
access to abortion and contraception
http://www.sistersong.net/documents/ACRJ_Reproductive_Justice_Paper.pdf
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How does Reproductive Justice relate to
social justice movements generally?
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Reproductive Justice requires that all people
have the resources, as well as the economic,
social, and political power to make healthy
decisions about their bodies, sexuality, and
reproduction.
The goal is not governmental non-interference in
reproductive decision-making. To the contrary,
the government plays a key role in remedying
social inequalities that contribute to reproductive
oppression.
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RJ takes a historical perspective on
reproductive health and rights
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What women are encouraged or discouraged to
have children changes over time depending on
needs of those in power.
Societal perceptions of different women’s
decision to not have children or to have children.
Policies are therefore intended to encourage or
discourage reproduction among certain women.
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Race discrimination effects income, and
reproductive justice outcomes
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Healthy sexuality
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Rates of sexual violence
www.notherapedocumentary.org
STD and HIV rates
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Unintended pregnancy rates
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Abortion rates
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Reproductive justice outcomes cont.
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Having the children we want
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Infant mortality
Maternal mortality
Infertility rates
Access to infertility treatments; gamete donation
Raising the children we have
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Drug war and over-incarceration
Foster care placement
Termination of parental rights
Child neglect
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Racial and sexual stereotypes
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Asian women are trafficked as forced laborers,
including sex workers, and some who enter
brokered marriages with American men seeking
“submissive” brides end up in abusive and
exploitive relationships.
Latina women are also stereotyped as oversexed exotics or sexually repressed, due to their
Catholic faith. Those waging the battle for
immigration restrictions continue to blame
“hyper-fertile” Mexican women for state’s
problems.
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Racial and sexual stereotypes cont.
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During slavery, White women, humiliated by
their husbands’ sexual use of slaves, cast
women of African descent as “exotic
temptresses” rather than victims.
These sexualized racial stereotypes of Black
women as willing, available and insatiable was
“systematically perpetuated” after slavery
ended, and led to a failure to prosecute rapes
against Black women.
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Victims do not seek help because Criminal
Justice System is hostile to People of Color
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A Woman of Color who is victimized may not report for
fear that she will not be believed or that police will not
devote adequate resources to finding the actual
perpetrator, thus making the risks of filing a complaint
outweigh the possible benefits.
A woman may be reluctant to identify her abuser for fear
of being rejected by her community for attempting to
seek legal redress from a system that so often denies
justice to People of Color.
In states where being an undocumented worker is a
crime, if you are undocumented, where do you turn
when you are victimized?
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Discrimination and access to health
insurance
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Asian-American and Pacific Islander women and Latinas are
disproportionately represented in some low-income sectors that do
not provide insurance, including domestic services, home-health
aids and childcare.
Black women are just as likely as White women to have their own
employer-based insurance, but they are half as likely to have
insurance through a family member.
35% of American-Indian/Native Alaskan women, 36.6% of Hispanic
women, 22.6% of Black women, and 18.5% of Asian-American and
Pacific Islander women are uninsured. This compares to a rate of
12.6% for Non-Hispanic Whites.
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Abortion Access
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Hyde Amendment disproportionately impacts Women of
Color.
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http://reproductiverights.org/en/feature/whose-choice-how-thehyde-amendment-harms-poor-women
http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/spibs/spib_SFAM.pdf
http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparereport.jsp?rep=54&cat=4
Women of Color disproportionately suffer conditions that
can make pregnancy more dangerous, including diabetes,
heart disease, asthma, obesity and hypertension.
Barriers to access are exacerbated for all low-income
women, including cost, transportation, and time off of
work.
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The right to have children
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Contrary to claims made by those who oppose
abortion on the grounds that it is “Black
Genocide,” the RJ movement explicitly opposes
attempts to limit births by Women of Color or
otherwise control their childbearing and seeks to
empower women in their efforts to parent.
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RJ opposes policies intended to limit
childbearing by Low-Income Women
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The “Mississippi appendectomy.”
Testing of contraceptives in Puerto Rico
thought to “kill two birds with one stone.”
Encouraging contraceptive use as a
solution to overpopulation.
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Coercive Policies
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Welfare policies based on belief that poor
women are only motivated to have children to
get more money.
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Current state family caps
http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=16306
CLASP report
http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/01
66.pdf
Policies conditioning benefits or paying bonuses
for using long-acting contraceptives that have
serious side effects and need a doctor’s
assistance to remove.
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The right to raise children
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Native American children were removed from their
parents and placed in “boarding schools” intended to
“civilize” children.
Adoption and Safe Families Act, and the
impact of the drug war on parental rights
Child neglect laws that punish parents for being poor,
rather than providing meaningful support to families
living in poverty.
Over-incarceration, with women placed hundreds of
miles (thousands in the Federal system) from their
children.
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How You Can Combat Racial Discrimination
and Support Reproductive Justice
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Recognize that the unique barriers to Reproductive Justice faced by
Women of Color are a result of intersecting forms of discrimination
based on race and gender.
Advocate for public benefit polices that provide fair and meaningful
support to all women and families.
Fight against racial and sex discrimination and stereotyping, which
contribute to sexual oppression and punitive policies against Women of
Color, especially those who are mothers.
Speak out against the myth of “Black genocide” and affirm the right of
all women to make their own reproductive decisions based on their
own lives.
Support the strong enforcement of all civil rights laws and oppose
efforts to dismantle affirmative action.
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Resources
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Undivided Rights: Women of Color
Organize for Reproductive Justice, Jael
Silliman, Marlene Gerber Fried, Loretta
Ross and Elena Gutierrez (2004).
Killing the Black Body: Race,
Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty
Dorothy Roberts (1997).
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Georgia Abortion
Coalition
Overview
Heidi Williamson
National Advocacy Coordinator
July 8, 2010
Our Challenge in Georgia
The Legislative Effort
HB 1155
Prohibited the solicitation of abortion
Established a new criminal code for “criminal
abortion”
Penalizes doctors under racketeering laws for
performing a criminal abortion or coercing
abortion
SB 529
Re-defines term of coercion to broadly include
both solicitation & negligent intent to do harm.
Established a new criminal code for “criminal
abortion”
Penalizes doctors under racketeering laws for
performing a criminal abortion or coercing
abortion
Created exceptions for violating “doctor-patient
privileges”.
Rep. Toney Collins (D)
was one of two African
American men to sign on
to HB 1155. After voters
lobbied his fiancé, he
rescinded support.
Who’s Behind This Campaign?
A New Coalition of Opponents
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Georgia Right to Life – Catherine
Davis (Black Republican)
Radiance Foundation – Ryan
Bomberger
Anti-Obama Conservatives – Secret
meeting on St. Simon’s Island in 2009
after election after Trent Franks (RAz) introduces federal Prenatal NonDiscrimination Act in 2008 as state
model
Funding Our Opponents
Specific Right-Wing Foundations
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Bradley Foundation
Castle Rock Foundation (Coors Family Members)
Olin
Pioneer Fund
Pioneer: secondary collection of articles and research (ISAR/Mehler)
Scaife-related Foundations (Richard Mellon Scaife)
Sarah Scaife Foundation
Scaife Family Foundation
Allegheny Foundation
Carthage Foundation
Scaife: secondary collection of articles and research (CNN)
Smith Richardson Foundation
U.S. Inc.
(Source: Political Research Associates)
Effective Allies and Strategic
Funding for our Opponents
Goals of the Opposition
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Drive racial wedge in Pro-Choice
Movement
Drive gender wedge among African
American voters
Split progressive voters of all races
Legislation to ban abortions
State-based challenges to Roe v. Wade
Tactics of the Opposition
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Misleading statistics
 Number of abortions in Georgia
 Reasons for abortions in Georgia
 Placement of clinics in Black neighborhoods
Misleading testimonies
 White girl “forced” to abort Black baby
 Not new “crimes” or attacks on doctors
Misleading historical evidence
 Eugenics/Genocide
 History of Planned Parenthood and Margaret Sanger
Misleading representatives
 Faked or misleading endorsements (Georgia NAACP)
 African American spokespersons
 Religious Appeals
How We Won in Georgia!
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Built broad coalition of groups
Leadership of women of color
Research to produce accurate facts
and evidence
Planned media strategy
Drove wedge into opposition base
Careful legislative strategy
Broad local and national support
Winning Tactics
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Grassroots Mobilization
Letters and emails to legislature
 Community forums
 Educating base of supporters
 Street-level campaign like changing
billboards
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Dueling Billboards
Winning with Media
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Message Discipline – Trust Black Women &
Self-Determination Message Universal
Traditional mainstream media interviews
 Comments/blogs on media websites after
articles
Internet/Web 2.0 strategies like blogs, email
alerts
YouTube film
Press Conference “Trust Black Women”
Develop database of reporters and bloggers
Winning with Research
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Data and Research
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Challenge their false data
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Number of clinics in Black neighborhoods
Sex selective abortions – no data for Georgia
Present our own facts
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Reasons why Black women have abortions
Actual placement of clinics in state – 15 with 4 in
Black communities
Margaret Sanger and African American Allies
Winning on Policy
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Policy Collaboration
 Educate Allies & Friends locally and nationally
 Target Progressive Legislators, especially Black
Women
 Work with Progressive People of Faith
 Strategic use of experts like doctors, lawyers,
lobbyists
 Divide their base by working with moderates
Coalition Partners
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LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS
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SisterSong Reproductive Justice Collective
SPARK Reproductive Justice Now!
Feminist Women’s Health Center
Planned Parenthood of Southeast Region
Raksha (Asian American Domestic Violence)
SisterLove (Women’s HIV/AIDS)
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
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Black Women for Reproductive Justice
Black Women’s Health Imperative
Generations Ahead
Center for Reproductive Rights
National Women’s Law Center
NARAL Pro-Choice America
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Reproductive Health Technologies Project
State Legislative Trends
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Nebraska:
banned most abortions after 20 weeks on the
theory that that’s when the fetus can feel pain.
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Mississippi:
passed bill forbids public financing of abortion,
even in cases of severe birth defects.
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Oklahoma:
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Florida:
the legislature overrode a gubernatorial veto to
pass two abortion laws. One requires women, even those seeking
to end a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, to have an
ultrasound and have the fetus described to them. The other
prevents mothers from suing doctors who withhold information
about fetal birth defects.
legislature passed bill requiring all women seeking an
abortion to undergo an ultrasound. Even if the women don’t want
to see the image, the doctor must still describe it to them.
Moving Forward Together
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Focus Group and Polling Research
Message Development for African
American community
Southern Regional Reproductive Justice
Coalition
Training Materials & Toolkits
Film on Billboards & Legislation
Regional Organizing Nodes
Trust Black Women (TBW) is a partnership of women from many different organizations,
regions and religious backgrounds developed in 2010. We are young and older women
working together. We are both pro-choice and pro-life, and are not divided over the
misleading debate on abortion.
Our Values:
Trust Black Women seeks to increase respect, maintain dignity, and support Black women and girls with
implementing reproductive health decisions that are personal, appropriate, accessible, and affordable. All
women should be able to maintain their integrity when accessing reproductive health services. Black
women should have self-determination to exercise basic human rights when implementing their
decisions, and not be subjugated to the political winds, media campaigns and/or environment prevalent
in government or society that hinders a woman's ability to control her body and destiny. Trust Black
Women will challenge those who seek to undermine our autonomy, respect, integrity, and dignity as
Black women.
Strategic Goals of the
Trust Black Women Partnership
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Community-based Mobilizations
Communications Campaign &
Materials
Law and Policy
Leadership Development, CapacityBuilding, and Coordination
Research
Collective Challenges
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Funder Indifference or Time Lags
Limited capacity/infrastructure in
African American community
Competition among RJ groups for
funding and visibility
Expense of research on messaging
Stigmatization of abortion