Reproductive Justice
From CAM’s National Strategy for Midwife-led Abortion Care in Canada
Reproductive justice is a social movement and intersectional contemporary framework for activism. The reproductive justice framework was founded in the 1990s, building on and bringing together the advocacy work of women of colour and grassroots health organizations in the United States. SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective is a Southern network in the United States focused on addressing the policies and systems that impact the reproductive lives of those facing systemic and routine barriers to care. The movement recognizes that inequitable access to abortion care is but one manifestation of healthcare inequities. Reproductive justice work includes affirming rights to care and calls to action towards improved access for all to comprehensive sexual and reproductive care, which includes contraception, comprehensive sex education, options counselling, recognizing and responding to family violence, and perinatal care.
Reproductive justice combines political movements in reproductive rights and social justice. Four primary principles underpin the reproductive justice movement.
SisterSong declaration:
« SisterSong defines Reproductive Justice as the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities. » (Visioning New Futures for Reproductive Justice Declaration, SisterSong, 2023
What is Reproductive Justice for SisterSong:
- A human right. RJ is based on the United Nations’ internationally-accepted Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a comprehensive body of law that details the rights of individuals and the responsibilities of government to protect those rights.
- About access, not choice. Mainstream movements have focused on keeping abortion legal as an individual choice. That is necessary, but not enough. Even when abortion is legal, many women of color cannot afford it, or cannot travel hundreds of miles to the nearest clinic. There is no choice where there is no access.
- Not just about abortion. Abortion access is critical, and women of color and other marginalized women also often have difficulty accessing: contraception, comprehensive sex education, STI prevention and care, alternative birth options, adequate prenatal and pregnancy care, domestic violence assistance, adequate wages to support our families, safe homes, and so much more.
From Sister Song. See also: a snapshot of abortion access and Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Reproductive Oppression
From CAM’s National Strategy for Midwife-led Abortion Care in Canada
To move towards reproductive justice, we must first recognize the past and current abuses of women, trans, and nonbinary peoples’ reproductive bodies.
« Reproductive oppression is the result of the intersection of multiple oppressions and is inherently connected to the struggle for social justice and human rights. » (Ross & Solinger, 2017, p.69)
The experiences of reproductive oppression in Canada include, but are not limited to:
› the historical and ongoing impacts of racism and colonization, including medical colonialism, obstetric violence, current antiIndigenous racism at both the individual level (e.g., denial of healthcare or violence from health professionals), and structural racism through policies that remove reproductive care and birth from Indigenous communities (e.g., denying communities health resources while enforcing policies of routine and blanket evacuation of pregnant people);
› forced and coerced sterilization of persons in Canada through laws and government policies that specifically target First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, Black communities, and among people at the intersections of gender, race, poverty, and disability;
› forced and coerced imposition of contraception;
› child and newborn apprehensions as a result of the systemic biases maintaining family policing of Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour (IBPOC) infants and children;
› forced and coerced abortions, which comprise a wide range of behaviours to exert reproductive control, including laws and policies;
› lack of access to safe, healthy, and sustainable communities (e.g., affordable housing crises, police brutality, food insecurity, and safe drinking water, which are results of policies intended to deliberately create and maintain inequities);
› the many barriers to accessing comprehensive reproductive care that people with disabilities face, including accessible facilities and resources, accessible transportation, and access to the full range of necessary health services;
› the systemic discrimination and barriers to inclusive reproductive care, specifically safe abortion services for 2SLGBTQI+ people;
› lack of coverage for uninsured people, including undocumented people, migrant workers, and international students, resulting in excessively high fees and significant financial barriers to access healthcare.