Transcript
What is reproductive justice?
with founder and director of We Testify, Renee Bracey Sherman
[image of a protest in front of a government building, a woman holding a ‘abortion access for all’ ACLU sign is prominent]
People of color have long faced severe barriers to accessing essential reproductive health care as a result of interrelated factors such as structural racism, gendered oppression, and associated economic disparities.
[images of forms of birth control: a 30 day supply of the pill, a NuvaRing, and an IUD]
Black women are still over 3x more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth than white women.
[image of a pregnant Black woman coughing while wearing a hospital gown, a gurney is behind her]
Abortion restrictions, such as bans on insurance coverage for abortion or laws mandating delays in abortion care and an extra, unnecessary trip to the clinic, have a disproportionate impact on women and trans people of color.
[image of a Black woman talking to a nurse]
"REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE is a human rights framework that was coined almost 30 years ago by a dozen Black women who felt like the pro-choice framework wasn't necessarily encapsulating their lived experiences around reproduction for themselves and also for people around the world. The reality is that there is not really a choice if you don't have access to any of your options." - Renee Bracey Sherman
“REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE means making sure that everyone has the right and resources to be able to decide if, when, and how to grow their family.” - Renee Bracey Sherman
“REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE goes beyond abortion. It means that we are able to have our families, raise our families, and to not fear the state either killing them while they play in the park, or taking them because they have outdated, racist views of what parenting should look like.” - Renee Bracey Sherman
Reproductive justice means being able to choose when and how to raise children, free from control and restraints.
[image of a Black family holding hands and running in a park]
Reproductive justice includes being able to raise our children in safe, healthy neighborhoods without police brutality and state sanctioned violence.
[image of a child playing in a field]
REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE IS RACIAL JUSTICE.
[image of a protest in front of a government building, a woman holding a ‘abortion access for all’ ACLU sign is prominent]