What's that?
It sounds like it's about abortion, right?
And it is, partly. Partly, it is.
And, in fact, people often end up talking a lot about abortion -- justifying it -- when it comes to the topic of reproductive justice. And that's pretty much where most of this speech I heard sat.
But that's not all it is, and it is a shame that the conversation always seems to have to settle on the topic of abortion where there are a lot of other issues on which intelligent, well-meaning people should be able to agree.
And to me (and I'm going to go ahead and say that it should be for you to) reproductive justice is a lot bigger, a lot more important, and a lot more sweeping than determining the status of a fertilized egg.
(And for the sake of clearing the air on that topic, here's my position on that particular issue: a fertilized egg may or may not have the potential to become a human. A fertilized egg may lack the necessary genetic cell lines to even form a baby. These are known as blighted ovums and they are the source of many miscarriages. Such a fertilized egg was never going to be a baby, even though all the pregnancy tests tested positive. A fertilized egg, even if it does have the necessary genetic cell lines to form a baby must attach to the uterine wall and grow there. Many of them never do. Many of them fail to reach the uterus, resulting in ectopic pregnancies that end in miscarriage. Many of them just sweep away as part of a woman's monthly menstruation. So my opinion, in fact what appears to be scientific fact, is that "life" does not begin at conception. It does begin sometime in utero, but it's not at conception. Because I do not wish this post to be about abortion, I'm stoping right there on this topic.)
“Reproductive Justice is the complete physical, mental, spiritual, political, economic, and social well-being of women and girls, and will be achieved when women and girls have the economic, social, and political power and resources to make healthy decisions about our bodies, sexuality, and reproduction for ourselves, our families, and our communities in all areas of our lives.” Source here.
That's pretty broad, isn't it? That's not just abortion. It's not even mostly abortion.
To me, reproductive justice is really about economics and social well-being. It's not about women like me: I'm upper middle class and white. I can afford birth control -- whether it's the pill or condoms or what have you. I can afford to have a baby. I have a job, a loving husband, a nice house, and a good, stable income. If I wanted, and found myself with an unwanted pregnancy, I could also easily have an abortion. I could easily find a clinic and I could easily pay for the procedure. I am, as much as I can be, in control of my reproductive well-being because of my social class and relative wealth.
But before I was a lawyer in the suburbs married to another lawyer in the suburbs, I was well educated about my reproductive system and my reproductive health. I was taught by my mother, and a little bit by my public school, about my sexuality and what causes pregnancy and disease.
It's the 16 year old impoverished girl whose home life is unstable that should be the focus of our concern. She's not getting the same breaks that I have gotten my whole life. And so when she reaches the age of 21 and already has 3 kids, she's 1,000 steps behind where I was at 21 and there is no catching up to that.
Reproductive justice is about her. It is about finding ways to educate her about her sexual health -- her reproductive system, how to prevent her pregnancy, how she can avoid disease. And it is also about finding ways to help her leave her impoverished situation to make a better life for herself. And she cannot do that if she's had three babies before she is of legal drinking age.
It's not just about the teen mom in the US, though. Globally, there are women who are literally besieged by their own bodies in an endless cycle of pregnancy and birth. They are victims of their husbands and of societies that see them as property and second class citizens. These women need compassion. They need birth control, they need education, they need options, and they need support systems that will free them from social tyranny.
Reproductive justice means so much more than abortion. We all, pro-life or pro-choice, can find something to get behind under the category of reproductive justice. And we women -- and as many men as we can recruit -- need to start fighting for it. For ourselves, but especially for the women and girls in this nation and world who, by dint of circumstance, cannot fight for themselves.
