As Audre Lorde states, “among those of us who share the goals of liberation and a workable future for our children, there can be no hierarchies of oppression” (Homophobia and Education. New York: Council on Interracial Books for Children, 1983). The reproductive justice movement works from this place of intersectionality, and articulates that reproductive oppression is both a product and tool of other forms of oppression such as sexism, homophobia, racism, classism, ableism, and others. Therefore, to ensure the well-being of women, our families, and our communities, we have to collaborate with all social justice struggles to end injustice.
The resources in this section address a variety of issues that intersect with reproductive justice, including economic rights, the rights of incarcerated women, immigrants’ rights, transgender rights, disability rights, religion, birth choice and birth rights, voting rights, and environmental conservation.
Black Women Birthing Justice is a collective of African-American, African, Caribbean and multiracial women who are committed to transforming birthing experiences for Black women. Our vision is that every woman should have an empowering birthing experience free of unnecessary medical interventions. Our goals are to educate women to advocate for themselves, to document birth stories and to raise awareness about birthing alternatives. We aim to challenge medical violence, rebuild women’s confidence in giving birth naturally and decrease disproportionate maternal mortality.
The Birth Justice Project is a community of volunteer doulas that provide doula care and health education to people in the San Francisco County Jail, Santa Rita Jail, and Bay Area residential addiction recovery programs.
Goals for individuals include: Improve birth experiences for people who are incarcerated or in recovery; Support mother-infant bonding; Empower people to make positive decisions about their reproductive health; Advocate for the biopsychosocial needs of pregnant people; Provide support and community within the jail and residential recovery programs.
Goals for communities include: Present pregnancy and birth as natural physiological processes; Decrease the gap in birth outcomes for the grossly underserved; Decrease women’s health disparities; Mitigate racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and classism within the institutions housing people we serve.