(Some) Reproductive Justice Resources
Reproductive justice is a concept and movement created and led by Black women. Below are some resources that explain what reproductive justice is and how it intersects with other issues such as safe housing, disabilities, livable wages, birthing, and climate change, among others.
Additionally, we have provided some links to information about abortion access both internationally and in the US, along with educational information about what medical abortion is and why it is a safe option for those unable to obtain a surgical abortion.
What is Reproductive Justice?
“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.”
- Reproductive Justice: An Introduction by Loretta Ross and Rickie Solinger (2017, Duke University Press)
- Black Women Radicals: Reproductive Justice: A Reading List (Incredibly comprehensive list of articles, books, syllabi/reading lists, videos, and RJ organizations)
- “What is Reproductive Justice” by Loretta Ross (Reproductive Justice Briefing Book: A Primer on Reproductive Justice and Social Change)
“The History of Reproductive Justice,” by In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, blackrj.org.
“Loretta Ross: Reproductive Justice as a Human Right,” October 27, 2021 for the Gender & Sexuality Studies Program at Northwestern University.
Abortion Access:
- How To Use Abortion Pill: Abortion In Your Country (International – information about abortion laws and access options by country)
- Safe Abortion Action Fund: I Need An Abortion (International – links to organizations that provide abortion support)
- Plan C: Find Pills (US-based information about how to order medical abortion pills depending on your state, plus other resources including legal, financial, and helpline)
- National Network of Abortion Funds: Need An Abortion? (US-based information about finding assistance to pay for your abortion)
- National Network of Abortion Funds: Safe Abortion Using Pills (US-based information about medical abortions, including legal considerations)
- Repro Legal Helpline: Contact the Helpline (US-based free legal helpline for questions about legal considerations of ending your pregnancy, and advice for those being questioned by police about an abortion or miscarriage)
Medical/Self-Managed Abortion Information
- Planned Parenthood: The Abortion Pill
- Medicins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders: Safe Abortion
- The Lancet: “Safety and effectiveness of self-managed medication abortion provided using online telemedicine in the United States: A population based study”
- USA Food and Drug Administration: Mifeprex (mifepristone) Information
- IPAS Partners for Reproductive Justice: 10 common questions and answers
- How To Use Abortion Pill: Online Courses About Medical Abortion
Reproductive Justice Organizations (some, not all)
- SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective (USA)
- Black Mamas Matter Alliance
- GIRE (Mexico)
- RESURJ (Global South)
- SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW (USA)
- URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity (USA)
- In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda (USA)
- Black Women Birthing Justice
- Indigenous Women Rising (USA)
- Tewa Women United (USA)
- Forward Together (USA)
- New Voices for Reproductive Justice (USA)
- We Testify
- National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (USA)
- National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (USA)
- Planned Parenthood (USA)
- Planned Parenthood Global (International)
- Center for Reproductive Rights (USA and International)
- NARAL Pro-Choice America (USA)
- IPAS Partners for Reproductive Justice (International)
- Fòs Feminista (International)
- Voices for Choices and Rights Coalition (Namibia)
- Abortion Care Network (USA)
- Yellowhammer Fund (USA – Alabama, Mississippi, Deep South)
- Access Reproductive Justice (USA – California)
- Access Reproductive Care – Southeast (USA – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee)
- National Network of Abortion Funds (USA)
- National Abortion Federation (USA)
- Black Doula Project (USA – Maryland/DC)
- Trans Women of Color Collective (USA)
- If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice (USA)
Issues in Reproductive Justice
Reproductive justice intersects with many other issues beyond just abortion and contraception. Climate change, livable wages, safe housing, safe and supportive schools, mental healthcare, police violence, public transportation – these can all be reproductive justice issues as they affect the ability of people to have autonomy over their own bodies, to make decisions about whether to have children or not, and whether they can raise their children in safe and sustainable communities.
Below are some resources to learn more about how some of these issues intersect with reproductive justice. This is not an exhaustive list of issues, but it gives a glimpse into the complexity of reproductive justice.
Climate Change & Environment
- IPAS: Partners for Reproductive Justice: Why we need to make reproductive justice part of the climate conversation and our climate action plan
- Planned Parenthood: Environmental Justice is Reproductive Justice and Reproductive Justice is Environmental Justice
- In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda: Black Women, Reproductive Justice, and Environmental Justice
- Center for Reproductive Rights: Center Calls on Colombia to Halt Use of Herbicide Causing Harm to Reproductive Health
Mental Health
- Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health: The Turnaway Study
- Lady Science: Reproductive Justice is a Mental Health Imperative (Lindsay Gray, 2021)
Sex Work
- Decriminalize Sex Work: “My Body, My Choice”: Sex Work and Reproductive Justice
- Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP-USA)
Black Women’s Reproductive Health
- In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda: Black Women and Reproductive Health: Fast Facts
- National Birth Equity Collaborative: Black Reproductive Justice Agenda
- Health Affairs: “Racism Runs Through It: Examining The Sexual And Reproductive Health Experience Of Black Women In The South” (Terri-ann Monique Thompson, Yves-Yvette Young, Tanya M. Bass, Stephanie Baker, Oriaku Njoku, Jessica Norwood, and Monica Simpson, 2022)
- Scientific American: To Prevent Women from Dying in Childbirth, First Stop Blaming Them (Monica R. McLemore, Valentina D’Efilippo, 2019)
- National Partnership for Women and Families: Black Women’s Maternal Health: A Multifaceted Approach to Addressing Persistent and Dire Health Disparities
Transgender Equity
- National Center for Transgender Equality
- National Women’s Law Center: If You Really Care About Reproductive Justice, You Should Care About Transgender Rights!
Domestic Abuse
Palestine
Disabilities
Housing Justice
- Strategic Actions for a Just Economy: The Interconnectedness of Our Struggles: Why the Fight for Reproductive Rights is Inseparable from Housing Justice Work / La interconexión de nuestras luchas: por qué la lucha por los derechos reproductivos es inseparable del trabajo de justicia en la vivienda
- Groundswell Fund: Reproductive Justice is Housing Justice is Worker’s Justice