Building the movement for Reproductive rights

1. Rights vs. Choice Abortion rights and choice represent different ideologies, each having different repercussions for society. Abortion rights recognize institutional forms of discrimination calling for a collective, public solution as a means of redress. Choice is aligned with libertarian ideology promoting individualism and liberty placing responsibility for an individual’s socioeconomic status solely with the individual. Abortion rights require a restructuring of social institutions whereas choice, being consistent with the principles of the dominant culture, preserves existing racial and gender hierarchies. Building a Movement Why Reproductive Rights Historically abortion had been considered by feminists to be one component of social justice that included public funding for health and childcare, protection from domestic and sexual violence, equal employment opportunities, and comparable pay. Such issues were deemed necessary in order for women to achieve full citizenship and part of feminism’s aspirational goals.1 There is a common misperception that Roe v. Wade provides women with the legal right to an abortion. It does not. It is a negative right against the criminalization of abortion under certain circumstances. 2 Consequently, this means that access to abortion has always been limited, controlled by the state, and was never intended to provide women with autonomy. While there is no doubt that Roe v. Wade has been implemental providing many women a certain degree of control over their fertility, its relegation as a negative, versus positive right, means its benefits are limited to women with the resources that can afford them. Reproductive rights ensures that all women have real reproductive choices without regard to their socioeconomic status. References 1West, R. (2009). From choice to reproductive justice: De-constitutionalizing abortion rights. Yale Law Journal, 118(7), 1394-1432. 2 Ibid. An egalitarian approach to reproductive decisions Building the movement for Reproductive rights

2. Here are a couple of ideas… What are Abortion Rights? Abortion Rights are based on the concepts of equality and social justice. It originates with the idea that all women, regardless of race or class, be ensured of access to a safe, legal abortion without being subject to harassment or intimidation. Its approach is both intersectional and comprehensive recognizing the different life experiences as well as the institutional mechanisms which serve to control and restrict the reproductive capabilities of certain segments of women. The Impact of Race & Class Low-income and women of color are not only subject to sexism both inside and outside their communities, but racism and classicism at the institutional level as well. Choice exacerbates the impact of such discrimination by: 1) compounding existing gender and racial hierarchies; and 2) using libertarian ideology to justify the removal of already meager public resources since responsibility is placed with the individual. Because choice is based on the same values of the dominant culture, it cannot change the policies or systems that affect the reproductive decisions of poor women and women of color. Its sole focus on maintaining choice further deters any sort of holistic solution. The focus of the pro-choice movement has been maintaining a woman’s option to terminate a pregnancy. For women of color, who have historically been subject to various forms of state control over their fertility, this concept cannot be separated from birth control and the right to have children. Women of color have been subject to forced sterilization and promoted birth control under the auspices of poverty alleviation. In addition, eugenics influenced the early work of Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood and creator of the Pill, which was promoted as a means to combat world overpopulation, starvation, and hunger. Applying such language to the political and social events at that time, the insinuation was directed toward people of color whereby a method originally intended to help women control reproduction, would be utilized as a form of social control. Abortion rights recognize the historical and social context of reproduction and seek to find a solution that recognizes the racial component. Abortion rights are based on social justice. It does not separate motherhood from the decision not to have children or the larger social issues which can impact a woman’s life. The Impact of Race & Class Racism in the Birth Control Movement