Uncategorized

9 accounts advocating for reproductive justice and well being conversations

The incessant damaging information and vapid takes on our social feeds can simply really feel overwhelming, constructing on a way of dread felt extra deeply as our political leaders as soon as once more strip away our proper to bodily autonomy. However, on the opposite facet of the maybe boring coin, social media has ushered in a brand new period of more and more democratized entry to political organizing and well being schooling for individuals who wish to be part of the battle for reproductive justice. 

Whereas the tenants of reproductive justice have existed amongst ladies, LGBTQ communities, and organizers of shade for many years, the time period itself was coined in 1994 by Black ladies organizers in Chicago, assembly forward of the Worldwide Convention on Inhabitants and Growth. The group named itself “Ladies of African Descent for Reproductive Justice” and thus started the colloquial use of a time period referring to the basic human proper of bodily autonomy and reproductive well being, together with, however not restricted to, abortion.

In a press briefing with reproductive well being advocates on Could 3, Oriaku Njoku, government director of the reproductive well being group Entry Reproductive Care Southeast (ARC Southeast), reiterated the necessity for a broader understanding of reproductive justice in mild of current information. “The fact is the concentrate on the precise to have an abortion shouldn’t be sufficient. That is why we’re doing this work grounded within the reproductive justice framework,” she mentioned. “We have now to begin utilizing an intersectional lens… offering that form of political schooling and grounding for folk to grasp that we don’t reside single challenge lives.”

Activists, well being suppliers, and group organizations are persevering with to include this wider understanding of reproductive well being and intersectional framing — which incorporates entry to political organizing, class and race boundaries, schooling, and disabilities — into the bigger reproductive well being dialog. And social media has grow to be an immensely useful instrument for disseminating and democratizing that data alongside well being info. 

Under is a brief record of accounts to comply with to remain updated on the work of reproductive well being advocates, together with these based for reproductive justice. 

Right here is an easy place to start. Deliberate Parenthood is, in fact, one of the vital well-known nationwide organizations working to broaden the precise and entry to reproductive well being care — its (traditionally white) origins might be traced way back to 1916, a basis sadly tied to the racist eugenics motion. However the group’s made current efforts to handle this historical past and align itself extra intently with the objectives of reproductive justice organizations.

The Deliberate Parenthood Motion Fund, Deliberate Parenthood’s advocacy and schooling arm, was based in 1989 and coordinates a community made up of thousands and thousands of activists across the nation. The motion fund focuses on political advocacy for abortion care, well being fairness, contraceptive entry, and different aspects of sexual well being and schooling. You’ll be able to comply with Deliberate Parenthood Motion on nearly each social media platform, together with Instagram, Twitter, and now even TikTok. Throughout its pages, the advocacy group posts updates on reproductive laws, activism efforts, and academic explainers on numerous legislative and reproductive justice matters.

Abortion Care Community, based in 2008, is a nationwide affiliation connecting impartial abortion and reproductive well being care suppliers throughout the nation so as to destigmatize abortion providers and finish the harassment of individuals in search of or offering abortion care. It providers greater than 100 impartial clinics and dozens of ally organizations who’re serving to thousands and thousands of pregnant folks across the nation. The community is energetic on each Instagram and Twitter, each of that are nice assets to be taught extra concerning the historical past of impartial abortion and present laws. The community additionally shares info and tales from native clinics and reproductive activists across the nation.

Indigenous Ladies Rising is a reproductive justice and well being group devoted to selling equitable and culturally protected well being take care of Native and Indigenous communities by schooling and advocacy. It was based by Rachael Lorenzo in 2014 as a marketing campaign to boost consciousness concerning the lack of contraceptive entry for Indigenous folks utilizing the federal Indian Well being Service. Since then, the group has expanded and now operates each an abortion and a midwifery fund to assist pregnant group members. On its Twitter and Instagram pages, Indigenous Ladies Rising shares updates on its work and advocacy, well being assets, and extra.

The Middle for Reproductive Rights is a global group based in 1992 to advance authorized reproductive rights and advocacy for folks around the globe. It is historical past shouldn’t be instantly aligned with the reproductive justice subject, however its place in legislative historical past is perhaps value your comply with. The group’s advocates have received reproductive rights circumstances at ranges as excessive because the United Nations and inside regional human rights courts affecting greater than 60 nations throughout 5 continents. The middle can also be a frontrunner in reproductive rights analysis and screens international abortion entry. Observe the group on Instagram and Twitter for instructional movies on reproductive justice, updates on worldwide regulation and abortion entry, and different informational content material.

Sister Music is a Southern-based reproductive rights group centered on bettering institutional entry to healthcare for marginalized communities, and one of many founding organizations behind the reproductive justice framework. It was based in 1997 by a coalition of 16 totally different organizations of ladies of shade and continues to advocate for social justice organizing by an intersectional, reproductive justice framework. On-line, Sister Music is a go-to voice on reproductive organizing for ladies of shade, and shares public conversations and livestreams, advocacy alternatives, and extra on each Twitter and Instagram.

URGE is a reproductive justice group led by and for younger LGBTQ folks and folks of shade, with the aim of serving to anybody in search of protected reproductive well being care. It was initially based in 1992 as ChoiceUSA, began by feminist activists like Gloria Steinem. In 2000, the group shifted its focus to youth and LGBTQ organizing, after which rebranded as URGE in 2014 to mirror its new mission towards broader gender justice. The group advocates for expanded sexual well being schooling, wellness efforts, abortion entry, and youth civic engagement. Its social media pages supply an array of advocacy alternatives, sexual well being schooling, and a refreshing youthful voice to the reproductive justice trigger — you possibly can comply with URGE’s work on Instagram, Twitter, and even TikTok, the place they submit each informational content material and even the occasional meme.

We Testify is a marketing campaign based in 2016 by reproductive activist Renee Bracey Sherman to advertise the management and tales of people that have acquired abortion care. The initiative publishes intergenerational tales from folks and their relations who’ve acquired numerous types of abortion and reproductive care, so as to empower and destigmatize the expertise. On its social pages, We Testify shares these tales in quite a lot of media codecs, from illustrations to documentary video, alongside advocacy info. You may as well examine all the storytellers on the We Testify web site. Observe Bracey Sherman herself on Twitter for continued conversations about abortion entry and reproductive healthcare.

California Latinas for Reproductive Justice is a California-based schooling and advocacy group preventing for reproductive care and sexual well being for Latina and Latinx communities. The group, began in 2004, offers group assets, political advocacy, and storytelling alternatives for group members of all ages and documentation standing, and is rising as a nationwide voice on reproductive well being coverage for Latinx, immigrant, and low-income communities. Observe the group’s Instagram or Twitter for advocacy alternatives and an intersectional look on how reproductive well being is affected by financial, environmental, and cultural boundaries in the US. 

California Latinas for Reproductive Justice is one in every of many reproductive justice community members centered on the sexual well being and security of the Latinx group. The East Coast–primarily based Nationwide Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, based in 1994, advocates for community-based reproductive care by direct activism, civic and voter engagement, and storytelling, which in addition they share on-line. You’ll be able to comply with and be taught extra about that group’s work and reproductive justice efforts on Twitter.

UPDATE: Jun. 24, 2022, 11:19 a.m. EDT This story was up to date to mirror the official opinion issued by the Supreme Courtroom that overturns Roe v. Wade.