Contributed by Maria Elena Pérez, Director of Community Mobilization at NLIRH
I often get asked, “What is reproductive justice?” when I explain to others what we do here at the Latina Institute. I then explain that reproductive justice goes beyond reproductive health, which is about service provision, and reproductive rights, which deals with the legality of reproductive health. I always use the example of abortion and that although abortion may be legal, it does not necessarily ensure that women will have access. A low-income woman, who lives in a rural area, may face several obstacles should she decide to have an abortion. Barriers such as lack of transportation, income, and health insurance may not ensure this woman her ability to exercise her right to an abortion. And similarly a low-income woman, who lives in a city, may face the same obstacles. Reproductive justice goes beyond the right to an abortion and looks at all the other factors impacting a woman’s ability to access one.
The case for reproductive justice was made recently in a NY Times article about the struggles Mexico City was facing after legalizing abortion last year.
Alejandra, 24, who works for the city’s women’s institute, said that when she went to get an abortion last year at a public hospital, a social worker there told her that she would need to pay for her own ultrasound, which is supposed to be free, and that she would need to be accompanied by a family member. Scared off by the description of the risks and the procedure, she fled the hospital. She ended up taking pills to induce an abortion, without seeing a doctor, and developed a serious infection.
What’s happening in Mexico City is a perfect example of our need to unite behind the reproductive justice movement. Because as we see in Mexico City and as we see even here in the United States, having the right does not always translate into access. Although the Mexico City Supreme Court recently upheld legal abortion, we must not mistakenly think the fight is over.
Since the city’s legislature voted for the law in April 2007, some 85 percent of the gynecologists in the city’s public hospitals have declared themselves conscientious objectors.
And considering that the proposed new U.S. Department of Health & Human Services regulations will expand the providers that can refuse contraception and other health care services, including abortion, Mexico City and the United States may look no different.
We must unite to grow and strengthen the Reproductive Justice Movement!
Contributed by Maria Elena Pérez, Director of Community Mobilization at NLIRH
