What is reproductive justice?

Reproductive justice applies to everyone, it includes bodily autonomy, the decision to have or not to have children, and should they choose to have children they should have access to safe conditions to raise them. Although this is a short list of what is considered reproductive justice these are only the general statements, each part of the definition is vague and can include many other issues. For example, bodily autonomy can include issues such as lack of access to abortions or forced sterilization. The term overall is a combination of reproductive rights, social justice, and human rights.

Where does the term reproductive justice come from?

In 1994 a group of 12 black women who attended the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo, Egypt claimed the term reproductive justice. These women realized the issues that women face over control of their bodies and how that control changes based on their identity. These women identified many factors impacting women's control over their bodies, they include can include; poverty, racism, environmental degradation, colonialism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, structural inequalities, and much more. This group focused on the issues black women faced when trying to control their bodies and lead to a discussion of intersectionality and how women's identities impacted their bodily autonomy.

What is the goal of reproductive justice?

The goal of reproductive justice is to create a place where people have access to resources and rights to make informed and necessary decisions about their reproductive health. The goal of reproductive justice differs from reproductive rights, the main difference in goals is that reproductive justice wants to address why there is a difference in who has more rights or more access to resources. The usual goal of reproductive rights is to gain legal rights, although that is very important it doesn't make things equal for everyone. If we don't look at why someone is being disadvantaged or discriminated against there will never fully be reproductive freedom.

What is the reproductive justice framework?

The reproductive justice framework is the intersection of three sets of human rights. According to Loretta Ross, this framework should not replace anyone of the reproductive frameworks place but should add to the existing ones. The three parts of this framework are 1) "the right to have a child under circumstances of one’s own choosing, 2) the right not to have a child and freedom to use the legitimate means available for it; and 3) the right to parent a child is safe and healthy environment which is free from individual and state violence" (Bhakuni).