1. If you really care about Pregnant Women
Then you should care about Reproductive Justice September 21, 2016
Denicia Cadena, Young Women United
Lina Houston, If/When/How
Kelli Garcia, National Women’s Law Center

2. About this series
Developed to address intersection between Reproductive Justice and other progressive issues.
Introduces Reproductive Justice to new communities.
Highlight the social justice and human rights underpinnings of progressive work.
Identify common goals among social justice movements.
The goal of this series is to elucidate the link between reproductive justice and other progressive issues. Introduce RJ to new communities that may only now of reproductive rights advocacy that focuses on abortion and contraception.
We hope that the series help those concerned about reproductive justice to start thinking of the social justice and human rights underpinnings of progressive work, and how we can all work together toward our common goals.
We have expanded the scope a bit to include not just students but also other reproductive justice activists.

3. Upcoming Webinars…
If You Care About Immigrant Rights, You Should Care About Reproductive Justice
Wednesday, October 19
If You Care About Ending Gun Violence, You Should Care About Reproductive Justice
Wednesday, November 16
This year we had:
Transgender rights
Economic security
And today’s racial justice
Please reach out to Lina or me to let us know what you would like to hear about next.

4. The Reproductive Justice Movement was Created as a Response to Movements that Failed to Meet the Needs of Communities of Color
The reproductive justice movement is a response to the fact that women of color, low-income women and younger women are as likely if not more likely to face resistance to their childbearing and childrearing as they are to have trouble accessing contraception and abortion. The children of certain disfavored classes are viewed by some as a problem to be addressed through restrictive laws and policies. RJ also recognizes that multiple forms of social oppression and discrimination keep individuals from being able to have and raise healthy families. Full reproductive freedom therefore requires addressing all forms of inequality.

5. What are the components of Reproductive Justice?
The right of individuals to:
have the children they want
raise the children they have, and
plan their families through safe, legal access to abortion and contraception.
The RJ lens is broader than the liberty and autonomy based lens of traditional “rights” movements.
RJ recognizes that the focus on control and exploitation of women’s bodies through restrictive laws and lack of protections are means of controlling women and communities, particularly women of color.
Communities of color, and women in particular, are often subject both to policing of their bodies and reproductive decision making on the one hand and a lack of support on the other.
It should come as no surprise, for example women of color are disproportionately likely to be arrested or have their children removed because of drug use or perceived drug use during pregnancy. Nor should it be a surprise that that Latinas are overrepresented in jobs where they are least likely to have protections during pregnancy.

6. How does Reproductive Justice relate to social justice movements generally?
Reproductive Justice requires that all people have the resources, as well as the economic, social, and political power to make decisions about their bodies, sexuality, and reproduction with self- determination and dignity.
The government plays a key role in remedying social inequalities that contribute to reproductive oppression.
People’s ability to exercise self-determination, including within their own reproductive lives, is necessarily affected by power inequalities within our society, institutions and economic lives.
RJ explicitly calls upon the government to play an affirmative role in making rights a reality and remedying social inequality, recognizing that social, political, and economic power are necessary to chart one’s own future.
Reproductive Justice is a part of the larger social justice movement, and as long as there is social injustice, there will be reproductive oppression.

7. Pregnant women deserve to be supported in whatever decision the make.

8. Graphic: “Abortion is not a privilege, it’s a right”

9. Graphic: “If some Coloradans have their way, when a pregnancy ends, jail time begins. Vote NO on Amendment 67.”

10. Graphic: “Going to the bathroom (arrow on toilet) on the job can get you fired… if you’re a pregnant worker. Stand with pregnant works today – and help us stop pregnancy discrimination.”

11. Graphic: “You deserve to be treated with dignity, kindness, and respect no matter at what age you choose to parent. Justice for young parents is reproductive justice.”

12. Young Women United is a reproductive justice organization leading policy change and community organizing by and for self-identified young women of color in New Mexico. We work to build communities where all people have access to the information, education, and resources we need to make real decisions about our own bodies and lives.

13. Campaign Issue Areas Education Equity for Young Parents
Improving access to a full range of birthing options, centering midwifery models of care
De-criminalizing substance use and pregnancy
Embodying Warrior State of Mind to de-stigmatize mental health alongside LGBTQ youth of color
Improving access to reproductive healthcare including abortion and contraception

14. Dismantling Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Dismantling Teen Pregnancy Prevention. New report available June 1st, 2016.

15. Myth #1: Teen parents are a drain on government resources and cost taxpayers a lot of money. Fact: It is misleading, manipulative and profoundly unethical to scapegoat and pressure young people to take personal responsibility for “social costs” rooted in systemic inequities.

16. Myth #2: Children of teen parents have poor outcomes
Myth #2: Children of teen parents have poor outcomes. Fact: Young parenting has been described by various scholars as “adaptive” and even as a protective factor against low birth weight and infant mortality given disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes among low-income communities and communities of color.

17. Myth #3: Teen parents are babies having babies
Myth #3: Teen parents are babies having babies. Fact: For many young people today being a teenager means serving as caretakers and carrying financial responsibility for themselves, their parents, siblings, and whole networks of loved ones… 73% of teenage mothers are over 18 – They are legally adults in most states and eligible to vote.

18. Myth #4: Teens who have babies have ruined their lives
Myth #4: Teens who have babies have ruined their lives. Fact: Many young parents report feeling more motivated to finish school after they became pregnant or began parenting, while others express that having children has been a great incentive to become more responsible and focused than their peers.

19. Dismantling Teen Pregnancy Prevention
If we are committed to a bright future for all young people then we must invest in meaningful solutions to address the underlying causes of the challenges they face, instead of perpetuating the misconception that teen pregnancy is a problem that must be prevented.

20. Questions?
Please type your questions in the chat box.
Denicia Cadena Policy and Cultural Strategy Director Young Women United
Lina Houston Director of Campus & Community Programs If/When/How
Kelli Garcia Senior Counsel National Women’s Law Center