We have work to do
We have work to do Heading link
We have work to do
On Monday night, I watched my Twitter feed transform from a steady stream of commentary about Met Gala outfits, to shock and anger about the contents of the draft of Supreme Court Justice Alito’s opinion that was leaked to the media. It’s one thing to know—as reproductive rights activists have for a long time—that the day would come when the courts would strike down Roe v. Wade. It’s another thing entirely for the country, most of whom are under 50 years old, to overhear the logic being used to remove the right to abortion. Critical scholars remind us that trumpeting “states’ rights” is a profoundly racist, homophobic, and sexist turn which seeks to undo the limited legal protections previously won. From Justice Alito’s perspective, the right to privacy, often deemed as sacrosanct and protected by the 14th Amendment, is now up for debate; among other things, this means that any legislation connected to privacy and bodily autonomy—same-sex & interracial marriage, LGBTQ rights, transgender rights, contraception, etc.—will probably be fair game for litigation after the draft opinion dismantling Roe becomes official. We should all be concerned about what the future holds.
But even in a moment of despair, there is a lot to learn and do, and reproductive justice scholars and activists continue to lead the way. We should listen to them.
In truth, as we discussed at the Abortion Futures event only two weeks ago, Roe has been steadily eviscerated through extensive litigation and countless barriers to making abortion accessible to many, especially poor women of color. Dr. Kim Ricardo of UIC Law School reminded us that Roe v. Wade was never feminist legislation; it put too much power into the hands of physicians and did not recognize women’s autonomy, focusing on privacy rather than equity and equality. We are also reminded by Dr. Teri McMurtry-Chubb of UIC Law School that questions of race complicate how we see bodily autonomy and thus the issue of abortion. There is a long history of reproductive control of women of color; the bodies of Black and indigenous women were never considered as worthy of protection from intrusion or free to make decisions about when and whether they reproduced. In a telling twist, the Fugitive Act of 1850, created to penalize anyone who helped an enslaved person to escape, has been used as a model for proposed legislation in the state of Missouri with the intention of criminalizing pregnant people seeking reproductive healthcare out of state, most likely in Illinois.
For the nearly 50 years of Roe’s existence, widespread access to abortion has not been possible due to racism, poverty, and marginalization; it is poor women of color who are most at risk for unsafe abortions and who will bear the brunt of the attacks on reproductive freedoms.
Organizations like Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF) and Family Planning Associates (FPA) exist to address the crucial issue of limited access to abortion. For Megan Jeyifo of CAF, they address barriers to access beyond the legal framework and ensure that more pregnant people are able to seek and obtain safe and comprehensive reproductive healthcare. These organizations are just one node in the wider ecosystem of the reproductive justice movement. Yamani Hernandez, formerly of the National Network of Abortion Funds, noted that supporting the infrastructure of the movement—its organizations and the leaders who manage them—is critical if we are going to survive these consistent attacks from rightwing factions. Dr. Allison Cowett of FPA also pointed out that the “pro-choice” language and privacy/individual rights arguments need to be supplanted by narratives that focus on bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom and center families. The panelists agreed that addressing the general apathy about the problem of limited abortion access will require bolder moves: more political education, different public health messaging, getting information out to young people, pushing for comprehensive sex education and expansion of abortion access in the state of Illinois, providing pre- and post-abortion care, and changing the way that we talk about abortion, not as a matter of private choice but as a matter of family wellbeing, public health, and social justice.
The pushback and the mobilizing have already begun. From the crowds gathered in public places; to historians and legal scholars rejecting SC Justice Alito’s erroneous gesture to history in his claim that abortion rights did not exist before Roe (it did); answering the question of why abortion rights are a women of color issue and who has the most to lose when abortion rights are slowly whittled away (poor women of color); naming that white Christian nationalism is at the heart of many of the legal and political efforts to remove or curtail rights that protect minoritized populations; reminding people about the robust post-Jane network of abortion providers and funds that have been trying to hold the line and need tremendous support right now; and calling for the need to expand grassroots organizing to ensure that the existing support systems remain intact even while activists work to create new ones to address new needs. I hope this is a moment that will radicalize our students as they begin to realize how much is at stake in their futures.
Indeed, students, faculty, and staff at UIC, and not only those in public health, nursing, and medicine, have a vested interest in this issue. Yes, state laws like the Illinois Reproductive Health Act (2019) and the Youth Health and Safety Act (2021) provide access and protections for all residents of the state, and as such, have bearing on the lives of people who are members of this community. At UIC, Title IX provisions allow for accommodations for students who have had abortions. For low-income students who become pregnant, this is an especially important policy that can help with retention. But as long as abortion stigma continues, the conversation about bodily autonomy—the right to be in control of one’s body and to make decisions about it—remains superficial. The work of crafting new narratives about abortion—decentering whiteness in such discussions, centering the stories and experiences of people of color, and realizing how reproductive justice struggles connect social justice movements and areas of scholarly inquiry—has never been more urgent. That work will be done through our research; what we talk about in our classrooms, labs, and centers; the linkages we forge with organizations; and the ways we make the work that we do public. As I think about graduation, I believe that we need to continue to equip our students with the analytical, research, and technical skills that allow them to engage directly with these issues and participate in making the world better for all of us. I certainly hope to see and hear more of our students becoming staunch advocates for reproductive justice, no matter what fields they enter. In the meantime, all of us can follow the leads of those who have been in the trenches for many years. We can learn and we can act.
Please take care of yourselves and each other,
Natalie Bennett
Some resources shared at the April 21st Abortion Futures panel:
Websites:
- Reproductive Justice Virtual Library
- National Network of Abortion Funds
- Illinois State Board of Elections
- Nursing Clio
Books:
Articles:
- Chiara Bercu et al.: “In-person later abortion accompaniment: a feminist collective-facilitated self-care practice in Latin America”
- Kim Ricardo’s article in Ms. Magazine: “The U.S. Could Learn From Argentina’s Groundbreaking Plan to Reduce Maternal and Childhood Mortality”
- Kim Ricardo: Was Justice Ginsburg Roe-ght?
- Teri McMurtry-Chubb: In search of the common law inside the Black female body