Reproductive Rights and Justice in 2021

Michelle Wilson breaks down the difference between these movements this way: “Reproductive health deals with direct services: conversations with our doctors, other care providers…Reproductive rights deals with policy, legislation, many of the legal battles that we’ve come to know.”

“Reproductive justice is a human rights framework. It was created in 1994 by a group of amazing Black women and femmes to really start talking about some of the core issues and….the history of this country that has continued to deny the bodily autonomy and agency of folks, particularly around women, Black women, queer folks and people of color.”

“The core principles are the ability to choose when and if to have a child and/or family (abortion rights, adoption rights, family rights). We’re also talking about bodily autonomy—the idea that you are an expert of your own experiences and your body. Last but not least, is the ability to be in communities that are safe and sustainable.” In other words, reproductive justice understands that a person’s ability to make choices about her reproductive life isn’t just about the law—it’s about the broader world they live in.

Let’s be clear: “Most advocates expect Justice Barrett to rule against abortion rights specifically,” says Ebrahim. “They cite her opinions on two abortion-related cases during her time on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.” And cases that could give her an opportunity to be the deciding vote rolling back Roe v. Wade are moving toward the court now.

But Ebrahim points out that Justice Barrett’s extreme right positions predate her time as a judge—and extend far beyond just abortion. “Her judicial record has gotten a lot of attention, but before she was on the bench [when she was a professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School], she actually advocated publicly for the right to life from fertilization…Back in the early 2000s, she signed on to a newspaper ad that called to end Roe v. Wade, and restore laws that restricted abortion. And in 2012 she signed a letter that called contraception and sterilization immoral and unjust. “That obviously has legal implications for abortion care, contraception and assisted reproduction so it’s broader than just abortion,” adds Ebrahim.

It’s often shorthand for “freedom,” but it’s a loaded term, Ebrahim says. “‘Choice’ is a word that gets used often when we talk about the movement and abortions, especially now,” she explains. “And while it’s critical that we talk about choice, the focus on individual choice alone really obscures the social context in which individuals are making choices. I would just be mindful of the assumption of the level of knowledge, access to elected officials and belief in the effectiveness of the political system that informs whether or not you truly have a choice. People who are marginalized by immigration status, age, class, race, disabilities—they often do not have that access, that knowledge or that faith in the ability of the system to really meet their needs.”

Even if you have the reproductive rights—the legal freedoms—to make a choice regarding whether to have a baby or terminate a pregnancy, that doesn’t mean you have the access to healthcare and the ability to get an abortion.

“When we’re looking at restrictive constitutional amendments, those cost anti-abortion folks virtually nothing because they can originate in legislatures. So unfortunately, when we think about what’s coming up in the next year, I think that means we’ll see a lot more anti-choice constitutional amendments,” says Ebrahim. Also on the horizon: restrictions on teenagers’ rights. “There’s [still] stigma around young people accessing abortion care. Anti-choice folks will be introducing a lot of restrictions.”

For Michelle Wilson, voting rights and reproductive rights are deeply entwined. They point out that in Georgia, after the 2018 gubernatorial victory of Brian Kemp over Stacey Abrams in an election that featured widely reported voter suppression and disenfranchisement, the state quickly moved to sign one of the most restrictive abortion measures in the country into law.

So participating in the political process in all ways—as by voting and supporting voters’ rights groups—is reproductive justice work, Wilson says. “Look to the leadership of what’s going on on the ground in your community and continue to do the work, continuing to center the most marginalized.” And cultivate relationships with your local and state representatives all the time, Wilson advises. “That’s how you hold people accountable; holding those relationships with your elected officials, talking to your Senators and Representatives and knowing that you can talk to them when things are not on fire–when things are not directly under attack.”

Yes, Supreme Court justices have lifetime tenure. Yes, they are protected by Article Three of the Constitution. But, Lithwick points out, that doesn’t mean they’re completely invulnerable to public opinion—so staying loud on issues we care about as SCOTUS takes them up is crucial. “Being visible is the single most important thing we can do,” she says. “This is the Yellowstone Park rule: You have to be bigger than the bear. You have to be massive when you come across a bear. My experience [suggests this] is the reason the Supreme Court right now is not taking one of these completely bonkers voting-rights cases is because they see us.” In short, they understand that the American people are passionately in favor of enfranchisement.

“At the very very highest levels, the Court needs to see us; we need to really hold them to account, too,” adds Lithwick. “I really feel like we’re living in a moment where we are seeing what it means to hold even the Court itself to account. Everything you’re hearing at this amazing in-the-trenches micro level can be scaled up. Don’t be afraid to be huge.”