Reproductive Justice An Introduction Loretta J. Ross and Rickie Solinger university of california press Reproductive Justice reproductive justice: a new vision for the twenty-first century Edited by Rickie Solinger, Khiara M. Bridges, Zakiya Luna, and Ruby Tapia 1. Reproductive Justice: An Introduction, by Loretta J. Ross and Rickie Solinger 2. How All Politics Became Reproductive Politics: From Welfare Reform to Foreclosure to Trump, by Laura Briggs Reproductive Justice An Introduction Loretta J. Ross and Rickie Solinger university of california press University of California Press, one of the most distin- guished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Oakland, California © 2017 by The Regents of the University of California Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Ross, Loretta, author. | Solinger, Rickie, 1947– author. Title: Reproductive justice : an introduction / Loretta J. Ross and Rickie Solinger Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2017] | Series: Reproductive justice : a new vision for the twenty-fi rst century ; 1 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifi ers: lccn 2016046912 | isbn 9780520288188 (cloth : alk. paper) | isbn 9780520288201 (pbk. : alk. paper) | isbn 9780520963207 (eBook) Subjects: LCSH: Human reproduction—Law and legislation—United States. | Reproductive rights— United States. | Reproductive health—United States. | African American women—Health and hygiene. | Women’s rights—United States. Classifi cation: lcc kf3760 .s65 2017 | ddc 342.7308/5—dc23 lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016046912 Manufactured in the United States of America 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For the SisterSong family and my son, Howard Michael Ross, without whom much of my life would not have been possible. May Ruby and Dean live in a world where reproductive justice prevails. contents Introduction 1 1. A Reproductive Justice History 9 2. Reproductive Justice in the Twenty-First Century 58 3. Managing Fertility 117 4. Reproductive Justice and the Right to Parent 168 Epilogue: Reproductive Justice on the Ground 238 Acknowledgments 267 Notes 269 Index 325 Introduction The two of us, Loretta and Rickie, joined forces to write Reproduc- tive Justice: An Introduction so that we could introduce the concept of reproductive justice to new audiences. As a scholar (Rickie) and an activist (Loretta), we believe that we have made a book that will contribute to the exciting upsurge of reproductive justice activism and scholarship. We have read each other’s articles and books and followed each other’s work for years with respect and admiration. Making this book has deepened both our regard for each other and our commitment to the principles of reproductive justice. We chose to write this book in the form of a primer because it is an explanation of the basic elements of our subject. Reproduc- tive Justice: An Introduction off ers an expansive explanation of reproductive justice so that readers can learn about this creative vision for achieving human rights protections. The primer will also help readers understand how reproductive justice is signifi - cantly diff erent from the pro-choice/antiabortion debates that have dominated the headlines and mainstream political confl ict for so long. 1 2 / Introduction loretta For years, as a human rights and reproductive rights activist, I have needed historical and sociological information and analysis to support my work. But I have had a hard time fi nding studies of reproduction in America that did not marginalize women of color. Most of the work by white writers supplied few, if any, perspec- tives on women of color, quite often treating them as afterthoughts instead of putting their stories anywhere near the center of the narrative. As a Black feminist, I am committed to focusing on the powerful role of colonialism and white supremacy in determining reproductive destinies. Without these perspectives, a great many historical treatments leave almost everything unexplained. I value Rickie’s work because for more than twenty-fi ve years, she has produced deep, analytical writing about the intersection of race, gender, sovereignty, and class. As a world-class historian, she carefully details the experiences of women of color facing politi- cal, economic, and cultural forces inimical to the concept of reproductive freedom and autonomy. When Rickie invited me to write this primer with her, I trusted that together we could off er this emerging knowledge about reproductive justice in its most powerful form, with lucidity, authenticity, and an incisive critique of white supremacy and capitalism. Presenting and preserving our two voices in this project was a challenge and a joy. Because I was present when the reproduc- tive justice framework was created, I off er a fi rst-person voice and more than two decades of experience promoting this new vision for reproductive activism. My years as one of the leaders of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective gave me the opportunity to witness the excitement of building a new movement centered on the needs of women of color grap- Introduction / 3 pling with issues of pregnancy, birth, abortion, and parenting. This radical, fresh vision brought thousands of new voices into the movement. The reproductive justice vision spread out like exploding fi reworks to touch off new understandings of the intersections of many issues in the lives of women of color. Rickie’s voice is that of a disciplined and compassionate his- torian. She bravely reinterprets historical facts, paying attention to voices and perspectives of those most marginalized by privilege and power. Her precise language and attention to detail off er an authoritative example of what history looks like when the lives of marginalized women are centered in the lens. rickie Writing Reproductive Justice: An Introduction with Loretta is the culmination of my work as a historian of reproductive politics in the United States. I have been writing books for decades, pre- paring myself, without even quite knowing it, for this collabora- tion. My books have been serial eff orts to answer the same group of questions: Who gets to be a “legitimate” mother in the United States? (And who do authorities consider “legitimately” sexual?) Who is denied maternal legitimacy? What do race and class have to do with “legitimate” and “illegitimate” maternity? What do the government, the church, the community, and the family have to do with deciding and enforcing answers to these ques- tions? How have answers changed over time? And perhaps most important, how does the maternal “legitimacy” of some persons depend on and guarantee the illegitimacy of others? For example, for decades, TV shows, movies, and other cultural expressions typically portrayed white, middle-class, heterosexual, 4 / Introduction married women as the mothers we all want to be and to have: “legitimate” mothers. So what are Americans to think about per- sons who do not have all of these assets and resources to bring to motherhood? Our political culture conditions us to regard these mothers as inappropriate, “illegitimate” mothers in comparison. It underwrites the idea that motherhood is a class privilege, properly reserved only for women with enough money to give their chil- dren “all the advantages,” a deeply antidemocratic idea. Here we can see how the nobility of white, middle-class maternity depends on the defi nition of others as unfi t, degraded, and illegitimate. In turn, poor mothers have been branded illegitimate because they do not have the resources that middle-class mothers do. When I became aware of Loretta’s work and the intersec- tional, reproductive justice analysis she was developing along with others, I knew that my work was fi nally “at home.” Listening to Loretta’s lectures, reading her work, and paying attention to the arena she was helping to defi ne added up to an intellectual and political home base for me and my work in a way that the disciplines of history and women’s studies have not been. An intellectual and political location that draws on human rights, justice, lived experience, uncompromising analysis, and straight- forward language feels like the sturdiest, truest place to work. As a white, Jewish teenager learning about the Holocaust, I began to learn about other brutal histories of dispossession and degradation, cultural destruction, and death. I began to learn at the same time, through the civil rights movement, what fi ghting for dignity looks like and about the power of voice. Since that time, I have looked at champions of resistance as models. Loretta has been an extremely important teacher and model for me for two decades, articulating a constructive, human-rights-based politics of resistance that envisions the dignity and safety and Introduction / 5 meaningfulness of each person’s life. This opportunity I’ve had—to be an ally—has been profoundly important, helping me to see the deep connection between developing respect for oth- ers and oneself. • • • We begin this book with a history of reproductive politics in the United States because as reproductive justice activists and schol- ars, we understand that the past explains a great deal about the present and also shapes the future. When politicians, judges, and policy makers make decisions that aff ect our lives, for example, by enacting or upholding laws that restrict access to various kinds of reproductive health care, they are building on the past. The Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion, profoundly curtails a poor woman’s decision making in ways that are consistent with—and further encode—older laws, policies, and social norms that aimed to deny reproductive dig- nity to poor women.