Global Reproductive Justice Project WS 491: Seminar in Reproductive Justice Spring 2021 As part of this class, students completed the Global Reproductive Justice Project. Different teams were charged with covering WS491 reproductive justice within different global regions. Crucially, though, it was up to each In Spring of 2021, 26 students took WS491: Seminar in team to then figure out how to divide their Reproductive Justice taught by Patrick Arnold. region, and how to define reproductive justice Reproductive justice is a social justice movement led by in a way that does not involve a colonialist, BIPOC women fighting for the human right to have American-centric framework imposed on children, not have children, determine their own birthing others. Working from the humility Ross and options, and create the social, political, and economic other reproductive justice scholars bring to conditions necessary for these rights to be guaranteed to all. global considerations, this project was as much However, there’s work to be done in expanding reproductive about process as the final product. Teams justice, particularly for queer, trans, and intersex bodies, and worked to define and research questions like: for reproductive health and rights to be applied on a global What would reproductive justice mean in, say, scale. This is a daunting task – and one that even the icons a South Asian context, and how do we center of the reproductive justice movement, like Loretta J. Ross, local voices in how we collect data to inform approached with humility. As Ross and other members of that research? the SisterStrong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective put it: “The key benefits [of making connections This final collection of presentations is 191 between reproductive health in the U.S. and global women’s movements] will come from not what we offer women in pages long, covering 37 countries and almost other countries, but what we have to learn, specifically in twenty different facets of reproductive the application of economic, social and cultural human justice. rights to our organizing to address the issues faced here at home” (Ross, 2006). Instructor: Patrick Arnold Contributors: Alice Beilfuss Caitlyn Jamieson Kaitlyn Pierce Taylor Belyea Riley Kluck Arianna Pittenger Jennie Berels Maddie Leaver Adrienne Puryear Kaylee Brookman Kejing Li Kattiah Richardson Steven Brooks Ginny Lindberg Eliza Samra Mallory Demott Lauryn Mcdaniel Katie Seabolt Brianna Foley Madi Meyerhofer Emmerson Unger Kirsten Greer Hannah Monville Julia Walters Emily Harrison Modupe Olatunji Reproductive Justice in Latin America Julia Walters, Madi Meyerhofer, Lauryn McDaniel, Maddie Leaver, Katie Seabolt RJ Table of Contents Abortion Access Equal Rights Via Constitutionalism Sexual Violence Trans & Non-binary rights Reproductive Healthcare 2 North West South American Reproductive Justice Peru Columbia Ecuador 3 Abortion Access - North West South America Peru - Columbia - Ecuador - Status: Illegal Status: Legal(ish) Status: Illegal Exceptions - If it is life or Expectations - Abortion Expectations - If it is life death for the women, she is only legal in cases of or death to the women, can get an abortion but rape, incest, unwanted and the problem cannot only after its declared artificial insemination be solved other than high risk. severe fetal abnormality having an abortion she Results - Women are finding and to protect the can get one. If a mentally different ways to have an person’s life or health. If disabled women falls abortion. Many women use a you were consenting and pregnant after a sexual drug called misoprostol that got pregnant, you are not crime, she can get one. can be obtained illegally from a eligible for abortion. doctor. Having an unsafe Results - Women will abortion is one of the five main Results - Even if you have travel outside the causes of pregnancy-related a legal right to an country to get an death in Peru. abortion, women still abortion or perform struggling getting one. unsafe abortions. 4 Equal Rights - North West South America Peru - Columbia - Ecuador - Status: Negative Status: Positive Status: Negative Women represent just Columbia has strong laws While there are some over half of the in favor of equality and good things, overall population of Peru, but women's rights. The women's rights are not they do not have equal government also actively equal to men's in access to resources or fights against violence Ecuador. Women’s power. More women and discrimination salaries are between suffer from poverty and against women. Women 13-26% lower than their unemployment than men in columbia have access men peers, also women in do. Race and class also to education and 80% rural area work in worsen womens attend, they also average 23 hours longer positions in Peru. Women outnumber men in the per week than men do. are also significantly less classroom by 5%. Lastly, There is also very little educated than men. women have greater laws that protect women power over legislation. against violence and 5 discrimination. Sexual Violence - North West South America Peru - Columbia - Ecuador - Peru has the highest rate of 37% of women reported 40% of women in sexual violance in all of South experiencing sexual Ecuador experience America, with nearly 70,000 violence in Columbia, and sexual violence done by rape cases reported in just 9 over 50% of columbian their partner. The biggest years. Of these 70,000 rape men admitted to abusing area of sexual violence in cases, 34% of women their partner. Of the 37%, Ecuador occurs in become pregnant yet they over 70% of it was schools. eachers, school are still not allowed access to committed on women staff, janitors, and school abortion. 61% of women in younger than 18. With bus drivers have Peru report sexual violance the highest amount being committed sexual by a partner. Military officials between the ages of violence against children were the most frequent 10-13. In 2017 Columbia of all ages, including offender while sexual saw the highest rise of children with disabilities, violence was most often sexual violence cases, in public and private committed while victims they rose by 11% this schools. Ecuador fails to were detained. year. It is unclear why. protect children in the school system. 6 Trans and non-binary - North West South America Peru - Columbia - Ecuador - Peru has laws against Columbia has the strongest in 1989 Ecuador became one discrimination of people framework for defending of the first countries to offer in the LGBTQ+ the LGBTQ+ community. protection to the LGBTQ+ community. However, They have historic community. They also were they refused to sign the recognition of LGBTQ+ one of the first to legalize 2010 UN Human Rights people in the peace process same sex marriage. While Declarations on Sexual with the Revolutionary same sex couples can enjoy all Orientation and Gender Armed Forces of Colombia the same rights as man and Identity. Perus supreme (FARC), the first in the women couples, there is one court has also issued world to specifically include thing they cannot. Adoption. many several rulings LGBTQ+ people. However, Same sex couples cannot defending LGBTQ+ there is ongoing violence legally adopt. Ecuador also rights. and discrimination by has several laws fighting people, espeically towards against discrimination and trans individuals. violance towards the LGBTQ+ community. 7 Reproductive healthcare - North West South America Peru - Columbia - Ecuador - The access to reproductive Inequalities in healthcare In Ecuador, they offer healthcare for women in Peru between men and women have citizens free universal has increased over the years. narrowed over time, with healthcare. This Maternal deaths went from women having more and more healthcare covers all of 240 per every 100,000 to access to healthcare. However, women's reproductive under 100. The case fatality in poverty strictin parts of healthcare. Women have rate, meaning the death rate of parts with high rates of access to free prenatal women who die once they ge violence, women have harder care, free primary care to the hospital has also times accessing anytype of physicians, pediatricians decreased. Womens access to health care, but more and OBGYNs. Due to the healthcare has increased specifically reproductive free universal healthcare, because of a country wide healthcare. Women in these women all over the project called FEMME which areas have a hard time gaining country have an easier main mission is to help women access to OBGYNs during time accessing these recieve access to healthcare. pregnancy, or even a primary doctors as well. care physician. 8 Chile Argentina Southern South America Paraguay Uruguay 9 Abortion Access- Argentina × Approximately 372,000–522,000 abortions happen annually in Argentina. Up until January 14 2021, all abortions were considered illegal in Argentina and a crime worthy of legal punishment except in special circumstances such as danger to health or sexual assualt. × The Catholic church has been one of the biggest opposers of legalizing abortion in Argentina. 63% of the country is Catholic, and the church has fought against many pro-choice groups like the Encuentros. Since the 1980s, Encuentros has acted as a major women’s activist group in the country, holding annual conferences including topics such as pro-choice × Maternity is also extremely glorified in the country of Argentina, so anything that threatens that has been seen as a negative. × 2018 was the first year abortion legalization was considered in Argentina, but