Last night I was live tweeting the convention while listening on C-SPAN in the car and quoted a Black mother whose son was shot, survived, and is disabled. When I livetweeted her quote, I said this is repro justice without context. It deserves context.

https://people.com/crime/dnc-convention-indiana-mom-teen-survived/ https://twitter.com/rbraceysherman/status/1296253235611807745

Reproductive justice is a human rights framework coined by Black women in 1994 that works to ensure everyone has the rights and resources to decide if, when, and how to grow their family, and care for themselves and their families free from violence and coercion.

Reproductive justice demands that we center those who are most marginalized and ensure they have all that they need to thrive and live safely. It demands we look at how our environment, economy, and state sanctioned violence impact our lives and families.

As I was listening to DeAndra speak, I was thinking of the countless Black mamas who go through the work of birthing babies only to bury them as they’re shot and killed by police or others. Our work must go beyond pregnancy. Her quote reminded of what so many mamas have said.

Reproductive justice also demands that we support DeAndra to raise DeAndre without having to scrape by to afford care and support DeAndre to thrive toward his own dreams. Our nation does not adequately fund healthcare, particularly for people (of color) with disabilities.

The essence of DeAndra’s quote to me symbolized the challenge so many Black mamas experience when burying their children. To disabled folks it says they cannot achieve dreams with disabilities.

I shouldn’t have used that quote, and that is where my ableism seeped in. I’m sorry.

I appreciate @SFdirewolf and @RebeccaCokley for the call in on tweeting her quote without context. And for Rebecca to give context on the intersection of reproductive justice and disability justice.
https://twitter.com/sfdirewolf/status/1296260800017920001?s=21 https://twitter.com/rebeccacokley/status/1296284464000237568

I also think this is where a misunderstanding of what reproductive justice is comes in. It’s not synonym for abortion. It’s a whole framework that includes gun violence and its impact. It demands that we support people beyond their pregnancy to ensure their families can thrive.

This is why it is dangerous that “reproductive justice” as a term is being introduced to the national stage as a synonym for reproductive rights and abortion, because it very much is not. I worry that as an RJ activist whose work is centered on abortion how I contribute to that.

I also think this is a delicate space that deserves nuance because of how often abortion and disability are pitted against each other—intentionally and unintentionally—and how racist violence is left out.

This is what intersectionality in this Black woman’s life looks like.

And, this is why we have to constantly grow in our learning and understanding, and resist the urge to share without context and reduce human rights frameworks and theories to catch phrases and words. Reproductive justice demands we look at systems, oppression, and our lives.

I’m glad this surfaced and for the opportunity to help us all be better advocates who understand what reproductive justice truly is, as it is getting short handed, twisted, and shared on the higher political stages.