In the wake of the SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v Wade decision in June, the Unitarian Universalist Association hopes to spearhead reproductive justice initiatives within individual communities through UU congregations. Rev. Sherman, Rev. Amy, Leigh Ann, and I have attended monthly online meetings with the Association over the last few months and are excited to get to work here!

Over the next few weeks, I am researching and, hopefully, meeting with different reproductive justice initiatives in the Richmond area to get a sense of their work and their current needs.

If you are interested in working together to design an initiative within First UU here in Richmond, I’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to me via email at socialjusticeintern@richmonduu.org OR stop by the church on Tuesdays or Wednesdays between 10-2pm to talk further!

Food for thought:

Why call it “reproductive justice” instead of “reproductive health” or “reproductive rights”?

The term “reproductive health” focuses on providing resources to improve individual accessibility to healthcare services, facilities, and research. It does not address the root causes of social inequalities.

“Reproductive rights” focuses on the protection of a person’s legal rights to reproductive health care services, including but not limited to abortion. It involves advocacy and participation in the legislative and electoral processes at both the state and federal levels.

“Reproductive justice” blends the two above concepts with social justice and human rights through the attainment of four goals: (a) the raising of children in safe and healthy environments, (b) planned and healthy pregnancies, (c) ending or aversion of unwanted pregnancies, and (d) expression of sexuality.  Reproductive justice is about more than abortion rights or individual healthcare access. It’s about creating an equitable and accessible system of care for all people regardless of race, gender, sex, or socioeconomic class.

Source: Unitarian Universalist Association. (n.d.). Comparing Frameworks: What is Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice? UUA.org. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.uua.org/reproductive/action/comparing-frameworks

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Reproductive Justice – The State of Our State

Abortion care is in a tenuous position here in Virginia. As the ACLU put it, “Virginians do not have the right to an abortion”, but practitioners do have the legal ability to perform abortions under Virginia law(1).

For the last several years, the Virginia legislature has moved to improve abortion accessibility. In 2020, the Reproductive Health Protection Act was passed which repealed several provisions limiting providers and clinics, lifted the mandatory 24-hour waiting period between consultation and procedure, removed the biased counseling requirement, and allowed certain advance practice clinicians to provide abortion care. In 2021, Governor Northam signed a law that removes the prohibition on state exchange insurance coverage of abortion (1).

Despite these positive steps, we have entered a new political climate in 2022. The overturning of Roe v Wade has opened the door to state-level bans on abortion. Virginia, with unprotected abortion access, boarders North Carolina, a state with a more hostile view on the issue and a ban likely on its way (2). Even in Virginia, Governor Youngkin has stated his willingness to sign any abortion ban that comes across his desk (3).

We cannot sit idly and trust that Virginia will remain a safe place for abortions. Virginia must follow in the footsteps of the protected or even expanded abortion care at the state level (4). The map below shows the current landscape of abortion access in the nation. Ten states have expanded abortion access since the fall of Roe, but 22 states have laws that can, and often are, be used to criminalize abortion.

https://reproductiverights.org/maps/abortion-laws-by-state/

If you are interested in working together to design an initiative within First UU here in Richmond, I’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to me via email at socialjusticeintern@richmonduu.org OR stop by the church on Tuesdays or Wednesdays between 10-2pm to talk further!

References:

1. Center for Reproductive Rights. (2022, September 6). Virginia. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://reproductiverights.org/maps/state/virginia/
2. Center for Reproductive Rights. (2022a, September 6). North Carolina. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://reproductiverights.org/maps/state/north-carolina/
3. Denault, M. (2022, July 10). Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin pushes 15-week abortion ban after Supreme Court decision. CBS News. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/abortion-virginia-glenn-youngkin-15-week-ban-supreme-court-face-the-nation/

Center for Reproductive Rights. (2022a, August 25). Abortion Laws by State. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://reproductiverights.org/maps/abortion-laws-by-state/