Transcript Reproductive Justice - National Women's Law Center

If you really care about
Environmental Justice
Then you should care about
Reproductive Justice
Jill C. Morrison
National Women’s Law Center
202-588-5180 ◊ [email protected] ◊ www.nwlc.org
About this series
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Developed to address intersection between
Reproductive Justice and other progressive
issues.
Introduces Reproductive Justice to new
communities that may only know of reproductive
rights advocacy that focuses on abortion and
contraception.
Educates on RJ’s three components in a context
with which other progressives are familiar.
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So far includes…
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Intimate Partner Violence (October 6th)
Race Discrimination (October 13th)
Education (October 20th)
Environmental Justice (today)
Please let us know
if there are other issues you’d like to see
explored through an RJ lens!
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What is Reproductive Justice?
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What distinguishes it from the traditional
reproductive rights movement?
What are its components?
How does it relate to social justice
movements generally?
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The Reproductive Justice
Movement was Created as a
Response to Movements that
Failed to Support Women’s
Decisions to Bear and Raise
Children
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What distinguishes RJ from the
traditional reproductive rights movement?
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The traditional reproductive rights frame focuses
on liberty, autonomy and equality, while the
Reproductive Justice (RJ) movement places
reproductive health and rights within a social
justice framework.
RJ acknowledges that each person’s ability to
effectuate their rights is uniquely shaped by
social injustices including: poverty, racism,
sexism and gender identity discrimination,
heterosexism, language discrimination and
disablism.
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What are the components of
Reproductive Justice?
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The right of individuals to:
 have the children they want
 raise the children they have, and
 plan their families through safe, legal
access to abortion and contraception
http://www.sistersong.net/documents/ACRJ_Reproductive_Justice_Paper.pdf
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How does Reproductive Justice relate
to social justice movements generally?
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Reproductive Justice requires that all people
have the resources, as well as the economic,
social, and political power to make healthy
decisions about their bodies, sexuality, and
reproduction.
The goal is not governmental non-interference in
reproductive decision-making. To the contrary,
the government plays a key role in remedying
social inequalities that contribute to reproductive
oppression.
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The origins of Environmental
Justice and Reproductive Justice
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Both are responses to movements that
presumed everyone shares the same goals,
concerns and opportunities.
Both look to address basic structural inequalities
while addressing the specific form that
oppression takes.
Both recognize historical context, namely all of
the –isms that contributed to current status of
the environment and reproductive health of
certain communities.
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Traditional Environmental Rights Rhetoric
Contributes to Reproductive Oppression
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MYTH: Population Control and restrictions
on immigration are necessary because
there are not enough resources to support
births by women in developing nations.
FACT: Industrialized nations have done
more to degrade the planet than
developing nations.
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Reproductive Oppression is seen as a
solution to environmental problems
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MYTH: There is no need to ban toxic chemicals
from work environments; just ban women of
reproductive age.
FACT:
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No one should be exposed to toxic substances in
order to make a living.
Low-income workers, women and people of color are
more likely to be in toxic work environments.
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Environmental Problems are used as
an excuse for Reproductive
Oppression
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MYTH: Birth Control is destroying the
Environment, because hormones from oral
contraceptives end up in the water supply.
FACT: Industrialized farming practices are
the primary contributor to hormones in
water in soil.
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Attempts to Divide Progressive
Movements
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MYTH: You cannot acknowledge that the
environment has an impact on pregnant
women without giving the fetus rights.
FACT: Reproductive Justice supports
families’ efforts to have and raise healthy
children.
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How You Can Support Environmental
Justice and Reproductive Justice
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Recognize women and children suffer unique effects of
environmental hazards and advocate for policies that
improve reproductive health and pregnancy outcomes.
Support the right of all parents to raise their children in
healthy environments by advocating for the equitable
distribution of green space, walking and biking trails,
and playgrounds in low-income communities.
Urge regulatory protections and safer labor practices for
those exposed to toxic chemicals in industries dominated
by low-income workers and Women of Color. Protections
ought to increase awareness of potential harms and
inform workers of their rights without promoting
employment discrimination against pregnant, potentially
pregnant, or nursing women.
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Ways to support both EJ and RJ
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Increase access to safe and affordable contraceptives and
abortion and oppose coercive solutions to environmental
problems that limit reproductive autonomy, such as
employment policies that require workers to prove they are
infertile in order to work with substances that cause birth
defects.
Encourage agencies, such as the EPA, FDA, and OSHA, to
pass and enforce regulations requiring industries using or
producing chemicals to regularly test, report on, and
reduce the toxicity of their products.
Dismantle or repeal existing regulations that place the
burden of harmful environmental exposures on poor
communities and Communities of Color.
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Politics, Fertility and
Toxic Chemicals
Advocacy at the
intersection of reproductive
and environmental justice
Kimberly Inez McGuire
Reproductive Health Technologies Project
October 27, 2010
Poll: Which products have you used/handled in the last
24 hours? Check all that apply.
o Credit card receipt
o Cell phone
o Non-stick frying pan
o Canned food
o Shampoo/body wash/perfume from major national
brand
Reproductive Health Technologies
Prevention
Project (RHTP)
at-a-Glance
CONTRACEPTION
REPRODUCTIVE &
ENVIRONMENTAL
HEALTH
The decision
NOT
to be pregnant
ABORTION
The decision
to be pregnant
ASSISTED
REPRODUCTIVE
TECHNOLOGIES
Treatment & Care
Common interests, shared approaches
Reproductive
Justice: will be
achieved only when all
people have the
economic, social, and
political power to make
healthy decisions
about their bodies,
sexuality, and
reproduction
Issues
~ Climate change
~ Air quality
~ Water quality
~ Safe workplaces
~ Toxic chemical
exposure
Environmental Justice:
seeks to reduce the
inequitable environmental
burdens born by People
of Color, women,
indigenous communities
and those living in
economically
disadvantaged areas or
developing nations.
Wedge Issues
“Population” is not
the problem…
…and neither is birth
control.
Over 80,000 chemicals in commerce
Most have never been tested for
safety
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs)
• Trick your body into
thinking they’re hormones
• Disrupt natural processes
related to sexual and
reproductive function
• Low doses can have big
effects
• Exposures in utero can
have lifelong impact
• EDCs are everywhere!
Notorious B.P.A.
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Case
Study:
Mossville,
LA
“Hot spots” = communities overburdened with more than
their "fair" share of environmental contamination
– Effects on reproductive health can be devastating, and persist across
generations.
– Facilities are overwhelmingly concentrated in communities of color,
low-income communities, and indigenous communities.
• Mossville, Louisiana
– Predominantly African-American community
– 400 households, 14 industrial facilities, 4 million pounds of toxic
chemicals annually
– Largest concentration of vinyl plastic manufacturers in U.S.
– Coal-fired power plant, oil refineries, and other chemical production
facilities
– Elevated levels of cancer-causing and endocrine-disrupting chemicals
in their bodies, including levels of dioxin at 3 times the national
average. Residents also report high rates of reproductive and other
chronic and acute health problems
How Did We Get Here?
Chemical companies keep making toxic
products… and we keep buying them.
How
Did
We
Get
Here?
The laws that regulate toxic
chemicals are outdated and
ineffective
• Toxic Substances Control Act
(TSCA)
– Regulates: consumer products
– Passed: 1976
– Flaws: no safety testing, little
authority to regulate
• Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act
– Regulates: personal care products
– Passed: 1938
– Flaws: no testing, no recalls,
incomplete labeling
How Did We Get Here?
What Can I Do?
Protect
Your Health
Learn More
Take
Action!
Protect your health
• Be careful with plastics
– Store food in glass, keep plastics out
of the microwave
• Switch to non-toxic cleaners
– Women’s Voices for the Earth:
www.womenandenvironment.org/gr
eenclean
• Find safer personal care products
– EWG Cosmetics Safety Database:
www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/
It’s hard to know what’s safe.
•
Stop
Toxic
Chemicals
at
the
Source
Raise awareness - sponsor a screening
– “Story of Cosmetics” viewing party: http://safecosmetics.org/downloads/Storyof-Cosmetics-viewingparty.pdf
– “Living Downstream” documentary screening:
http://www.livingdownstream.com/screenings_and_events.php
• Support Federal Legislation
– Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families (TSCA): http://www.saferchemicals.org/
– The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics: www.safecosmetics.org/
Ask your representative to co-sponsor chemical policy reform!
• Link up with groups in your state
– State Activities: Safer States www.saferstates.com
• Talk to RHJ advocates at conferences, events,
meetings, etc.
Questions?
Kimberly Inez McGuire
Senior Associate for Programs and Policy,
Reproductive Health Technologies Project,
[email protected]
Contact RHTP for more information & ideas.
Follow RHTP on Twitter!
twitter.com/RHTPorg