What is Reproductive Justice? : How Women of Color Activists Are Redefining the Pro-Choice Paradigm

 I read a very interesting piece by activist Kimala Price called What is Reproductive Justice? : How Women of Color Activists Are Redefining the Pro-Choice Paradigm.  I really liked her use of the term “reproductive justice” rather than “reproductive rights” or “pro-choice” because she and the reproductive justice movement believe that women of any class, race or ethnicity should have the right to three things: the right to have an abortion, the right to have a child, and the right to parent a child (Price, 43).  Marginalized women are sometimes not being given these three main rights, and there have been some smaller groups who have tried to fight it and stand up for this cause; however, those women need a bigger following and more support.  The problem with colored women joining the mainstream groups that fight for reproductive rights of women is that they often begin to lose sight of their own personal goals towards bettering the situations of people of their minority races or classes because they get swept up into the “big picture” which always seems to benefit the middle-class white women.  This is natural, when the cause is so broad we tend to cater to the majority and forget about some of the reasons why we began to fight in the first place, that is why building these more individualized activism groups centered on women of color or women in poverty is important. Having each of these groups focus on their individual struggles and needs can make a stronger movement as a whole and give better chances to all women to receive “reproductive justice”. The more that organizations like SisterSong can get women of color and even men of color on board with their cause can help make such a bigger impact when they then team up with other organizations who mainly just focus on women as a whole, it will help the women of color get the same opportunities and choices that middle class white women do when it comes to having children.