Reproductive Justice Rewritten

The purpose of this entry into the Feminist Judgments series is to create greater context for and extend the reach of the original volume (Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Opinions of the United States Supreme Court) by introducing readers to the expansive notion of reproductive justice (RJ). RJ refers to a movement begun decades ago by women of color activists who found that the traditional reproductive rights movement and its rhetoric failed to capture the complexities of the lived experiences of many women who lacked class or race privilege. RJ is grounded in intersectionality, meaning that it is deeply concerned with understanding and organizing around the ways that interlocking identities impact women’s lived experiences. Thus, RJ centers issues of race, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, and beyond to highlight how overlapping identities affect women’s lives. The movement is also “bottom up” in that its focus is on those who are most at risk for reproductive oppression. Finally, it is also centered on community level action and is steeped in human rights

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