According to SisterSong, reproductive justice refers to "the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities."
A reproductive justice lens applies an intersectional approach to understand society, acknowledging the ways that systems of oppression, like racism and sexism, work together to compound inequality and create uniquely harmful experiences for multiply-marginalized people.
Reproductive justice moves beyond a narrow focus on abortion rights or contraceptive rights - i.e., the right to not have children - to also include the right to have children and to raise them safely. From a reproductive justice lens, myriad issues like police brutality, environmental justice, and anti-poverty programs are linked.
This guide gathers together contemporary resources that are available in the Butler Library collection on the topic of reproductive justice, including abortion, contraception, pregnancy and childbirth, and parenting, as well as research tips for students and resource links for those in need of support. Particular attention is paid to issues of race, class, and other forms of inequality.
The creation of this guide was informed by Black feminist scholarship, particularly the work of Loretta Ross, Dorothy Roberts, and Kimberlé Crenshaw.
