14 Sep, 2023

What Does Reproductive Justice Actually Look Like?

By |2023-09-14T16:07:14-04:00September 14th, 2023|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: , |0 Comments


In Loretta Ross’ essay “What is Reproductive Justice?” in Reproductive Justice Briefing Book: A Primer on Reproductive Justice and Social Change, Loretta writes:

“Reproductive Justice can be used as a theory for thinking about how to connect the dots in our lives. It is also a strategy for bringing together social justice movements. But also, it is a practice- a way of analyzing our lives through the art of telling our stories to realize our visions and bring fresh passions to our work.” 

What makes the reproductive justice framework different from the reproductive health and reproductive rights frameworks is that reproductive justice provides a holistic understanding of our circumstances, and how these circumstances help or hinder our sexual and reproductive health decision-making.

It’s easy to “see” reproductive health, as it centers the interaction between patient and healthcare provider. It’s also easy to “see” the impact of reproductive rights, as evident by ever-changing state abortion laws and contraception restrictions, to name a few.

But what does reproductive justice actually look like?

Think about all of the steps you take to go to a doctor’s appointment.

You have to schedule the appointment, get to the appointment, wait for the appointment, be in the appointment, leave the appointment, and follow up after the appointment.

For each step, we’re making observations. These observations consider our circumstances, and together they can reflect what we may experience in this doctor’s appointment.

A pregnant teen, a menopausal woman, a working single mom, a nonbinary person, a Muslim, a person who is non-English speaking, a person in a wheelchair, a pregnant women with a prior miscarriage, a person living in a rural area where the nearest clinic is a 2-hour commute away, a pregnant incarcerated woman, a newly widowed 60-year-old, a person without health insurance, an undocumented person, a person living in a high-income area, and unhoused teen, or a person with a substance use or mental health diagnosis will have different experiences.

To SEE reproductive justice involves, we must center individual and community circumstances, taking into account how these circumstances can impact sexual and reproductive health decision-making and how we access these services.

To see what reproductive justice looks like, look no further than your own personal experience.

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12 Apr, 2023

Ask Nicole: My Favorite Reproductive Justice Resources

By |2023-05-18T14:34:27-04:00April 12th, 2023|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Have a question you’d like to be featured? Let me know.

I’m currently developing a presentation on reproductive justice and culturally responsive and equitable evaluation (CREE). 

The discussion will provide a brief overview of the Reproductive Justice framework, its connections to CREE, and recommendations for utilizing CREE when evaluating sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice programs. 

In the process of thinking through my talking points, I started compiling the reproductive justice resources I typically reference when engaging clients in the RJ framework.

These resources provide a grounding of reproductive justice framework, along with how the framework looks in action. From policy and community engagement, to abortion, contraception and maternal health, these resources represent some of the many ways individuals, organizations and communities are advancing reproductive justice for all. 

Here are some of my favorite reproductive justice resources:

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18 Jan, 2023

Try This: Equity Focused Conversations

By |2023-01-20T15:29:10-05:00January 18th, 2023|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

Try this out, and let me know how it goes for you.

During Summer 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, I participated in a conversation with evaluators who were both working as independent consultants and on staff.

A question was posed:

How can we keep equity at the forefront?

At the time, most of my client organizations had turned their attention to shifting to remote work. One client was already working remotely before the shelter in place orders began. However, they did experience drastic shifts in their programming. 

Staff had to figure out what was “essential” and what wasn’t in terms of how programs were implemented and how these changes would impact staff capacity.

Being nimble is a way of life for my clients. We discuss how this nimbleness can be applied to how they think program implementation. At this time, clients were making quick decisions on which programs were still operational without being in person. If programming could no longer operate as intended, we questioned 1) what can be learned from this, 2) how can they pivot programs deem essential to their work, 3) what qualifies a program as “non-essential”, and 4) how can they make a “non-essential” program more “essential” in the future?

While we focused on supporting our clients, we also felt the uncertainty in our work as evaluators. From paused projects to adjusting how we work, we were challenged with examining current norms, creating new ones, and discovering for ourselves what equity looks like during an pandemic that has illuminated racial, economic, and other public health disparities.

How can equity focused questions lead to organizational change? 

This activity is ideal for:

  • Anyone leading internal organizational equity based initiatives
  • Anyone interested in applying evaluative thinking

Here’s what you need:

  • Schedule time for this activity, where you can work with minimal interruption. Make sure to schedule breaks!
  • Whatever setup you use to capture your process (laptop, pen and paper, whiteboard, etc.). Make sure it’s kept in a place that you can refer back to

The steps:

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11 Jan, 2023

How “Sending the Elevator Back Down” Promotes Equity

By |2023-03-15T11:54:29-04:00January 11th, 2023|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: , |0 Comments

How can “sending the elevator back down” promote equity?

January is National Mentorship Month, highlighting the power of mentorship and its benefits.

Mentoring fosters trust and understanding between a more experienced person (mentor) and someone with less experience (mentee). Ideally, mentoring is mutually beneficial, provides routine exchange of perspectives, and builds on knowledge and trust.

Mentorship between students and educators and between industry experts and people new to their industry are two examples of how mentorship typically play out. Being mentored by someone who has experienced what you’re going through helps to avoid pitfalls.

There are many people I can name who have served as mentors for me, both academically and professionally. As someone who seeks advice and has provided advice, I’m growing more curious about 1) whether mentorship is truly beneficial and 2) whether mentorship promotes equity.

The phrase “send the elevator back down” is credited to French actress and singer-songwriter Édith Piaf. I don’t remember where I first heard this phrase, but it’s stayed with me. When someone sends the elevator back down for others, several things can happen. It creates opportunities for visibility, creating space for mentees to join mentors on the elevator. It also encourages mentors to not only make space, but to let go. For others to have these leadership experiences and become more visible, leaders have to be ok with making space and letting go.

But what happens when mentors are better at one and not the other?

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4 May, 2022

How to Support Your Local Abortion Fund

By |2022-05-04T10:27:24-04:00May 4th, 2022|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: , , |0 Comments


Late Monday night, a leaked draft decision from the United States Supreme Court confirmed what many in the reproductive justice and abortion rights movement have known: Roe v Wade (1973) will be overturned, making abortion care extremely restricted and in some cases, illegal throughout the U.S. 

While this was anticipated by many reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations, it doesn’t take away the worry of how this will disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and low-income people, youth, queer people, and others that live at the margins. And not just from a health care perspective.

The decision isn’t final yet, and most likely won’t be until Summer 2022. Presently, 26 states have laws in place that are poised to ban abortion procedures. Called “trigger laws” , these states will move to outlaw abortion the second Roe falls.

Until then, access to abortion care is still a constitutional right in the United States. Depending on where you are in the States, access has been dwindling for some time now. Instead of supporting paid family leave, universal health care, subsidized child care, and other economic and financial safety nets, legislators continue to restrict our right to access. And there’s no coincidence that states with the most restrictive abortion policies also have fewer policies supporting pregnancy, children, and families.

My consulting business began as a blog for me to share my thoughts about feminism and reproductive justice. At the core of the work remains the fundamental belief that everyone has the right to access whatever health care they need, and to determine their sexual and reproductive lives. 

Do your part to raise your voice anyone that needs an abortion by supporting your local abortion fund.

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