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.