Reproductive Justice (vs. Reproductive Rights)

Working on mapping out the differences between the repro justice and repro rights frameworks for the paper DBS and I are working on. Here are a couple of very helpful resources, portions of which I used in my Gender, Race & Reproduction class at Butler:
Jennifer Nelson's book, Women of Color and the Reproductive Rights Movement (2003, NYU Press), and Silliman et al's book, Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organize for Reproductive Justice (2004, South End Press).

Alternative Procedures Marketing to Black Women

While there are many alternatives to hysterectomies for treating fibroids, the hysterectomy still remains the most common "treatment," especially among African American women.  Hysterectomy is the second most common reproductive surgery performed in the United States (C-section being number one) and black women are three times as likely to have a hysterectomy than their white counterparts - the number one reason - heavy bleeding and pain caused by fibroids.  The following article traces the disproportionate impact of hysterectomies on African American women and discusses some of the alternatives currently available.

http://nwhn.org/fibroids-%E2%80%9Cnew%E2%80%9D-options-not-enough-answers

Lost Choices

Lost Choices
"Over the past century, forced sterilization was practiced in many states. In North Carolina, authorities sterilized poor and disabled people into the 1970’s. Last week, the Foundation for Justice for Sterilization Victims in North Carolina gathered testimony from victims. A task force will soon decide on compensation for an estimated 7,600 people who lost the ability to have children. W.C. Lynch was sterilized by the state, and today he tells his story."

Dionne Bensonsmith, Framing Discourses of Reproductive Health and Public Policy

Video from Claremont Graduate University SPE.

Tuesday Lunch Talk Series 4-26-11: Dionne Bensonsmith

"Framing the Discourse: Black Women's Reproductive Health and Policy Change After the 2008 NIH Summit on Health Disparities"

http://vimeo.com/22925234

Dionne Bensonsmith: Race, Choice & Reproductive Health in the Age of Health Care Reform

Podcast from Scripps College.

This talk addresses recent proposals and amendments in the Obama Health Care Plan and their potential effects on reproductive choice — specifically among women of color.

http://media.scrippscollege.edu/scrippscasts/dionne-bensonsmith-race-choice-and-reproductive-health-in-the-age-of-health-care-reform

Black Women's Maternal Risks Go Unquestioned | Womens eNews

Black Women's Maternal Risks Go Unquestioned | Womens eNews

Black Women Re-Defining Agency, Organizing for Reproductive Justice

http://inciteblog.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/black-women-re-defining-agency-organizing-for-reproductive-justice/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign#incite

INCITE!

MARCH 3, 2011