Reproductive Justice vs. Neo-Liberalism

1. Reproductive Justice vs. Neo-Liberalism United States Social Forum Atlanta, GA June 29, 2007

2. What is SisterSong? • A national network of more than 80 women of color and allied organizations working together on Reproductive Justice • A collective movement for sustaining, organizing and mobilizing women of color and our organizations in the U.S. SisterSong includes: African American/Black Asian/Pacific Islander Latina Middle Eastern/Arab American Native American/Indigenous European American Allies • A voice for U.S. women of color in the reproductive health and sexual rights movement domestically and globally

3. What is the Mission of SisterSong? To amplify and strengthen the collective voices of Indigenous women and women of color to ensure reproductive justice through securing human rights.

4. Why SisterSong? We are SisterSong because we are women of color from many cultures and orientations who may sing different songs yet we all sing the women’s song in harmony, from the same score, on the same sheet of music -- Juanita Williams Doing Collectively What We Cannot Do Individually

5. SisterSong’s CoreReproductive Justice Principles Every woman has the human right to: • Decide if and when she will have a baby and the conditions under which she will give birth • Decide if she will not have a baby and her options for preventing or ending a pregnancy • Parent the children she already has with the necessary social supports in safe environments and healthy communities, and without fear of violence from individuals or the government

6. Why do we need a new framework? • Many activists have worked on the issue of “abortion” or “privacy” as if those issues alone define the scope of women’s reproductive health issues. • To develop new ways of thinking, strategizing, organizing and to create new alliances that respect the leadership, experiences and visions of women of color • By defining our common problem as Reproductive Oppression we can develop a more inclusive and catalytic vision of how to move forward.

7. What Reproductive Justice is NOT: • A re-phrasing of old messages • About “messaging” • A substitute for phrases like “pro-choice” or “privacy” • Applicable only to women of color • Only about abortion rights

8. Civil Political Economic Social Cultural Environmental Developmental Sexual What are Human Rights?

9. 8 Categories of Human RightsUniversal Declaration of Human Rights – 1948 to Present • Civil Rights – Non-Discrimination, Equality • Political Rights – Voting, Speech, Assembly • Economic Rights – Living Wage, Workers’ Rights • Social Rights – Health Care, Food, Shelter, Education, Welfare • Cultural Rights – Religion, Language • Environmental Rights – Clean Air, Water, No Toxic Neighborhoods • Developmental Rights – Control Own Natural Resources • Sexual Rights – Right to Have or Not Have Children, Right to Marry & When, Same-Sex Rights, Trans-gender Rights, Right to Birth Control and Abortion, Right to Sexual Pleasure and Define Families

10. Reproductive Justice: • Is based on a fundamentally different worldview focused on human rights • Links individuals to their communities • Uses an intersectional analysis • Defines the primary problem as Reproductive Oppression

11. Evolution of the Concept of Reproductive Justice Vienna Conference on Human Rights -Term “Women’s Rights are Human Rights popularized -Link to Global Human Rights Framework Cairo International Conference on Population and Development -Term “Sexual Rights” created -Link between poverty and reproductive health affirmed International Women & Health Meeting - Launch of Global Women’s Health Movement Beijing Fourth World Conference for Women -Rejected sexual rights • Amsterdam – (IWHM) Term “Reproductive Rights” created • Mexico City – “Gag rule” introduced by Pres. Reagan African American Women’s Caucus in Illinois -Term “Reproductive Justice” created -Social Justice + Reproductive Rights = Reproductive Justice

12. Evolution of the Concept of Reproductive Justice 14th World Congress on Sexology Hong Kong Declaration -Affirmed sexual rights March for Women’s Lives – April 2004 Creation of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective SisterSong National Conference on Reproductive Health & Sexual Rights Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice Position Paper: Reproductive Justice: A New Vision for Advancing Our Movement –

13. Defining Characteristics of Neo-Liberalism • Global markets determine people’s lives instead of human rights • Distribution of wealth determined solely by market forces not social policies • Business community should control societies not people in communities • Humans exist for the markets, not other way around • Each person needs to develop social capital for competitive advantage • Markets enforced by government, army and police

14. Consequences of Neo-Liberal Policies • Wage cuts and unstable employment • Decreased public services • Less taxes on the rich • Hostility to poor people • Free flow of money while people locked behind borders

15. Reproductive Justice Challenges to Neo-Liberalism • Human rights should determine people’s lives, not markets • Everyone should benefit from the wealth of society • Communities should control businesses • Individuals, families and communities are linked, not isolated • Governments have affirmative obligations towards the people such as education, welfare, health care, safety