Task Force of the Month
Reproductive Justice
By Nan McKinley
We adopted from SisterSong (Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective) the definition of Reproductive Justice as, “The human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.” This goes beyond the earlier movement for reproductive rights which centered on legalizing birth control and abortion. Reproductive Justice includes access: the availability and affordability of providers, as well as transportation, especially now that out-of-state travel is necessary for abortions. Justice in raising children casts a wide net encompassing far more than we take on. We address the need for comprehensive sex education and childbearing support. Maintaining personal bodily autonomy also encompasses gender identity, gender affirming health care, and addressing Period Poverty.
Our task force raises money through parking for IU football games, and our annual bake sale. We donate to several initiatives: the diaper bank at All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center, the Hoosier Abortion Fund (which is managed by All-Options for the entire state), the UU OWL (Our Whole Lives sexuality education) program, and Middle Way House to aid the purchase of period products. In addition, our 4th Trimester Team supports families with new babies by providing community resource information, shopping, transportation, in-home childcare, meals, and light housekeeping. We seek to provide educational opportunities for the congregation. In addition, we monitor legislation at the state level for relevant issues to share with members of the task force. The most recent issue is the threat to in vitro fertilization (IVF) if our state follows Alabama in this regard.
We will be hosting a presentation by Kristen Jozkowski, PhD, Complexity in Abortion Attitudes: Stats and Stories, on Sunday March 24th from 12 to 1:30 in the Meeting Room. Dr Jozkowski is the William L Yarber Endowed Professor of Sexual Health, School of Public Health at IU and is a Principal Investigator on the Abortion Attitudes Project. Q & A will follow the presentation. To livestream this event, click the following link: https://vimeo.com/event/4146517
