International Safe Abortion Day
Launch of the PHM Reproductive Justice Working Group
#IResistWePersist
#ReproductiveJustice
Today September 28th, the newly launched People’s Health Movement Reproductive Justice Working Group stands by grassroots organizations and movements struggling for access to safe abortion as a universal human right and a matter of social and economic justice. Access to safe abortion is an important component of reproductive justice. We link arms with organizations internationally resisting roll backs and attacks on reproductive rights, and lend our solidarity and support to organizations advocating for reproductive rights and reproductive justice.
With reproductive health, health care, rights, and reproductive justice still out of reach of the majority, and when rights and services attained in the twentieth century are being rolled back or threatened by imperialist and neo-liberal forces, the time is urgent to deepen our awareness, understanding, and actions to halt the attacks and advance reproductive justice for all.
Reproductive justice is ensuring that everyone, especially exploited and oppressed people, have the economic, social, and political power and resources to make healthy decisions about our bodies, labour, sexuality and reproduction for ourselves, our families, and our communities in all areas of their lives.
Reproductive Justice requires that women, girls, and all exploited and oppressed peoples have the right to: decide when and if they will have a baby; to be guaranteed safe and healthy conditions for when they give birth; all resources needed when there is a decision not to have a baby and all safe and efficient options for preventing or ending a pregnancy; and access to all that is needed to parent children already born, including the necessary social supports in safe environments and healthy communities, and without fear or violence from individuals, corporations, reactionary or right-wing and racist organizations or governments.
The Call Out:
Building community-based struggles and linking our struggles together in a strong international network of mutual aid and solidarity is a historical tradition that the People’s Health Movement carries forward and seeks to expand.
The People’s Health Movement Reproductive Justice Working Group believes that it is increasingly urgent that we link our struggles together in a deep and broad movement for social, economic, and reproductive justice!
The PHM-NA Reproductive Justice Working Group aims to:
- Build and expand links between individuals and groups working on reproductive health, reproductive rights, and reproductive justice within the PHM. The group is reaching out to grassroots organizations to join local PHM networks and circles, and spearhead and participate in PHM international campaigns and assemblies.
- Educate, organize, and mobilize against the neo-liberal approaches of large NGOs as well as to expose and oppose the US global gag rule prohibits foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that receive certain categories of U.S. foreign assistance funds from advocating for abortion or providing abortion as a method of family planning. This requires coordinated work at the international, as well as the national and local levels.
- Strengthen positions on reproductive oppression, exploitation, and visions and demands for reproductive justice through online forums for sharing organizational campaigns, struggles, demands and visions for justice. Encourage and raise the profile of community-driven and community-centered approaches to reproductive justice, the redistribution of reproductive labour, and the just distribution of wealth and power.
Regionally in North America, we focus on facilitating cross-border dialogues and contribute our perspectives, advocacy, and support to ongoing campaigns, movements, and other forms of resistance to policies and practices that threaten reproductive health, reproductive rights, and reproductive justice.
Globally, we seek to link and align with other partners, including PHM country circles and PHM global. We seek to strengthen the profile and support structures for bottom-up initiatives within PHM, and to use these to build additional relationships and collaborations with other partners.
Please contact the working group through Martha in Canada, and Meike in the US.
Links:
Safe Abortion: http://www.september28.org/
Reproductive Justice: http://sistersong.net/reproductive-justice/