Visioning New Futures for Reproductive Justice Declaration 2023
This statement is authored by the undersigned individuals and organizations, and is the collective and shared work of all, crafted in a spirit of loving abundance.
Reproductive Justice leaders met January 20-22, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia, convened by SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. This summit took place on what would have been the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion—a decision that was overturned in 2022 leading to the loss of legal abortion in half the country. The group envisioned a new future for Reproductive Justice, which follows here.
We Declare:
We choose us. We invoke the spirit of our ancestors who cleared the path for us, the comrades who fight alongside us today, and those who will fight beyond us, who will become our greatest dreams.
We reclaim the demands of Reproductive Justice that our Black foremothers named nearly 30 years ago:
The human right to own our bodies and control our future
The human right to have children
The human right to not have children, and
The human right to parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.
We are still fighting for these rights to be real in our lives; we know things are not okay. We have a lot of work to do.
We need you to join our fight so we can make this dream a reality.
How do you know if this movement is for you?
If you've ever felt shamed during conversations about sex, sexuality, or pregnancy instead of receiving the support and information you desired — this movement is for you.
If you have ever had abortions, thought about having an abortion, supported someone having an abortion, loved someone who has had abortions – this movement is for you.
If you've ever felt targeted or criminalized for your labor, including doing sex work for pay — this movement is for you.
If you’re a parent, a mama, an auntie, an abuela, a transgender dad – this movement is for you.
If you love to have sex and pleasure with consent - this movement is for you.
If you are a man, cisgender, straight, queer or transgender, who is ready to move with us and trust Black Women — this movement is for you.
If you’ve survived state, sexual, interpersonal, or other violence, and exploitation – this movement is for you.
If you are a person of faith – this movement is for you.
If you are undocumented - this movement is for you.
If you are queer, transgender, nonbinary, or gender-expansive – this movement is for you.
If you are a young person if you are an elder, or anywhere in between - this movement is for you.
If you are a healthcare provider who supports all the tenets of reproductive justice – this movement is for you.
If you are disabled or have not had your accessibility needs met in your community or in a medical space - this movement is for you.
If you know, from experience, how important it is to be able to vote, feed our families, be paid a livable wage, drink safe water, and live in safe and affordable housing – this movement is for you.
The right to have kids (or not), to survive, and thrive is universal, and one of the basic building blocks of liberation. When we fight for reproductive justice – we show up for people who are harmed the most. Reproductive justice builds economic, social, and political power for our communities, even as we struggle in systems that were never meant for us to survive. This movement saves lives.
Many fundamental rights have been snatched away from us. This isn’t new–but it is getting worse. With the rise of white nationalism, people who want more white babies born and to control and end the lives of Black and Brown ones are using every tool in their arsenal to advance their hate.
The truth is, ending white supremacy and racism is going to be hard and messy. That’s exactly why we can’t run from the fight, especially since our opposition won’t stop. They will keep trying to break up our families, lock up our loved ones, and take us out in the streets. Too many of our beloved community, including Indigenous children and transgender women and femmes have been harmed, kidnapped, or killed by patriarchal or state violence.
We are fighting for an end to anti-Blackness, misogynoir, machismo, white supremacy, patriarchy and colonialism, capitalism, xenophobia, transphobia, harmful religious fundamentalism, and all other systems of oppression that are the foundational harms of this country and much of the world.
We need to keep our communities safe against the rising tide of hate and violence. We need to join in a global uprising for global liberation.
Our Vision and What We Are Fighting For
We are dreaming ourselves into the future, fighting like revolutionaries.
Our vision is a future rooted in human dignity and worth, bodily autonomy, joy, love, and rest.
Reproductive justice is our framework, intersectionality is our lens, and liberation is the goal.
Reproductive justice leads to futures we do not yet know but dare to imagine:
Liberation is giving the land back to Indigenous people who stewarded and protected it for generations before colonization, and who live on it today.
Liberation is having what you need to keep your kids, care for your kids, and keep your family safe and together.
Liberation is being able to have healthy and supported pregnancy options, and prenatal, birth, and postpartum care. This is birth justice.
Liberation is choosing your family, and being able to care for yourself and your community.
Liberation is an end to police, prisons, family surveillance, and detention centers which are designed to harm Black and Brown bodies and break up our families.
Liberation is building communities where we all feel safe, able to experience joy, and live together with our loved ones.
Liberation is ending the war on drugs and providing physical and mental health care, help and support for everyone who needs it.
Liberation is reparations.
Liberation is abortion care for any person who needs it.
Liberation is sexual consent, pleasure, and joy.
We will not be silenced. We will take up all the space we need. We will lead with love. We will reclaim our power for ourselves, our beautiful families, our children, and the generations to come.
Ready to learn more?
Where did Reproductive Justice come from?
Who We Are: The Reproductive Justice Movement in 2023.
We are the ones we have been waiting for. We invite you to join us!
