Reproductive Justice and New Jersey

This blog will focus on reproductive justice issues in the state of New Jersey, and beyond. The term reproductive justice was coined by women of color, specifically the amazing women from SisterSong. The term is meant to be an expansion of the reproductive rights paradigm which focuses on the issues of birth control and abortion rights.
Reproductive Justice uses the experiences of women of color as the point of entry to discuss issues of reproductive rights and health. This shift in center more clearly puts into focus the ways that the interrelated systems of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation work to limit women's ability to gain and maintain control of their reproductive lives.
The reproductive justice framework facilitates a more nuanced discussion of issues such as access to abortion, health care, birthing, the right to reproductive health, eugenics, population control, and the many reproductive technologies that exist. I have great respect for the women who claimed the term Reproductive Justice and use it with care, especially as a white woman who has worked hard to understand the ways white privilege has affected her life and choices.

I look forward to an open dialogue about important issues in our community, and welcome comments both critical and affirming.


Friday, November 12, 2010

American Public Health Association Releases Policy on Abortion Coverage

From Lois Uttley, MergerWatch/Raising Women’s Voices


On November 9, the  American Public Health Association's (APHA), Governing Council adopted a strong policy, "Protecting Abortion Coverage in Health Reform." it calls on the President and Congress to reject any legislative proposals to further restrict or eliminate abortion coverage in health reform. Instead, it urges the President and HHS to avoid establishing administrative roadblocks to insurers' ability to cover abortion and urges Governors and state legislatures to allow abortion coverage in the state insurance exchanges that will open in 2014. Further, it calls for the repeal of the Hyde amendment so that abortion can be covered in both public and private insurance programs under the Affordable Care Act.

The American Public Health Association voted to call on the President and Congress to improve abortion coverage in health reform, not further restrict or eliminate it, as incoming leaders of the House of Representatives have proposed.

At the APHA's annual meeting of more than 12,000 public health professionals and researchers, taking place this week in Denver, the organization's Governing Council adopted a new policy, "Protecting Abortion Coverage in Health Reform." The policy reviews the public health literature supporting the need for comprehensive reproductive health care, including access to abortion, as a foundation for a "well woman" standard of care across the lifespan. The organization's new policy then states:

"APHA takes the position that current restrictions on use of federal funds for abortion coverage in the Medicaid program and other federally-funded health insurance programs are unjust and effectively deny access to legal abortion services to the country’s most vulnerable women. Extending that kind of restricted coverage to millions more American women through health reform is contrary to the goals of health reform and squanders an important opportunity to improve the lives and health of low-income women and the families that depend on them."
Posted by Mandy Restivo at 6:26 AM

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