This course was taken in Fall 2020 with Dr. Hannah Dudley-Shotwell. During this course, I learned about the definition and history of reproductive justice, and what these things mean for myself and others. In order to help us understand the definition of reproductive justice (RJ), which is oftentimes misconstrued, Dr. Dudley-Shotwell taught us the three pillars of RJ: the right to have a child, the right not to have a child, and the right to raise that child in a safe and healthy environment. These three pillars showed up frequently throughout this course, including when we learned about the history of RJ, specifically the reproductive injustices of indigenous and african american women throughout the United States’ history, and how this still affects people in these communities today.

Before taking this course, like many of my classmates, I assumed that RJ only referred to things like abortion. While abortion is included in the topic of reproductive justice, there are so many other things that it covers. I was very fortunate to have Dr. Dudley-Shotwell teach me this. By learning about the many reproductive injustices faced by people today, I have become an even bigger advocate for RJ for everyone.

The artifact I have chosen is the podcast I made about how the lack in quality of sex education in schools affects reproductive justice. By not properly educating students, teen pregnancies, specifically in black and hispanic students, occur, infringing on their reproductive right not to have a child. For this project, I had the opportunity to interview someone who’s opinion differed from mine. Not only did this interview prepare me for future interviews I will need to conduct, but it has also reminded me to be respectful of everyone’s opinion, even if they differ from mine.