Historical Contemporary

At the start of this course I viewed reproductive justice as the Pro-choice versus Pro-life debate. My understanding of Reproductive Justice has evolved since I started this course to begin to understand the framework that started this human rights movement. Reproductive Justice has three main components that includes the right not to have children, the right to have children, and the right to parent children in a safe and healthy environment. Reproductive Justice is a framework for activism and thinking about the experience of reproduction. Also, this course is starting to help me better understand the barriers that have prevented these reproductive rights throughout history such as laws against contraception, social pressure to have children, lack of access to health care, male dominated medical field, lack of educational literature, and criminalization of abortions. My Understanding of Reproductive Justice has changed because of a better understanding of inequality for minority women in the health care system. Also, women have been denied sexual autonomy and gender freedom for decades. A male dominated health profession has led to a loss of traditions, women-centered knowledge, experience, and discredited midwives. However, women have found ways to avoid conception, space births, and used different methods of birth control.