Keeping All Families Together Is An RJ Issue
The recent and mainstream reproductive rights conversation in the United States has been narrowly limited to the discussion of reproductive “choice” and abortion access. However, the media and legislative attention on the topic of abortion fail to convey all the issues encompassed by reproductive justice. While abortion and “choice” are extremely important topics for individuals with the ability to become pregnant, only looking at abortion access restricts conversation about another significant aspect of reproductive justice: the right to family life. The right to family life, which can be loosely defined as the right of an individual to have and keep a family, is included across various pieces of international law, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If you can’t have your family recognized, have or parent your children,… Read more »
Religion and Reproductive Justice
I grew up in a family of Baptists, which in my experience meant gambling was wrong except for when my family did it. I heard a joke once about Baptists: that the only place they don’t recognize each other is in the liquor store. And in the case of birth control, that too came to be an odd beast in the home. I know enough about my parents’ sex lives to fill a small, uncomfortable book. I know enough about other people’s sex lives to fill a weighty tome. And as far as I can tell, most of the people I know who have sex use birth control when they can get it, even when they claim to be against its use. I have friends who choose not to buy… Read more »
