Anchorage Daily News

For many people, "pro-choice" includes the right to choose parenting, the right to choose abortion and everything in between. In the public debate, though, pro-choice has often been characterized by opponents as pro-abortion. Though inaccurate, this diverted attention from all the issues surrounding pregnancy and led to a polarized debate focused solely on abortion rights.

As a result, the pro-choice movement has not stopped the continual attack on women's rights. Pro-choice advocates worked in one group, health care access advocates in another, anti-domestic violence advocates in another, breastfeeding advocates in another and so on. As advocates they worked separately, but in reality women are experiencing all of the issues together.

The movement needed to change to more accurately reflect the experience of women, to be more inclusive and to incorporate the experience of women of color. The reproductive justice movement emerged.

Our group has evolved too. The Alaska Pro-Choice Alliance has organized under a new name, Alliance for Reproductive Justice.

What is reproductive justice and why is a new approach necessary?

Advocates with Sister Song, a national organization leading the reproductive justice movement, state "one of the weaknesses of the 'pro-choice' strategy has been the collective failure to understand the intersections between race, class, gender, immigration status, sexual orientation, sovereignty issues, and the criminal justice system in limiting reproductive rights."

"Reproductive justice" recognizes reproductive rights as basic human rights. It includes abortion rights and also includes those who want to have children and related issues, such as access to reproductive health care, environmental health, family friendly employment policies and supportive communities and laws.

The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health describes the principles of reproductive justice this way:

"Everyone, regardless of race, age, ability, national origin, socio-economic status, sexuality or gender identity and expression has equal rights and access to reproductive health services; everyone should be able to make informed decisions about whether or not to have children; and we must work to dismantle discriminatory, coercive, punitive, or otherwise disempowering policies that limit reproductive health access."

Consider the experience of women in Alaska. Many live in communities with limited access to reproductive health care. Many more cannot afford health care and are uninsured or underinsured. Year after year there is legislation to put restrictions on women's access to abortion. Year after year there is legislation to cut Denali KidCare and other safety net programs. We have some of the highest rates of sexual assault and domestic violence in the country. Any one or all of these can affect a woman in her decision regarding a pregnancy or parenting. The reproductive justice approach allows us to consider these things together.

The issues surrounding sexuality and reproduction are not new. They transcend political boundaries, leadership regimes and time. Historian John Riddle, in his book "Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West," found that women in ancient times had access to information on abortion and fertility. Women in those times used herbs to terminate a pregnancy and to promote fertility.

So we've been having this conversation for a very long time. These issues will not go away. As we move forward, I hope the reproductive justice model offers a new path and, hopefully, one that will lead to more collaboration between advocates and healthier women, children, families and communities.

Geran Tarr is director of Alliance for Reproductive Justice, www.arjalaska.org.

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