March 17, 2007
Comm 201
Contemporary Issues Paper

Women of Color and
Reproductive Rights

If it were up to me, I would describe a contemporary issue as a problem that has the potential to affect a vast majority of people throughout the same period of time. Being a young Black woman in the beginning stages of a new century and era, I have found that it is extremely important that I know everything that has to do with my health and my reproductive rights. As a little girl growing up, I can remember that I always had a fear of doctors; I always associated doctors with shots and needles. As I became older, my mother taught me that it was my responsibility to know all there was to know about my body and how make sure I stayed healthy. When I reached a certain age, my mother told me that it was time for me to make an appointment with a gynecologist and have my first pap smear. In the beginning, I was absolutely mortified at the thought of being invaded at such a personal level. When I explained my fears and apprehension to my mother, she explained that it was my responsibility to do any and everything in my power to make sure I was healthy, even if it meant being uncomfortable for a few minutes. She finally suggested that I do a little research to learn why I needed to go through such a procedure. When I learned of the benefits, I realized that I was gaining a sense of duty for myself in knowing the details of my reproductive health. I later realized that because I had the chance to pursue a higher education, I was fortunate enough to have the CHOICE of getting proper health care; many other women (minority women) from my neighborhood do not. When the concept of reproductive education is explored, many people become shy when faced with this topic. I believe that it is important that people acknowledge and embrace the fact that reproductive education (primarily in regards to women of color) is an important issue in our society today. When faced with this issue, I believe that it is important to focus on the factors that hinder women of color from obtaining preventive health care. Such ideas could be: lack of access to health care providers, differences in healthy behaviors (i.e. dieting, smoking, exercising), socioeconomic status, and many other environmental factors. Mental health problems also play a substantial role in how women of color lead healthy/unhealthy lives. The American Journal of Health Studies explained it best by stating: Oppression, depression substance abuse, physical and sexual abuse, poor education, lack of availability of services and income are all interrelated to racial, gender and economic inequalities that specifically limit the potential of women of color to live healthy and fulfilled lives. The salient issues are not the diseases that affect women of color, but the poverty, homelessness, inadequate health care, and the denial of human rights that are the root causes of many of these problems (American Journal of Health Studies, pg. 79).
It can also be assumed that the Human Rights Movement neglected the rights of women of color from its agenda. The time for the development and the appliance of human rights standards to reproductive health education and services for women of color is NOW. During the early 20th century, women (primarily women of color) were offered or denied poor access to birth control, sterilization and abortion. Women were often forced to negotiate with their physicians, as well as their health care providers and welfare officials when they attempted to control their bodies and reproductive health. Johanna Schoen explained: Sexual, class, and racial conflicts shaped many of the negotiations that took place in regards to a woman’s reproductive control. A woman’s ability to control her sexuality and the terms and conditions of motherhood continues to stand at the center of debates regarding birth control, sterilization and abortion. Class and race background determined whether women had access to reproductive health care… Black nationalists frequently voiced suspicions that birth control for African American was equivalent to race genocide (Choice and Coercion, 2005).
This explained how race and class were both significant factors in how women of color were treated and discriminated against in terms of their reproductive health. There were many women who did not have access to birth control and who could not afford proper abortions. Many of these women were forced to take drastic actions in trying to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Many women had illegal abortions (many of which resulted in death); some women abandoned their babies after birth, etc. Schoen later explained that the state of North Carolina was one of thirty states in this country to pass sterilization laws inspired by the science of Eugenics. On an international level, the U.S. had a large influence on reproductive health policies. When Americans began to fear that immigration and lack of birth control in immigrant communities would threaten native-born whites, sterilization was the solution to this problem. One such group of women that suffered from this injustice was Native American women. Sterilization has a surprisingly long history of abuse in the United States. Many poor women and women of color were refused medical care unless they agreed to be sterilized. During the 1970s, Native American women were compelled to endure forced sterilization procedures. According to www.ratical.org, Native American women were sterilized without knowing what was being done to them. Girls as young as fifteen were told that they were having their tonsils removed, when they were actually having their ovaries removed. Such procedures were done without consent. The “consent” was never in the women’s language and was almost always followed by threats of death or loss of welfare benefits. In order for these women to know that they are not alone in their struggle for reproductive rights, it important that they know that there are several organizations that specialize in reproductive rights for women. Another group of women that was sterilized were Puerto Rican women. Taking place in the 1980s, the sterilization of Puerto Rican women in New York City, Puerto Rican women have the highest rate of sterilization on the world. During this particular time, Hispanic women had a sterilization rate that was seven times that of White women and two times that of Black women. The sterilization of the particular group of women suggested that there was an underlying reinforcing method that influenced the need for population control; thereby, the need for forced sterilization. It also affected the attitudes and perceptions of these women primarily because they were poor and in many cases, lived in impoverished conditions. As a result of these women not having proper access to birth control options, lack of reproductive education and were unemployed, reinforced the idea that sterilization was not only needed but in many cases, it was necessary. What is not known is that the sterilization of Puerto Rican women was made systematically available as early as the year 1937; it was thought to be an acceptable form of birth control. This inhumane practice gave medical practitioners simple, inexpensive, and permanent solutions to what was once perceived as the problem of the Puerto Rican women’s fertility. The opinion of the sterilization among Puerto Rican women in New York City perpetuated the idea of a population policy and the theory that a population that grows unchecked will inevitably outpace its means of subsistence. Another aspect of this issue that is rarely addressed is the fact that as a community, the idea of reproductive rights for women is more than pro-choice vs. pro-life. When approached with this issue, many people automatically assume that just because women want reproductive rights, we automatically are vying for abortion or the opposite. The idea of pro-life vs. pro-choice phenomena for understanding the concept of reproductive rights has in many ways marginalized women of color, poor women, women with disabilities, etc. Andrea Smith made a valid point when she explained the following: The pro-life vs. pro-choice paradigm serves to both rectify and mask the structures of white supremacy and capitalism that undergrid the reproductive choices that women of color take. While both camps of the pro-choice and pro-life debate give lip service to addressing the concerns of women of color, in the end, the manner in which both articulate the issues at stake contributes to their support of political positions that are racist and sexist and which do nothing to support either life or real choice of women of color (NWSA Journal, pg. 119). An extremely important idea that is rarely addressed is the fact that there are organizations and institutions that specialize in issues such as these. What women fail to realize it that hope is not lost in terms of their rights. There are many people in our society who want to put and end to the injustices and intolerable institutions that are placed on women, their bodies, and their reproductive rights. The National Black Women’s Health Project is an organization that was founded in 1983 by women’s health activist, Byllye Avery, and is solely devoted to the health of an estimated 19 million Black women and young girls across the country. This organization projects that the state of Black women’s health throughout this country is despicable. Black women are at the bottom of just about every health index when compared to that of other women. Many Black women are dying too young and needlessly from preventable conditions. Avery stated that: ..the death rate from the most natural human female biological events, like pregnancy and childbirth, is four times higher for Black women that for the general population—the mortality rates for Black women has not changed in 30 years. HIV/AIDS is now a leading cause of death among Black women in their reproductive primes. ..the building if a solid foundation and extensive national reach to intensify efforts to eradicate the race-gender health gap that has devastated Black women is long over due (American Journal of Public Health, pg. 573).
It is extremely important that women know that although there are certain obstacles that are standing in their way of learning about their health as well as their reproductive rights, there are organizations that are just for them that aids in education and awareness. SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective is another organization that was formed primarily in order to educate women of color about the numerous options that are offered to them. It was initially formed in 1997 and was funded by the Ford Foundation to educate women of color as well as the policy makers on reproductive and sexual health and rights. Sistersong also works towards the access of health services, information and resources that are culturally and linguistically appropriate. According to the NWSA Journal, the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective conference is the largest gathering of women of color working on reproductive health issues in U.S. history. Roberts, Ross and Kuumba conveyed the fact that “the neglect of women of color has weakened the pro-choice movement and has in fact, contributed to the incessant attacks on reproductive rights that largely target the most vulnerable women; women of color” (pg. 95). They later went on to explain that: Women of color bear the brunt of punitive legislations such as the Hyde Amendment (which restricts the government from funding for abortions and birth control options for poor women, women in the military and women on Native American reservations), and Welfare Reform (which imposes limitations on family size, college education, and financial assistance) (pg. 96). It is important to know that the regulations of reproduction and the exploitation of women’s bodies is a result of the various structures of oppression based on race, class, gender, immigration status, etc. It must be recognized that there is a serious need for change; a change on the individual level, the communicative level and on an institutional level. If these changes were to take place, there is a strong possibility that there could be an end to all forms of oppression; including the forces that deprive women of their very determination to have control over their bodies and to eradicate the limitations that have been placed upon their reproductive choices.

Works Cited

Roberts, L., Ross, L., Kuumba, M. (2005). The Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights of Women of Color: Still Building a Movement. NWSA Journal, 17(1), pg. 93-98.
Ross, L.J., Brownlee, S. L. (2001). The SisterSong Collective: Women of color, reproductive health and human rights. American Journal of Health Studies, 17(2), pg. 79-88.
Schoen, J. (2005). Choice and Coercion: Birth Control, Sterilization, and Abortion in Public Health and Welfare. University of Carolina Press.
Smith, A. (2005). Beyond Pro-Choice versus Pro-Life: Women of color and reproductive justice. NWSA Journal, 17(1), pg. 119-140.
Solinger, R. (2005). Undivided Rights: Women of color organize for reproductive justice. NWSA Journal, 17(1), pg. 239-241.
Retrieved March 17, 2007. www.ratical.org