What is Reproductive Justice?
Reproductive Justice is a human rights–based framework that asserts every person’s right to maintain bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children they have in safe and sustainable communities. The term Reproductive Justice was coined in 1994 by a collective of Black women activists following the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo. After witnessing how mainstream reproductive rights movements often centered white, middle-class women’s experiences, these activists—many affiliated with groups like Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice and later SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective—articulated a framework that merged reproductive rights with social justice. Learn more at SisterSong. 

What is Birth Justice?
Birth Justice builds on the foundation of Reproductive Justice, focusing specifically on the conditions surrounding pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care. It affirms every birthing person’s right to choose where, how, and with whom they give birth, to receive respectful, culturally grounded care, and to be free from obstetric racism, coercion, and violence. The Birth Justice movement arose in the early 2000s, largely led by Black, Indigenous, and other women of color birthworkers, midwives, and community organizers who recognized that mainstream maternal health efforts were failing to address racism and disrespect in maternity care. Influenced by the Reproductive Justice framework, the Birth Justice movement explicitly connects the medicalization of childbirth, the erasure of traditional birth practices, and the systemic mistreatment of Black birthing people to broader histories of racial oppression and reproductive control. Learn more with Black Women Birthing Justice and Black Mamas Matter Alliance.