🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
As we reflect on the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, we are witnessing volatile attacks on reproductive health care that disproportionately impact Black women, girls, and gender-expansive people. Supreme Court decisions from the overturning of Roe v. Wade, to the recent non-ruling on protections for emergency abortion care in Idaho have led to an unprecedented crisis where major pockets of the country have become the most dangerous places in the world for Black people to become pregnant. Statewide and federal efforts to deny our communities access to life-saving care and the ability to make our own sexual and reproductive health decisions threaten our fundamental civil rights. And the strategy needed to end this crisis and promote Black women's health and bodily autonomy require much more than restoring the legality of abortion.
Black women are about three times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than white women, and risks of poor outcomes are higher in states that have banned abortion. There are countless stories of Black women who have faced dire pregnancy-related complications, from Krystal Anderson in Kansas, to Crystale Galloway in Florida and Christine Fields in New York. These tragedies underscore the glaring differences driving maternal health inequities, including financial barriers to accessing care and bias that has fueled discrediting our lived experiences and not taking our health concerns seriously.
Given that pregnancy has long been riskier for Black women, girls, and gender-expansive people, being able to make one's own decisions about pregnancy and childbirth is a matter of life and death. In recent polling commissioned by In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda and conducted by PerryUndem, Black maternal health is an important issue for more than 50 percent of both Black women and men. About 40 percent of Black women of reproductive age said they feel less safe, think more about the risk of death if they become pregnant, have considered moving to states with access to full reproductive care, are unsure whether or not they will even have children, and have thought about being arrested due to abortion bans and restrictions.
Our poll also found more Black voters than ever plan to support candidates who will commit to policies advancing economic freedom and reproductive justice. The cost of living along with efforts to fight racism and save democracy are also influencing how we decide to cast our votes. The reality for Black people is that full freedom over our reproductive futures requires much more than laws protecting abortion access. With the federal right to abortion access now demolished, and a Supreme Court that refuses to affirm protections even in cases of medical emergency, we must go beyond the fight for legality. An inclusive vision for reproductive justice cannot be advanced without well-paying jobs, equal pay, voting rights, affordable and accessible health care, quality education, fair housing, safe communities, comprehensive sex education, and the ability to restore and build wealth. We need comprehensive policies that encompass all of this.
Politicians have historically leaned on Black voters to push candidates most closely aligned with our interests across the finish line. Time and time again, we've shown up to the polls despite federal and statewide voter suppression efforts. Now, we need those politicians to show up for us. Black women are one of the most critical voting blocs, but we cannot carry this weight alone. We need everyone to prioritize reproductive justice at the ballot box this year and beyond.
Lawmakers must understand that extremist attacks on our civil rights and freedoms are directly tied to the fight for reproductive justice. Personal autonomy—a pillar of democracy—is a major factor in how Black voters are planning to show up at the polls. We are calling for equitable access to resources that support the full achievement and protection of our human rights so we can do more than survive, but thrive.
Access to quality health care is a civil right that should not be debated by a handful of judges. That is why all of us must show up to the ballot box this November—to show our power and emerge as a strong and expansive movement. When a critical mass votes to enshrine holistic reproductive justice policies, we can achieve better outcomes not just for Black women, but for all Americans. True liberation requires a bold vision for reproductive justice—and in this case it means that we—not politicians or judges—get to make decisions about our bodies.
Regina Davis Moss is president and CEO of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda and the In Our Own Voice Action Fund, and author of Black Women's Reproductive Health and Sexuality: A Holistic Public Health Approach.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
