Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell was in the Pioneer Valley this week, bringing together experts, advocates and residents to discuss reproductive justice.
The “Reproductive Justice Convening” was hosted by Western New England University Tuesday.
Since the Democrat took office in 2023, Campbell has prioritized reproductive justice – a social justice-minded movement centering around reproductive rights and healthcare.
Her office unveiled a new “Reproductive Justice Unit” last year to focus on quote “expanding and protecting access to reproductive and gender affirming care, addressing disparities in maternal health.”
Speaking to a room full of experts and academics at the university’s law center, Campbell called for feedback on the unit – as well as discussions on what her office can be doing on a state and federal level.
“In order to be successful - this RJ unit – to be successful in making sure everyone has access to this critical health care, and that they know what their rights are in real-time, and that we're supporting community-based efforts on the ground - we need your thoughts, your ideas, we need to continually be in relationship with you,” Campbell said.
Unit director Sapna Khatri noted that while the it's currently a team of one, there are plans to add staff soon, including a legal fellow.
As for the discussions – roundtable talks as well as breakout sessions were closed to the press.
Scheduled to take part were experts that ranged from local community organizers to an official with the Department of Public Health’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Program, to healthcare experts in prenatal care and midwifery.
The event spanned the afternoon and led up to an hour-long “fireside chat” between Campbell and one of the key voices in the reproductive justice movement – activist and Smith College professor Loretta Ross.
The two discussed Ross’s childhood - including the sexual trauma she suffered, the child she had as a teen in 1969 after being barred from legal abortion, and the sterilization she suffered from a defective Dalkon Shield IUD.
“Every time I thought I could ignore my plumbing, it kept coming back up, and so - that sterilization was my final alarm clock, because what had happened to me, with the childhood sexual abuse, the denial of reproductive autonomy, and then to get sterilized on top of that? I was pissed off, and that's why I became a feminist,” Ross said.
That, and the discrimination she experienced as both a Black woman and mother – all factors in her decision to commit to advocacy and feminist activism.
Ross was among a group of Black women she credits with creating the idea of reproductive justice's framework during a 1994 conference in Chicago organized by the Illinois Pro-Choice Alliance.
It focuses on the right to have or not to have a child, in addition to the rights of a parent to safely raise a child and came about after Ross and others were asked to endorse a proposed healthcare plan the Clinton administration was touting – one she says lacked reproductive healthcare in a bid to solicit bipartisan support.
“Why would you come to a feminist conference and ask us to endorse a basic, male-centered health care plan?” she asked. “Because reproductive health care is the main reason women go to the doctor - you omit that, we're like, ‘what are we looking for, prostate care?’”
The healthcare plan ultimately failed, but the movement continued, evolving with time and leading to organizations such as SisterSong – an activism group Ross would work with for years, including as a national coordinator.
The cause has also gone on to become more encompassing, Ross says, with a focus on inclusivity and rights to bodily autonomy.
“The beauty of reproductive justice is - infinite adaptability,” Ross explained. “Because when indigenous people use it, they're talking about sovereignty. When immigrants use it, they're talking about citizenship, right? When environmentalists use it, they're talking about our human right to clean air, potable water – so, it's like an open-source code that you can adapt to whatever your particular situation is.”
Campbell asked Ross what advocates for reproductive justice should focus on following the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, which effectively ended constitutional protections for abortion.
The longtime activist says while a timetable might not be clear, she believes time is on the side of advocates.
