Birth Justice Framework

Birth Justice recognizes that all peoples can birth and be parents; People of color, immigrant peoples, and LGBTQ+ communities in particular have survived a history of trauma and oppression around our decisions to have and not have babies. We know that when we, mothers and parents, are empowered, our community is transformed. If we bring our babies into the world, with justice, in the natural way, without anyone telling us how to do it, then it nurtures our innate power as mothers and parents to create a free world for our children to play and learn and grow.

Birth Justice includes access to health care during the childbearing year that is holistic, humanistic, and culturally centered. This health care is across the pregnancy spectrum including: abortion, miscarriage, prenatal, birth, and postpartum care. Birth Justice includes the right to choose whether or not to carry a pregnancy, to choose when, where how, and with whom to birth, including access to traditional and indigenous healers, such as midwives and other birth workers, and the right to breastfeeding support. The complete range of pregnancy, labor, and birth options should be available to everyone as an integral part of reproductive justice. These are our rights as mothers and parents.