WOMEN’S FOUNDATION CALIFORNIA REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE ONE PAGER
Reproductive Justice (RJ) encompasses not just pregnancy and birth (and, of course, the power to plan and continue or terminate a pregnancy), but recognizes the intersections between housing, schools, financial security, and building safe and thriving communities for our families. Yes, abortion is a part of it and reproductive justice organizing blends bodily autonomy with economic, environmental, racial, and gender justice. SisterSong, a leader in the Reproductive Justice movement, defines RJ as, “the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.”
Our Story
Women’s Foundation California is a gender justice leader with a 42-year history supporting decades of reproductive justice organizing led by Black, Latinx, and AAPI women and gender expansive folks across our state. We have partnered with our Governor and Legislature in protecting bodily autonomy and supporting reproductive justice through our investments now and for generations to come.
Together, we are co-creating California’s reproductive justice future by moving money and building power. Our ability to meet this moment, as a community, as a state, as a movement, is inextricably linked to the power we’ve built together through our Solís Policy Institute (SPI) championing over 50 bills into intersectional feminist law building health, safety, and prosperity for all of us.
Our Message
- Current attacks on Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice (RHRJ) in the United States are part of the broader assault on democratic norms, civic engagement, and civil rights. California has a critical role to play as a reproductive freedom state in a post-Roe world. Across our forty year history, WFC supported reproductive justice policy and abortion care in our state and taken our lead from women, especially Black, Indigenous, AAPI, and women of color. We are investing now and for the long haul to support organizations, networks, and infrastructure building bodily autonomy in California and beyond.
- Through our Solís Policy Institute: We’ve built up a 20 year pipeline of leadership and policy that is driven by repro justice and reshaping California’s policy landscape. We’ve trained women, women of color and gender expansive community leaders who are shaping the legislative landscape of reproductive justice in California.
- Reproductive justice is not just about abortion but recognizes the intersections in our lives that includes alternative birth options, adequate prenatal and pregnancy care, domestic violence assistance, living wages to support our families, affordable housing schooling, and building safe and thriving communities for our families and so much more.
- Although many people talk about reproductive health as a “women’s issue,” many LGBTQ people—including lesbian and bisexual women, transgender men, two-spirit, intersex, nonbinary and gender non-conforming individuals—can get pregnant, use birth control, have abortions, carry pregnancies, and become parents.
Our Action
- Women’s Foundation California invests in Black, Indigenous, and Latinx women who are on the frontlines of the intersectional reproductive justice movement. Alongside them, we can and will build what comes next. Their leadership embodies our work together as radical intersectional feminists.
- You can take action today to support the infrastructure building bodily autonomy in California and beyond. Here’s a list of some of our phenomenal BIPOC-led reproductive justice organizations and partners.
- Partner with our community for the long term for more victories like Prop 1 and writing the next chapter of California’s reproductive justice story. Centering and lifting BIPOC leadership is changing the legal and cultural landscape of California.
Our People...
The Black, Indigenous, AAPI, and Latinx women and gender expansive folks who are the vanguard of our reproductive justice movement are, by and large, alums of the SPI program. This small sample of victories highlights the intersectionality of our reproductive justice approach that blends bodily autonomy with economic, environmental, and racial justice. These real successes have shifted peoples’ lived experiences and shaped feminist laws in CA.
- Our SPI Fellows:
Passed SB 24, which ensured abortion access on state college campuses off the ground and across the finish line. - National Leaders:
Nationally, there is Lupe Rodriguez at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, Parker Dockray at All Options, and Rocio Cordóba at FRE.
& Stories
- Local Champions:
Here in California, we’ve got Nakia Woods at the helm of the California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom, and Lorena Garcia-Zermeño at California Latinas for Reproductive Justice who led the charge for reparations for survivors of forced and coerced sterilizations. There are Adjoa Jones and Diamond Lee securing doulas for birthing people in LA county. - Black Women:
At the forefront of the intersectional reproductive justice movement and at the helm of thought leadership moving our state forward on issues that matter to everyone. Black Women for Wellness: A Case for Supporting Black-led Reproductive Justice.
The Numbers:
- Only 21% or $361 million was explicitly designated for abortion rights and services in the last 5 years.
- 1.9% of all philanthropic dollars go to women and girls, a fraction of that to reproductive justice.
OUR LEGISLATIVE WINS
The impact of our Solís Policy Institute fellows can be seen in the tangible changes they’ve brought about in people’s lives through the creation of feminist laws in California.
SB24 (The College Student Right to Access Act) was signed into law on October 11, 2019
Author: Senator Connie Leyva
Made California the first state to mandate that all student health centers at all 34 public universities and colleges offer abortion medication.
A deeply racist, classist, and discriminatory law, the Maximum Family Grant Rule denied basic assistance to any child born into a family already receiving CALWORKS. In other words, penalizing poor families for having children.
The California Momnibus Act was signed into law on October 4, 2021
Author: Senator Nancy Skinner
The passage of the Momnibus bill keeps Black, Indigenous women, and gender expansive folks of color in California healthy while they birth and parent and provides long overdue resources to close racial, economic, and gender health gaps. The law provides birthing options like doulas, expands access to midwives, extends Medi-Cal care, and provides cash aid to low-income pregnant people.
Assembly Bill 2785 was signed into law on September 30, 2018
Author: Assemblymember Blanca Rubio
Requires California Community Colleges and California State Universities to provide lactation accommodations to student parents.
Assembly Bill 2695 was signed into law on September 26, 2006
Author: Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg
Strengthens protections from physical assault for frontline workers dealing with domestic violence, reproductive rights, and human rights. The bill permits employers to obtain protective orders for the entire worksite when an individual or a group of employees experiences violence or a credible threat of violence in the workplace.
Our Future
- Women’s Foundation California is proud to support the work of The California Future of Abortion Council (CA FAB Council), comprised of more than 40 organizations across California. A new report highlights key policy recommendations state leaders and lawmakers can take to increase access to safe, equitable, and affordable abortion.
- California is building the future of abortion and reproductive justice. We must resource it accordingly.