Last month, as we marked the second anniversary of Roe v. Wade’s overturn, we faced a stark reality: while abortion rates are rising in California, access to essential care is increasingly restricted across the nation. Now, more than ever, Women’s Foundation California stands arm and arm with our partners and co-conspirators as a beacon of advocacy and action, collectively working to dismantle barriers and create a future where everyone thrives.
“Reproductive justice is the complete physical, mental, spiritual, political, economic, and social well-being of women and girls, based on the full achievement and protection of human rights.” Academic and activist Loretta J Ross’ words ring out as a reminder that this fight for reproductive justice is interwoven with our fight for collective liberation, for a future grounded in racial, economic, environmental, and gender justice. Over the past four decades, Women’s Foundation California has created a holistic approach that guides our work as we strive for a world where all have bodily autonomy, enabling them to make decisions about their bodies, families, and futures with dignity and respect.Â
Our vision for the feminist future is most powerful when it emerges from the circumstances we are experiencing right now. At a time marked by countless attacks on bodily autonomy and gender both in the U.S. and globally, we grow stronger and more steadfast, with hope and bold action:Â Â
We Amplify
We’re raising awareness through our communications. Our blog highlights issues like Arizona’s repeal of an outdated abortion law from the Civil War era, underscoring the urgency for California to strengthen its commitment to reproductive rights.
As we continue to talk, organize, and build power, it’s helpful to have a shared vocabulary. We’ve pulled together a series of working definitions in our Reproductive Justice Glossary, curated from our community.
On social media, we’re uplifting the voices of our grant partners and highlighting significant developments, like the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the abortion pill mifepristone.
We Mobilize
Our 2024 SolĂs Policy Institute teams have been working hard for months to craft legislation, secure authors, and are now moving their bills through the legislator. Although all of our policy work is intersectional, two of the four bills are deeply rooted in reproductive justice reform:
AB 2527: Incarceration: pregnant persons.
Ensures that incarcerated pregnant individuals in county detention facilities and state prisons have access to nutritious meals and clean, free water. It also seeks to prohibit the use of solitary confinement for pregnant individuals who are incarcerated.
AB 2490: Emergency reproductive health care services:
Establishes a pilot program to enhance the miscarriage, abortion, and pregnancy care women receive in Emergency Departments in California.
We Redistribute
We are resourcing and investing our trust in the leadership of Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian American, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women, as well as gender expansive people across the state, working at the forefront of the reproductive justice movement on behalf of their communities.
Our partners:
Our ability to seize this moment, as a community, as a state, as a movement, is intertwined with the power we’ve forged by supporting our reproductive justice grant partners and through the SolĂs Policy Institute. In this pivotal election year, we hope you’ll continue alongside us, collectively redistributing power, knowledge, and resources for the feminist future
