For the PDF version of this fact sheet with footnotes, see below.
The Reproductive Justice (RJ) movement places reproductive health and rights within a social justice framework. The movement supports the right of individuals to have the children they want, raise the children they have, and plan their families through safe, legal access to abortion and contraception. The movement also supports the right to express one’s sexuality without oppression. In order to make these rights a reality, the movement recognizes that RJ will only be achieved when all people have the economic, social, and political power to make healthy decisions about their bodies, sexuality, and reproduction.
LGBT rights refer to the rights of sexual minorities. Included in this group are people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and/or Transgender. Like RJ, the LGBT rights movement emphasizes a person’s right to control their own reproductive destiny as well as the freedom and legitimacy of sexual activity without reproduction as a desired outcome. By advancing RJ, you are working towards creating a society that fully recognizes and respects the reproductive and sexual rights of all.
Reproductive justice demands inclusive education and services from schools and health care providers to protect the health and wellbeing of LGBT individuals.
LGBT sexuality has historically been excluded from important health related discussions, especially sexual education discussions. The absence of such education is detrimental to the reproductive health of LGBT youth. For example, the number of HIV/AIDS cases has increased among gay adolescents, especially among black males. Surprisingly, several studies show that the rate of LGB teen pregnancy is higher than teen pregnancy among heterosexuals. Only twelve states require a discussion about sexual orientation in sexual education courses, and three of these twelve states only require negative information about non-heterosexual sexual orientation. These limitations on sexual education not only stigmatize LGBT youth, but also endanger their sexual health and reproductive lives.
The sexual and reproductive health of the LGBT community is equally impaired by disparate access to high quality, culturally competent health care services. A recent survey revealed that medical students received only five hours of LGBT health training. In a third of medical schools, no LGBT training was provided. In addition to the lack of LGBT inclusive training for medical providers, there is little research on the unique health problems LGBT individuals face. Given the lack of knowledge of those providing health care services to LGBT patients, and the general lack of accessible information, many LGBT individuals obtain no information, and sometimes misinformation, about maintaining their sexual and reproductive health.
Be it through voluntary or forced sexual contact with men, queer women too are at risk for pregnancy and need the protections that RJ provides.
Unplanned pregnancies and STDs do not just affect heterosexual women. Not all women in the LGBT community engage in only same-sex intercourse. Many queer identified women also have sex with both men and women, sometimes without using protection. Such voluntary encounters can and do lead to unintended pregnancies and the spread of STDs.
In addition to these voluntary sexual encounters, queer women are subjected to a higher rate of forced sexual encounters with men. Some studies suggest that as many as forty-three percent of lesbians report being victims of sexual assault. A significant portion of these sexual assaults are motivated by hostility towards the victim’s sexual orientation and the knowledge that queer women are a vulnerable segment of society.
Whether through voluntary or forced sexual contact, RJ seeks to ensure that women have the resources and support to determine what is best for their lives; be it access to contraception (including emergency contraception), safe and legal abortion, or prenatal care and the full range of birthing options should women choose to carry their pregnancies to term.
Reproductive justice is essential to the full recognition of LGBT people’s right to raise their children and build their families.
RJ emphasizes the right of everyone to build their families in the ways they choose. Encompassed in this right is equal access to fertility services. LGBT people are routinely denied access to reproductive technologies. Infertility treatment centers can and do discriminate against LGBT couples. Insurance companies also deny lesbians access to fertility services even when their plan covers such services. Even in states where insurance companies are required to cover infertility services, women sometimes only qualify for coverage if they use their “spouse’s sperm” to fertilize their egg.
LGBT people who want to build their families through adoption have faced discrimination by adoption agencies, solely because of their sexual orientation. Further, LGBT parents that wish to solidify their family ties through second parent adoption –which allows a second parent to adopt a child without the first parent losing any parental rights – are also met with discrimination. Currently, only about half of states allow second parent adoptions, meaning that many LGBT couples are denied the right to fully co-parent their children. These legal obstacles hurt LGBT family formation and limit the ways LGBT parents can protect their families.
LGBT individuals with children also face discrimination in custody cases. Individuals who parented children in heterosexual relationships can lose the right to see their children once they identify as gay. Some courts have even chosen to give custody rights to an absent parent instead of to the present gay parent. Some states, despite the couple’s circumstances, arrangements, or marital status, will only recognize the rights of the biological parent. Gay parents risk being denied both legal and custodial rights to children they have raised and supported for many years. These discriminatory practices inhibit the rights of many LGBT parents to maintain meaningful relationships with their children.
People in the transgender community who wish to build and protect their families face additional obstacles. Many transgender people lack access to important reproductive information that would allow them to make informed decisions about their reproductive choices. For example, many transgender people lack access to adequate healthcare and therefore rarely receive reproductive counseling on issues such as banking sperm or eggs before beginning medical transitioning. Also, transgender people who have the means to adopt a child face severe discrimination in the adoption process. And transgender parents who desire to transition risk being stripped of their parental or custody rights because of legal and social biases.
At the core of both reproductive justice and LGBT equality is the belief that society must remove barriers that interfere with people’s ability to lead healthy sexual and reproductive lives, and must provide the necessary economic and social supports to achieve these goals.
Transgendered individuals face pervasive barriers to controlling their bodies and sexual identities.Transgender individuals have historically been subject to major limitations, government interference, and medical paternalism regarding what they can do with their bodies. For example, transgender people who wish to undergo surgical and non-surgical transition treatments are met with institutional resistance and obstacles. Before they can transition, they have to receive a medical diagnosis telling them that they are transgender before they qualify for medical services. However, since transgender individuals have a much higher poverty rate than the general population, they are without adequate insurance coverage and lack the financial means to obtain the requisite medical diagnosis.
Moreover, people in the transgender community are subject to harsh, uninformed laws that have major consequences on their ability to express their sexual identity. Most states require transgender people to undergo permanent physical alterations before the state will fully legally recognize their gender identity. For example, many jurisdictions require transgender men to have radical hysterectomies or mastectomies in order to receive a new identification card or birth certificate. Likewise, in many jurisdictions transgender women have to agree to the removal of their reproductive organs. Such requirements essentially impose permanent sterility on those who wish to have their gender identity fully recognized under the law.
How you can support LGBT equality and reproductive justice
- Advocate for access to comprehensive sexual education, which includes information about safe sexual practices for LGBT students.
- Encourage comprehensive training of health care professionals on LGBT health and support health care facilities that offer comprehensive health services.
- Support laws and policies that promote equal recognition and treatment of all families, including LGBT families.
- Activists in the LGBT rights movement and the Reproductive Justice movement should call attention to the sexual and reproductive health needs of LGBT communities, especially in communities that are less empowered.
- Support local, state, and national efforts for nondiscrimination laws that protect sexual minorities from discrimination in employment, public accommodations, and health care services.
