Jill C. Morrison, Senior Counsel

by Jill Morrison, Senior Counsel,
National Women's Law Center

As an organization that supports abortion rights, we’ve considered health reform a bittersweet success. The bill that was signed into law yesterday (and the Executive Order regarding abortion) will certainly not advance abortion access. It can be argued that abortion access will actually be harmed by Health Reform if insurers respond by dropping abortion coverage that they previously included.

Nonetheless, I am going to celebrate Health Reform, because it advances the cause of Reproductive Justice. One of my very first postings here at womenstake.org was on Reproductive Justice, so here is a quick refresher. The Reproductive Justice movement was started by Women of Color to address concerns that had long been neglected by the mainstream reproductive rights community. The Reproductive Justice 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. In order to make these rights a reality, the movement recognizes that Reproductive Justice will only be achieved when all people have the resources, as well as the economic, social, and political power, to make healthy decisions about their bodies, their sexuality, and their reproduction.