Category: Reproductive Justice

Stand with UU FaithAction at The People’s State of the State

by UU FA Office Leave a comment

Stand up in support of economic, political, and social justice at The People’s State of the State!

New Jerseyans are still waiting for movement on critical issues like a $15 minimum wage for all workers, drivers licenses for all, marijuana legalization, environmental justice, and a tax code that ensures the wealthiest pay their fair share.

We deserve lawmakers who share our sense of urgency and recognize that now is not the time for politics as usual. Now is the time to create a stronger and more-inclusive state for all residents, not just the wealthy and well-connected.

Together we can create the fairer and more-just New Jersey we all envision. Join us on January 10th outside the State House Annex!

WHEN:  January 10, 2019 at 10am – 12pm
WHERE:  State House Annex
131 W State St
Trenton, NJ 08608
United States

Oppose New Jersey Redistricting

by UU FA Office Leave a comment

NJ legislative leaders–primarily Democrats–are supporting a horrible amendment to the NJ constitution, a purely political proposal to increase the ability of politicians to choose their voters.  The usual term for it is “gerrymandering.” It would also embed the two-party system into the state’s constitution, a blatant attempt to weaken third parties like the Green and Libertarian parties. Every group that testified on the proposed amendment this past week opposed it. UUs and our allies should oppose this most recent attempt to codify gerrymandering too. 

Despite the fact that this doesn’t easily fall under one of UU FaithAction’s six issue areas, it flies directly in the face of our 5th Principle: “The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.“

For example, the amendment not only gives the sitting Senate president, House speaker, and minority leaders the power to appoint eight members to the redistricting commission.  It also requires that four of those appointees must be sitting legislators. This would clearly empower elected officials to have an oversized influence on who votes in their own or their own party’s races.

Furthermore, an analysis by the Princeton Gerrymandering Project demonstrates that in creating districts that the amendment calls “competitive” could actually lead to an overrepresentation of the majority party in the legislature. 

While the proposed amendment would mandate respecting “communities of interest”, there are no protections for racial equity and too few public hearings to establish truly representative communities of interest.

Additionally, the explanatory paragraphs that describe the amendment on the required statewide ballot are also misleading: they give no hint of the radical change to representative democracy this amendment entails. What seem like “motherhood and apple pie” goals are more like poisoned apples presented to an innocent public.

Finally, New Jersey would be much better served by a non-partisan redistricting process like California’s, rather than a partisan (even if bipartisan) process designed to protect incumbents, party loyalists, and further entrench the Democratic and Republican parties themselves.  Our partners at the League of Women Voters proposes such a non-partisan process in their Fair Districts New Jersey Project. 

Please make it a priority!  Call or write your senator and assembly members to oppose SCR152 and ACR205 (and earlier SCR43 and ACR60).

 

What You Can Do:

1. Send an email to your legislators letting them know New Jersey deserves a fair redistricting process and fair maps!

2. Call your legislator’s district office to voice your opposition to SCR152/ACR205. Review our sample script and talking points here

3. Visit the League’s “Partisan Gerrymandering” resource webpage and learn more about the undemocratic proposals being fast-tracked through the Legislature

Thank you for your attention to this very important issue!

Op-Ed: #Me Too Movement Meets Maternity Care

JILL WODNICK | NOVEMBER 29, 2018

It’s critical to listen to women in every aspect of their lives, and there are few times more important than when maternal healthcare is the issue

“Listen to women” and #MeToo became part of the headlines and hashtags from 2018, crafting a new narrative from U.S. Supreme Court hearings to workplace dialogues — bridging tears, trauma, and tools for reparations. Listening to women is also getting traction in New Jersey’s collective effort to improve maternal health, as reported by NJ Spotlight. As we listen to women in all of their life experiences, maternity care continues to be a significant life event with long-term consequences. One time, I gave a speech and gave the definition of “obstetrical violence” used by Venezuela (an umbrella term including coercion, bullying, discrimination, forced procedures, and lack of consent) and asked the audience of New Jersey nurses, healthcare providers, doulas, and parents to raise their hands if they had had ever witnessed the five indicators of obstetrical violence. Every hand was raised.

New Jersey has the opportunity to engage the momentum for real change in maternity care by putting respectful maternity care (RMC) in the focus and priority area. More than just a nice phrase, respectful maternity care is an indicator of quality.

RMC acknowledges the meaningful experiences of childbirth by women as an essential element of quality healthcare, which involves recognizing their self-worth, feelings, choices, and preferences. It is globally recognized as a universal human right for every childbearing woman admitted in any health facility. With both clinical and community tools, RMC can help New Jersey families. More than 40 percent of births in New Jersey occur to foreign-born parents (ACNJ Babies Count 2018); incorporating the RMC quality indicator would be a transformative tool. This month, Dr. Neel Shah, an obstetrician from Harvard, spoke a symposium in New Jersey, declaring, “Women deserve safety. Women also deserve dignity.”

Paying attention to consumers of maternity care

When we listen to what families experience as consumers of maternity care, we need to hear the ongoing impact of implicit bias and racism in the delivery of healthcare. Listening to Mothers is the name of a four-time seminal research series into the experience of childbearing women in the United States. Most recently, it was completed in California, where the experiences of women of color reflected their experience in maternity-care health systems. The survey results of Listening to Mothers in California have national implications for better serving pregnant and parenting black women across the country. The conclusion: “Black women are not receiving the healt care or the nonmedical support they need to thrive before, during, and after childbirth.” The survey found that many black women reported not receiving the high-quality, culturally relevant, unbiased care that all women need. The study also profiled what women of all races know about cesarean births. Six in 10 women did not walk around at all during labor after being admitted to the hospital. That number needs to be explored in New Jersey, where we are learning from California’s terrific toolkits. We can also survey the experience of new parents and see if they had access to evidence-based care practices for a safe and healthy birth, including movement in labor.

How do we ask maternity care to begin with the inherent dignity and worth of every human being? Other states are making sure early childcare and education are at the table for maternal health transformation, using the brain science that early experiences matter and posting adverse childhood experiences so that pregnancy and early parenting can have protective factors. The neurobiology of love and attachment reminds us that it deeply matters how women, families, and communities are cared for, invested in, and impacted by social determinants of health. And neurobiology reminds us that the first 1,000 days are posited by politicians and media outlets, moving health, early learning, and community development out of silos and into integrated sustainable systems with an emphasis on equity. Early experiences matter, in particular the relationship of the infant-parent dyad. We also know that how we treat a woman in pregnancy can assist her in nurturing and parenting, supporting not only the clinical needs, but also the social and emotional transition through caring family, friends, and doulas.

But none of that can occur if we lose mothers or infants. But we are losing mothers and infants, having too many near misses and too many families feeling traumatized after experiencing birth. I am eagerly anticipating the next #123ForMOMS, which designates each January 23 as the day for New Jersey maternal health. Last year, a free toolkit and resources for families and providers were available to help families formulate questions and assist providers to hear about symptoms so needed in assessment.

Tearing down the statue

When we listen to women, we know we will hear trauma. This past summer in Central Park, a statue of J. Marion Sims, “the father of modern gynecology” was taken down. As NPR explained, “some of the tools he developed are still used in exam rooms today. But his breakthroughs came at the expense of enslaved black women upon whom he performed dozens of intrusive and painful experiments without anesthesia” or consent.

We birth seven generations forward, explained an elder midwife, speaking about legacy and generational trauma. The stakes are too high to not listen to women in labor and in life. As our country begins to talk about consent, power, and privilege, we can also listen to women to change the world for children and communities in New Jersey.

Jill Wodnick, M.A., LCCE, is a national speaker on improving maternity care. She is a perinatal educator and doula mentor at Montclair State University. Jill has been part of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women’s Global Prenatal Initiative, as well as local and statewide programs for the health and wellbeing of childbearing families, infants, and communities.

45 Years of Roe v. Wade

Forty five  years ago (January 22, 1973), the Supreme Court issued a momentous ruling – Roe v. Wade – which enshrined in law the right to choose whether to have an abortion, recognizing that the decision to continue or end a pregnancy was best left between a woman and her doctor.

The majority of Americans still believe that women and their families – not government – are best placed to make this very personal decision.

Yet since 1973, political restrictions have eroded women’s ability to decide if, when, and how to build a family, and imperiled women’s health in the process.

These include regulations that claim to improve patient safety but actually do not and laws that force doctors to lie to their patients against their own medical knowledge and judgment. As a result, clinics are closing around the country, even in progressive states.

Even worse, lawmakers in some states have outlawed both private and government insurance coverage for abortion, even when a woman’s health is in danger, or she has survived rape or incest. Restrictions on abortion coverage disproportionately affect low-income women, women of color, immigrant women, and young women, who are less likely to have access. They are also already disadvantaged in their access to the resources, information, and services necessary to prevent an unintended pregnancy or to carry a healthy pregnancy to term.

When women don’t have access to safe, legal abortion, they take matters into their own hands, which can be dangerous. In Texas, which has some of the country’s toughest anti-abortion laws, new research estimates that 22% of women have either tried to induce their own abortion, or know someone who has.

To those who would deny the health implications of overturning Roe, in 1965, 17% of all pregnancy-related deaths in the US were caused by illegal abortion, and the rates were even higher for poor women and women of color.

The EACH Woman Act, introduced by Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), with over seventy Congressional Co-Sponsors, is trying to change this. It ensures abortion coverage for every woman, no matter how much she earns or how she is insured.

It would prevent politicians from interfering with decisions that are best left to women and their doctors, and bar political meddling with the choices of private health insurance companies.

We stand in support of these brave Members of Congress, alongside over thirty women’s health, rights, and justice organizations from around the country who have supported the EACH woman act.

Every woman should have coverage for a full range of pregnancy-related care, including abortion. When health programs cover birth control and abortion – not just childbirth – people can plan if and when to have children. That’s good for them and for society as a whole.

Co-authors
New Jersey Abortion Access Fund
District 5 Coalition for Change
North Jersey People for Progress
District 4 Coalition for Change
Reproductive Justice Committee of The Unitarian Society of Ridgewood
National Council of Jewish Women, Essex County Section
NOW-NJ
Planned Parenthood of Central and Greater Northern New Jersey
Northern NJ NOW
UU FaithAction NJ

Reproductive Justice Statement

UU FaithAction NJ, representing the Unitarian Universalist congregations in New Jersey, supports healthcare and reproductive justice for all women.

Reproductive justice, a concept put forth by coalitions of women of color, promotes the right of all women to have children, not to have children, and to raise their children in safe and healthy environments.The foundation for the UUFANJ’s support for reproductive justice is rooted in the Unitarian Universalist principle that affirms and promotes the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We value life and the consciences of individuals, and we are called to protect and affirm the lives of women when it comes to their reproductive choices.

Our commitment to uphold justice, equity and compassion in human relations also compels us to affirm, along with the Unitarian Universalist Association, that creating “a universal, nonprofit national health care program that will provide guaranteed choice, quality affordable health care and prescription drugs to everyone in the country” is a moral and ethical imperative.

Because we uphold the inherent worth and dignity of all people, we believe that all people are deserving of health care and it is our responsibility to come together as a nation to provide fair and accessible health services. The current system which puts profit before care is not equitable, compassionate or sustainable.The UUFANJ encourages and supports congregational involvement on this issue. We recognize that there are many opinions about what comprehensive health care should look like, but we can stand together in faith to demand the development of a system which provides adequate care and treatment for all.

Reproductive Justice

Reproductive Justice Task Force Co-Chairs:
Carol A. Loscalzo (The Unitarian Society of Ridgewood)
Jami Thall (Morristown UU Fellowship)
Email: rjtfchair@uufaithaction.org

Unitarian Universalist Faith Action New Jersey, representing the Unitarian Universalist congregations in New Jersey, supports reproductive justice for all individuals. Reproductive justice, a concept put forth by coalitions of women of color, promotes the right of all people to have children, not to have children, and to raise their children in safe and healthy environments. People also have a right to health and self-determination regarding their bodies and sexuality, free from oppression and shame.

Reproductive Justice takes a holistic, human rights and social justice approach to dealing with issues that affect individual’s reproductive health and lives. The task force takes an active role in ensuring that the right to abortion remains legal, and works to create greater access to abortion in New Jersey. In addition, the task force examines the issues of comprehensive sexuality education, empowering birth choices, breastfeeding and any other issue that impacts reproductive health. Following the framework of the reproductive justice movement, the task force keeps in mind the ways that the intersecting systems of race, class, and gender, gender identity and sexual orientation affect a person’s reproductive rights.

The foundation for UUFANJ’s support for reproductive justice is rooted in the Unitarian Universalist principle that affirms and promotes the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We value life and the consciences of all people, and we are called to protect and affirm the lives of individuals when it comes to their reproductive choices. In June 2015, at the UUA General Assembly, the Reproductive Justice Statement of Conscience was passed after a study three year study followed by a year implementation. This SOC is an excellent resource for all who want to know more about reproductive justice.

UUFANJ Reproductive Justice Task Force is a member of the Thrive Coalition, a coalition of over 80 organizations in NJ working together on Reproductive Justice issues.

Reproductive Justice Task Force Goals for 2024- 2025: 

Abortion Access:

  1. Advocate for the passage of the Reproductive Freedom Equity Act package of legislation in collaboration with our Thrive NJ partners.
  2. Clergy Support Letter, a statewide interfaith effort to demonstrate that access to abortion care is a matter of faith and a matter of justice
  3. Post Abortion Care Kit Project Handbook, a UU statewide effort to provide support to abortion patients here in NJ.

Menstrual Equity:

  1. Continue to advocate for menstrual products in all congregational restrooms.
  2. Research availability of menstrual products in public schools, shelters and food banks and pantries

Sex Education:

  1. Create an updated congregational contact list of Directors of Religious Educators & Our Whole Lives teams to create a rapid response cohort to respond to local Board of Education threats to comprehensive sexuality education for children and youth.
  2. Partner with the Thrive Coalition to advocate for sexuality education at the state level.

Maternal Justice:

  1. Partner with other faith based organizations for a screening of Birthing Justice in Bergen county and the Trenton area.
  2. Work with the Thrive Coalition to advocate for legislation to support pre and postnatal care for all people in NJ to improve maternal health outcomes.
  3. Advocate for free diapers at shelters & food pantries in NJ.

LGBTQ+

  1.  Work with NJ UU congregations to support education and advocacy on LGBTQ+ issues.
  2. Advocate, in collaboration with partner organizations, for protections for transgender/nonbinary children and youth in NJ schools.

Reproductive Justice:

Abortion Access:

Sex Education:

Menstrual Equity: 

Maternal Justice:

LGBTQ+ Resources:

Important subcommittee Links:

UU & Faith Based: 

Statement of Conscience – Statement of Conscience  

Two things Every UU Faith Based: 

Policy Briefs: 

Reproductive Justice Books, Ted Talks & Podcasts

Things Every UU Should Know About Reproductive Justice

by Rev. Rob Gregson

Things every UU should know about reproductive justice

Two Things Every UU Should Know About Reproductive Justice

1. “Reproductive justice” has a broad agenda, and is different than “reproductive rights”.

The understanding of reproductive justice has evolved over time, and there is no universally accepted definition. However, all definitions recognize that the need for access to resources goes far beyond abortion alone. These four principles are accepted by many as representative:

  1.  People have a right to have children.
  2. People have a right not to have children.
  3. People have a right to raise their children in safe and healthy environments.
  4. People have a right to health and self-determination regarding their bodies and sexuality, free from oppression and shame.

    Notably, reproductive justice is not simply a different phrase that is interchangeable with reproductive health or reproductive rights, and nor is it intended to replace these concepts. Instead, reproductive justice is a framework created by women of color that combines the fields of reproductive rights, social justice, and human rights. It is grounded in the particular experiences, values, priorities, and leadership of women of color.

    2. Reproductive justice has a different approach.

    It’s not enough to focus on reaching a set of end goals through any means possible. Instead, our approach must reflect the world we are trying to create. This includes:

    Constantly talking about the impact our personal identities (including race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, wealth, etc) have on our viewpoints and actions. In order to successfully change the culture, we must be open to growth and change ourselves.

    Centering the marginalized. Changing structures of power means that leadership must come from the groups most affected by the denial of access to rights and resources, including women and people of color, people struggling to make ends meet, and young people.

    Intersectionality. The work must be intersectional, which means engaging multiple identities and building coalitions rather than trying to keep people and issues confined in separate boxes. Changing structures of power requires that we view identities as linked and formulate solutions that are based on collaboration and solidarity.

    For people who support reproductive justice and are not already familiar with the framework, it is sometimes challenging but always important to seek relationships of accountability and leadership with women of color and organizations they lead. This is critical because it helps to avoid misappropriation, where people are claiming to do reproductive justice work without knowing what it means and without being accountable to the experiences and leadership of women of color.

ACTION ALERT: Protect Families from Gun Violence

by UU FA Office

children-dv-infographic

In New Jersey, homicides were up 4% in 2015. Tamara Wilson-Seidle was shot and killed by her husband in broad daylight while their seven-year old daughter looked on. On June 25, 2015, nine days after Tamara lost her life, both houses passed a bill to prevent domestic violence gun deaths with overwhelming majorities. Unfortunately for New Jerseyans, Governor Chris Christie has twice vetoed these bills. Join us in supporting broader firearm restrictions for domestic abusers.

take action button

A bill aimed at protecting families from the threat and potential of gun violence will come before the Assembly on Monday, November 21.  In a conditional veto from Chris Christie in the spring he “[urged] the Legislature to join with [him] in a bipartisan manner to broaden this bill’s approach to reducing domestic violence while simultaneously empowering victims to protect themselves through lawful means.” The Governor’s proposal would give victims of domestic violence expedited access to their own firearms.

women-5x-more-likely1Why is this so important? A woman is 5 times more likely to be murdered by an intimate partner if there is a gun in the house. Of the female homicides reported in New Jersey in 2011, more than half of them were committed by intimate partners and a third involved the use of a firearm. Domestic violence offenses involving a gun increased 10 percent in 2013 when compared to 2012.  And 216 women were killed in a domestic violence homicide between 2010 and 2013. There were 2,962 total arrests involving domestic violence restraining orders reported by police in 2011.  Of these, 1,804 were arrests for violations of a restraining order only, while 1,158 were arrests for violations of a restraining order with an offense arrest. Children were involved or present during 31 percent of all domestic violence offenses.

Among other provisions, the bill (S2483/A4126) would:

  • Require domestic abusers who have been convicted of a domestic violence offense to surrender their firearms and provide a receipt and affidavit to the prosecutor demonstrating that they have done so;
  • Require a law enforcement officer to accompany an abuser who has become subject to a restraining order to the location of the abuser’s firearms and take possession of the firearms, or if the abuser is prohibited from going to the location by restraining order, require the officer to seize the firearms;
  • Require the application for a restraining order to allow the victim to list firearms owned by the abuser;
  • Require any identification card and permit issued to an abuser to be immediately revoked and require the court to establish a process for notifying the appropriate authorities of the revocation;
  • Enhance penalties for domestic violence offenses.

take action button

Under current law, the above are provisions the Courts CAN take but are not required. The new legislation tightens that gap, closing a potential loophole.

If you or someone you care about is in danger, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.

For a listing of local services, visit the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence.

Resources

Time to stop being blind to domestic violence epidemic in N.J.

Laurice Grae-Hauck is the Outreach Coordinator of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ.

Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt

by UU FA Office

SCOTUS Rally Web Header

On Wednesday March 2, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, one of the most important cases on the availability of abortion in decades. We hope you will take a minute to read the important info below about context and messaging related to the case.

The core issue is that some of the mainstream analysis and communications about the case minimizes (or totally ignores) how the fight for legal access to abortion leaves out many of the larger obstacles faced by low-income people and people of color. As with the marriage equality Supreme Court case, we believe that it is critical to view the Whole Women’s Health decision as one piece of a much larger struggle. We’ve included links to more info, but of course you should free to contact Rob or Shaya if you want more.

In Faith,

Rev. Darcy Baxter, Reproductive Justice Activist and Congregational Minister in Modesto, CA

Shaya French, UU Women’s Federation Clara Barton Intern in Boston, MA (sfrench@uua.org)

Rev. Rob Keithan, Faith Organizing and Training Consultant specializing in Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Issues in Washington, DC

Carol A. Loscalzo, Co-proposer of the UUA reproductive justice study/action issue from the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood, NJ, UU Legislative Ministry of NJ Reproductive Justice Task Force, Chair

Mandolin Restivo, Co-proposer of the UUA reproductive justice study/action issue from the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood, NJ

Rev. Darcy Roake, Reproductive Justice Activist, Member of the National Planned Parenthood Clergy Advocacy Board, and UUA Donor Program Manager in New Orleans, LA

 

CONTEXT and MESSAGING

  1. The long-term struggle is about access. Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt is about two provisions of a Texas law that decrease the availability of abortion. As with most restrictions on access to abortion (and services generally), these laws has a massively disproportionate impact on low-income people and people of color. What’s critical to keep in mind is that the long-term struggle is not simply to make abortion care “available” in a legal or medical sense. The long-term struggle is to make quality abortion care truly ACCESSIBLE to all people, regardless of income, race, geography, age, immigration status, or other factors. As the 2015 UUA Statement of Conscience on Reproductive Justice states: “In our vision, everyone has access to accurate information about sexuality and family planning, and safe, healthy, and culturally sensitive reproductive health services” (P 2).
  1. The long-term struggle is about more than abortion. Although abortion access is incredibly important and thus worth fighting for, some organizations and activists have a tendency to deify it. According to the woman of color-led reproductive justice framework, which the UUA endorsed with the 2015 Statement of Conscience, the right to not have children must be accompanied by the right to have children, to parent the children one has in healthy environments and to safeguard bodily autonomy and to express one’s sexuality freely. As the statement of Conscience reads:

“Such liberation requires not only accurate information about sexuality and reproduction and control of personal reproductive decisions, but also living wages, safe and supported housing, high quality and comprehensive medical and reproductive health care, access to voting and the political process, affordable legal representation, fair immigration policies, paid parental leave, affordable childcare, and the absence of individual and institutional violence.” (P. 2).

In sum, if you plan to preach, write, or otherwise talk about this case, I urge you to (1) consider access to abortion as not just a legal issue but as a justice issue in a much larger context, and (2) name abortion access as just one of the many important reproductive and other concerns that warrant our attention. At a time when media and other organizations will be narrowly focused on the availability of abortion, let’s be strong and faithful voices for a larger goal that includes the needs and stated desires of low-income people and people of color.

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda

UULMNJ Statement of Support for Planned Parenthood

UUA Statement of Conscience FINAL as adopted

Two Things Every UU Should Know About Reproductive Justice

“What is reproductive justice?” in UU World by Darcy Baxter