Serious about environmental justice? Support reproductive justice as well
This post was originally published on this site
Monday night’s leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion essentially overturning Roe v. Wade has been overwhelming news, to say the least. Reproductive justice advocates have mobilized, organizing protests and fundraising efforts to support organizations in states that have so-called “trigger laws” meaning that, were such a ruling to go into effect, 13 states would immediately see abortion bans on the books. This includes the state I live in, Louisiana, which also happens to have a terrible track record when it comes to both reproductive justice and environmental justice. Led by a pro-life Democratic governor, Louisiana readily gave up the abortion fight in 2020 when voters moved to pass an amendment that added this language to the state declaration of rights: “Nothing in this constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”
Between now and then, major natural disasters have occurred, studies have revealed the damning costs of continuing to allow polluters to harm some of the state’s most vulnerable communities, and people have suffered because of lack of access to much-needed reproductive health care services — among many, many consequences from a warming planet and reproductive rights restrictions. Louisiana is just the canary in the coal mine of what’s to come were an expected June ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization consistent with Alito’s draft opinion. The case that made its way to the highest court in the land comes from the neighboring state of Mississippi — yet another state with a trigger law on the books. And, unsurprisingly, Mississippi is a state with blatant environmental justice issues that span generations and still affect residents today.
The consequences of climate change are especially hard on pregnant people and children, with extreme heat posing a particular risk to pregnant people and even more so for pregnant people of color. Studies have been conducted on the impact of flooding to pregnant people, with one such report published in 2018 finding that “[it] has a significant impact on the health of pregnant women and children. In addition, it may exacerbate a range of negative psychological and physiological child and reproductive health outcomes.” The lingering effects of natural disasters only add to the pain for survivors who lack the services they need in the wake of such life-altering events.
Countless studies on reproductive care in the wake of Hurricane Katrina found that fertility levels decreased for Black pregnant people and that substantial percentages of those affected by the storm were unable to access health care. According to one study, 40% had not used birth control and 4% “experienced an unintended pregnancy as a result of lack of access to care.” As natural disasters and extreme weather events become more frequent, it’s more important than ever to make sure that our climate mitigation response is an intersectional one that includes advocating for and enacting policies that advance reproductive rights.