Reproductive justice (RJ) is a social justice orientation undergirded by the right to sexual, gender, and bodily autonomy. This book introduces readers to the connection and alignment between social work and RJ through illustrative chapters that cover the core tenets of RJ. Each chapter also includes the real-world experiences of individuals working in RJ.
Reproductive justice (RJ) is a social justice orientation undergirded by the right to sexual, gender, and bodily autonomy. It consists of three core tenets: 1) the right to have a child, 2) the right to not have a child, and 3) the right to raise a child in safe and sustainable communities. It is a movement that focuses on uplifting and empowering the voices of individuals who have been historically oppressed, a movement that is a natural fit with social work's orientation of social justice, empowering marginalized groups, and more. This book takes each core tenet of RJ and explores them through a social work lens, seamlessly mapping core ethics and values of social work onto the praxis of RJ.
Written by interdisciplinary authors of many identities, Social Work and Reproductive Justice introduces readers to the foundations of RJ as applied to social work through history and ethics, followed by an exploration of how the main tenets of RJ apply to areas of social work including work with abortion, confronting infertility, social work practice in fetal care centers, environmental justice advocacy, resources in schools, intervention in prison environments, and more. Each chapter concludes with a Voices from the Field section that features the real-life work of RJ advocates "doing the work" in the field.
Foreword
List of Contributors
Introduction
Part
1. Introduction to Reproductive Justice
1: Autumn Asher BlackDeer: What Is Reproductive Justice?
2: E. Goldblatt Hyatt;Zan Haggerty: Social Work and Reproductive Justice: A
Necessary Fit
Part
2. The Right to Have a Child
3: Tuyet-Mai Ha Hoang, LaShekia Chatman, Elise Albertson;Ainslee Wong:
Challenging the Legacy: Pathways to Equitable Maternity Care in Modern
America
4: Crystal M. Hayes: Bearing Witness: A Black Woman Feminist's Reflections on
Prison-Based Doula Work
5: Jordan Steiner;Jocelyn Eve: Social Work and Fertility Access as a
Component of Reproductive Justice Using the Socio-Ecological Framework
6: Kara Hansen;Ashish Premkumar;Abigail Wilpers: Social Work, Reproductive
Justice, and Maternal-Fetal Surgery
Part
3. The Right to Not Have a Child
7: Johanna Schoen: The End of Roe: How Abortion Became Illegal Again
8: Kimberly Mutcherson: The Dobbs Decision and Its Implications for
Reproductive Justice
9: Gretchen E. Ely;Zak Amen: Abortion Before 20 Weeks
10: Judith L. M. McCoyd: Later Abortions: The Who, Why, and Wherefore
Part
4. The Right to Parent in Safe and Sustainable Communities
11: Mery Diaz and Michelle Grier: Countering Deficit School Narratives, and
Centering School Community Through a Reproductive Justice Framework
12: Christine Morales;Sophia Florida;Mariann Bischoff: Social Work Practice
and Environmental Reproductive Justice
E. Goldblatt Hyatt: Afterword
Index
E. Goldblatt Hyatt (they/them), DSW, LCSW, MBE, is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice for Reproductive Justice and the Director of the Doctorate of Social Work degree program at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. They are an administrator, clinician, and author with nearly 20 years' experience in the field of death and dying, grief and loss, and reproductive healthcare. A nationally recognized speaker who has appeared on television, podcasts, and multimedia platforms, Dr. E is frequently commissioned to train healthcare providers, social workers, death educators, and ethicists. At the center of their public advocacy and social justice endeavors, Dr. E is a passionate advocate for reproductive justice.
