Why reproductive justice is a Black thing

[This post, an excerpt from an RH Reality Check article, is part of a Mama’s Day Series by The Strong Families Initiative. To follow all of the Mama's Day events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.]

By Walidah Imarisha

Childbirth can be a deadly matter in the U.S., especially if you are middle or working class. But it was when looking at race and income together that one civil rights organization decided it needed a new lens.

Women in the U.S. living in lowest-income areas are twice as likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth, according to a groundbreaking report released today by Amnesty International. In Amnesty’s one year update to their Deadly Delivery report on maternal health, they showed that the U.S. is one of the most dangerous countries to go give birth in the west, especially if you are poor.

But thanks to a pioneering report by the Urban League of Portland, Oregonians know that pregnancy is dangerous to both mother and child, and that race plays as much of a factor as income in who lives and dies. It turns out that the intersections of race, gender and class are, literally, a killer.


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