Contraceptive Equity Must Include Abortion Access
By Cortez Wright, Digital Communications & Development Coordinator, SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW!
Abortion is one of the most controversial, and yet most common, medical procedures for women. An estimated one in three women will have an abortion in her lifetime, and economically disenfranchised women, particularly women of color, seek abortions in disproportionate numbers. The reasons why women have abortions are varied and complex, but most often have to do with a lack of economic opportunities and family and social support. These factors coupled with the financial inaccessibility of quality healthcare services and comprehensive sex education oftentimes leave women feeling robbed of their agency and the notion of choice seeming rather empty.
In order to transform these conditions, we must continue to push for policies and legislation around birth control methods that defy the social stigma surrounding contraception, particularly abortion. We must demand contraceptive equity for all.
Contraceptive equity is not only the freedom to choose the birth prevention methods that work best for you, but also the right to have these methods be easily accessible, affordable, presented without bias through empowering, patient-centered medical guidance, and inclusive of abortion services. Like reproductive justice, contraceptive equity takes into account the various ways our identities intersect to influence our social realities. This means recognizing the myriad of ways race, gender, class, sexuality — our diverse lived experiences — overlap to directly affect our healthcare access and outcomes.
It is through this lens that SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW! works to remove the barriers that contribute to the negative reproductive and sexual health disparities we see in Georgia and nationwide. SPARK works to uplift and amplify the voices of Black women and girls and LGBTQQ youth of color living at the intersection of Racial Justice and LGBTQQ Liberation in the broader reproductive justice movement. Our work is vital given that Georgia, like our nation, has some of the highest unintended pregnancy rates amongst black women and adolescents, and is even higher amongst LGBTQQ youth. The pregnancy rate for teenagers who identify as lesbian or bisexual is two to seven times greater than that of their heterosexual counterparts.
Yet, current state and federal policies consistently focus on invalidating our right to body autonomy and self-determination — unfailingly drafting and adopting increasingly restrictive abortion policies that target the most disenfranchised in our communities. Since 1976, the federal government has included a provision in the budget, the Hyde Amendment, which bans abortion coverage for women who receive their healthcare through Medicaid, except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the person giving birth. This Amendment is reinforced in the Affordable Care Act. Since the 2010 midterm election, states have adopted 231 new abortion restrictions.
The Hyde Amendment and similar policies, while touted as life-saving measures by anti-choice opposition, actually do nothing more than impose additional barriers to healthcare for low-income people. In a nation where women with family incomes below the federal poverty level ($18,530 for a family of three) account for more than 40% of all abortions, this is inexcusable.
If these policies were truly about saving lives, the focus would not be on restricting reproductive rights, but instead, easing the difficulty for individuals and families making choices around when and how to get pregnant, give birth, and raise children. They would address the systemic inequalities that exist that lead to negative healthcare outcomes for Black women and girls and LGBTQQ youth of color that go beyond access to abortion. They would address the fact that Georgia is ranked worst for maternal mortality, that an estimated 300,000 people are left uninsured, having to exist in the coverage gap, and that Georgia now ranks fifth for new HIV diagnoses.
We know that this conversation is bigger than abortion access, but when so many of in our community are disconnected from this basic service, we must take action. As we continue to push for social and economic justice, we must take steps to achieve complete contraceptive equity for all that includes low cost, safe, accessible abortion services. Contraceptive equity cannot exist while the most disenfranchised in our communities do not have equal access to abortion services. We must fight to remove restrictions on abortion coverage through the Affordable Care Act and to continue to uphold access through private insurance providers. Through addressing the barriers to this vital service, healthcare providers and policy makers can substantially improve the ability of women from all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds to make informed decisions about their fertility and bodies.
