Today, ‘disability justice is reproductive justice’ — but that hasn’t always been the case

Historically, the disability and reproductive rights movements have operated separately, “just ignoring each other,” as one advocate put it, as they pursued aims that at times felt contradictory: While one movement fought for full abortion access, the other sought for people to stop ending pregnancies where disabilities were detected. A new House resolution announced Thursday by Rep. Ayanna Pressley highlights shifts in the movements’ relationship accelerated by the end of federal abortion rights and growing acknowledgement of common ground: bodily autonomy and self-determination.

Advocates for reproductive and disability rights and justice were set to gather with Pressley, a Massachusetts Democrat, outside the U.S. Capitol to announce the Disability Reproductive Equity Act. The resolution would establish an annual Disability Reproductive Equity Day in May to highlight the unmet reproductive health care needs of the disability community. 

“Disability justice is reproductive justice, and we cannot have one without the other. I am so proud to work with advocates from all walks of life and put forward this necessary, intersectional legislation,” Pressley said in an exclusive comment shared with The 19th. 

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