Bond, Toni M. “Barriers Between Black Women & the Reproduction Rights Movement.” Committee on Women, Population, And the Environment at Adelphi University, no. 8 (2001): 1–4. http://www.cwpe.org/files/barriers.pdf.
Annotation
In this article, Toni Bond Leonard explains how the reproductive rights movement does not adequately address the issues and concerns of black women and women of color. According to Bond Leonard, the movement continues to be led by white feminists, who lack understanding of and sensitivity to the reproductive issues confronting women of color and low-income women, while black women have been and still are treated as “invited guests.” She argues that the movement belongs to all women and as a result every woman, regardless of race, should be able to vocalize their personal and community reproductive needs, expanding the issues from focusing solely on abortion to include dialogue about dangerous contraceptives, forced and coercive sterilization, and infant and maternal mortality. This article also includes the results of African American Women Evolving’s Black Women’s Health Survey.
This article provides a foundational outline of critiques of the reproductive rights movement by black women and is useful for anyone interested in the perspectives of black women on reproductive rights and justice efforts.