Reflecting on Reproductive Justice

a public symposium on global and local advocacy

The symposium Reflecting on Reproductive Justice features Loretta J. Ross and additional speakers including Rockie Gonzalez, Cynthia Ingar, Kimberly Mutcherson and representatives from local organizations Right By You, MO Ho Justice, Abortion Action Missouri, Medical Students for Choice, Jamaa Birth Village, Missouri Abortion Fund, St. Louis Doula Project and more. Ross is an activist, public intellectual, scholar, the 2022 recipient of the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” award and an associate professor of the study of women and gender at Smith College.

The symposium is hosted by the Reproductive Justice, Health, Rights working group, which is housed in the Center for the Humanities. The group is supported by funding from the Office of the Provost’s Here + Next initiative as well as the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity (CRE2) and is directed by co-conveners Seanna Leath, assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences, and Zakiya Luna, associate professor of sociology. 

Thursday, September 5 — Pre-symposium events

In the leadup to the symposium, all are welcome to join a free public screening of the documentary Aftershock, which lays bare the life-and-death stakes in the fight for reproductive justice. A student-moderated conversation will follow the film.

Following the preventable deaths of two young women due to childbirth complications, two bereaved fathers galvanize activists, birth-workers and physicians, seeking justice through legislation, medical accountability, community, and the power of art. Their work introduces a myriad of people including a growing brotherhood of surviving Black fathers, along with the work of midwives and physicians on the ground fighting for institutional reform. Through their collective journeys, the film brings us to the front lines of the growing birth justice movement that is demanding systemic change within our medical system and government.

In advance of the screening, WashU students are invited to gather in the Danforth University Center for an afternoon of art-making and student talks. Attendees will walk with their artwork to the Hi Pointe Theatre to view the film with the wider community. Buses will be available for those who need transportation. 

Schedule

3:30 pm – Art-making and student talks (Danforth University Center, WashU students)
5:00 pm – Walk and/or transport to Hi Pointe Theatre 
6:30 pm – Free public film screening of Aftershock at Hi Pointe Theatre (1005 McCausland Ave, St. Louis, MO 63117), followed by student-moderated conversation 

“Reproductive-justice pioneer Loretta Ross on not waiting for politicians to save you.”

Learn more about featured speaker Loretta Ross, who coined the term “reproductive justice” 30 years ago.

READ ARTICLE IN “THE CUT”

Friday, September 6 + Saturday, September 7 — Symposium

This symposium will convene nationally recognized advocates for reproductive justice with members of local organizations that work to ensure reproductive justice and equitable reproductive health outcomes in Missouri. We invite members of both the WashU and St. Louis communities to attend and participate in these conversations, to listen, reflect and learn about how to advocate for reproductive justice in the current political climate.

 

Location + Schedule

Symposium events take place in the Clark-Fox Forum in Hillman Hall, on the WashU campus.

Conversations around reproductive justice, health and rights

Friday, September 6

2 pm – “Reproductive Justice Beyond Abortion: Potential Life as a Tool of Subordination”  

  • Kimberly Mutcherson, Professor of Law, Rutgers University

Roma Schaefer Nooter Lecture for the Department of Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, also sponsored by the School of Law’s Law, Identity, & Culture Initiative and its Public Interest Law & Policy Speakers Series

4 pm – Conversation 1: Engaging with Rights Not to Have Children

  • Maggie Olivia, Senior Manager of Public Policy and Abortion Storyteller, Abortion Action Missouri
  • Pamela Merritt, Executive Director, Medical Students for Choice
  • Mark Valentine, Vice President of Missouri Abortion Fund
  • Conversation facilitated by Susan Appleton, Lemma Barkeloo & Phoebe Couzins Professor of Law, Washington University in St. Louis

5:30 pm – Opening reception

Saturday, September 7

9:30 am – Breakfast  

10 am – Conversation 2: Engaging with Rights to Have Children and Form Families

  • Phillis Troupe, St. Louis Doula Project
  • Cynthia Ingar, Founder, Hampi Warmi (Peru)
  • Okunsola M. Amadou, Founder and CEO, Jamaa Birth Village
  • Stephanie Kraft Sheley, Project Director & Founder, Right By You
  • Conversation facilitated by Jessica Levy, Associate Professor of Practice, George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis

11:30 am – Lunch  

1 pm – Conversation 3: Engaging with Rights to Parent Across Movements  

  • Rockie Gonzalez, Deputy Director, Austin Justice Coalition; Founder and Senior Consultant, Radical Strategies
  • Indigo Han, Co-founder and Healing Justice Programming and Leadership Development lead, MO Ho Justice
  • Conversation facilitated by Shanti Parikh, Professor of Sociocultural Anthropology and African and African-American Studies, Washington University in St. Louis

3 pm – Conversation 4: The Future of Reproductive Justice with Loretta Ross

  • Facilitated by symposium co-conveners Seanna Leath (Assistant Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Affiliated Faculty, Washington University in St. Louis) and Zakiya Luna (Associate Professor of Sociology and Dean’s Distinguished Professorial Scholar, Washington University in St. Louis)