Reproductive Justice Requires a Free Palestine

Statement by Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada

Over the last 150 days, we have watched in horror and grief over the unimaginable loss that Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, and Jewish communities are facing. Through this time, our team at the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada has been engaging in critical learning to inform our solidarity efforts, while our members have been participating in various actions individually, across their respective cities and provinces. As we have taken time to sit with heavy emotions and engage in crucial learning about what has been going on in the world around us, we have also been thinking critically about the foundations of reproductive justice, within which our work at the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada is grounded.

Reproductive justice is a critical Black feminist framework, wherein justice is only achieved if everyone has the right to bodily autonomy, the right to become a parent, the right not to become a parent, and the right to parent children in safe and sustainable communities. All of these rights are jeopardized by colonial violence and oppression.

ARCC’s principles are rooted in anti-racism and anti-oppression. We vehemently oppose and condemn any form of oppression, including but not limited to Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Jewish racism towards any individual or group of people.

We object to the conflation of Jewish people with the government of Israel, and any rhetoric that Jewish folks are responsible for the Israeli government’s actions. With that, we support the efforts of anti-zionist Jewish folks in their solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and globally, including those who have been historically and systemically displaced from their homeland. With that, we recognize that antisemitism and Islamophobia cannot be dismantled without a free Palestine, as systems of oppression are deeply ingrained in the same dominant systems of settler colonialism, capitalism, and white supremacy.

As ARCC holds space to mourn all the lives lost and condemn all violence, primarily the ongoing genocide in Gaza, we also recognize the power imbalances that have existed and how their ongoing effects have led to the events we are currently witnessing. While we are a domestic organization based in so-called Canada and our work is primarily done in this context, we know that reproductive justice and our solidarity must be intersectional.

We affirm that what is happening in Occupied Palestine is not only a humanitarian crisis, but is inherently an issue of reproductive justice. Based on the pillars defined by SisterSong, full reproductive justice cannot be achieved with the ongoing violence and displacement that has been inflicted on Palestinian people and families for decades since the Nakba. We support calls for a permanent ceasefire and a permanent end to the occupation.

We are particularly concerned about the impacts of this ongoing violence and occupation for pregnant people, families, and children. With over 30 000 Palestinians killed to date, an estimated 50,000 people are currently pregnant in Gaza, and more than 180 people are giving birth every day – all of whom have no access to perinatal care.

Over 560,000 Palestinians, a significant portion of whom are children, are nearing famine, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Further, tens of thousands of parents are grieving the death of their children, and tens of thousands of children have been orphaned. We are also concerned about the deep-rooted and lasting effects of the trauma that Palestinian children face as a result of the ongoing occupation and genocide, which directly affects their ability and right to meet their full developmental potential, as outlined by UNICEF.

Many groups and organizations in North America and globally have outlined the intersections of Palestinian liberation with reproductive justice over the last 150 days. (See selected links below.) We urge you to seek out further learning about these intersections, as well as follow Palestinian voices that have been actively documenting this humanitarian crisis and its effects. We also urge you to engage with this information critically as part of your learning around the ongoing genocide as well as reproductive justice, as our members continue to do the same.

We extend our solidarity to the people of Palestine and recognize their liberation as a feminist issue. We affirm every person’s right to live freely, equitably, and in peace no matter their race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or other intersections. Reproductive rights and justice do not stop at abortion rights, and we are committed to solidarity through critical intersectional feminist frameworks in all of our work, including fighting for Palestinian liberation.

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Resources

An Extensive Guide on How to Support Palestine, by Spark & Co. – “a Community Interest Company in the UK dedicated to racialised people and communities.”

Ad’iyah – Reproductive Justice Collective (Instagram). “Providing support, love & dua for Muslims and their communities throughout their pregnancy ending journeys.”

HEART (Instagram): “We work to advance reproductive justice and uproot gendered violence by establishing choice and access for the most impacted Muslims.”