Everyone has a fundamental right to sexual and bodily autonomy, including the right to decide whether or when to become a parent, parent the children we have, and to do so with dignity and free from violence and discrimination. However, trans people have historically been denied these rights, since pregnancy, parenthood, and abortion continue to be seen as something that only affects ciswomen. On this episode, A.J. Lowik will discuss the ways that trans people have been excluded from receiving dignified reproductive healthcare, what trans reproductive justice looks like, and why it is important to ensure the inclusion of trans people in abortion politics.
On this episode, we use the term 'trans’ as an umbrella term to include transgender, transsexual, non-binary, genderqueer, gender neutral/agender, and gender non-conforming identities and experiences. We use the word 'cis-' to describe those whose gender identity matches with the sex they were assigned at birth.
Links:
A.J. Lowik’s website: https://www.ajlowik.com/
Trans Inclusive Abortion Care, Canada (2018)
A.J.’s instagram: @thegenderoffender
National LGBTQ Taskforce: Queering Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice: https://www.thetaskforce.org/reproductive-justice.html