BMIP's Stance on Abortion
BMIP's Stance on Abortion
August 5, 2022
Black Mothers in Power stands for reproductive justice. We are Black led, women and femme led, and staunchly support the free and rightful access to abortion. Abortion is healthcare and people who have uteruses have seen legislation that ignores our existence and our innate right to choice over our own bodies for far too long.
Bodily autonomy for Black and Brown Uterus owners has been under attack since the inception of this nation state we call the United States of America. We see no unity in legislating our choice away. However, we are not surprised. Black and Brown bodies have been used, abused, enslaved, and medically experimented on in horrific ways. Forced birth is an American tradition. It’s as American as Apple Pie. Enslaved Africans did not have choice when they were forced to give birth on plantations to children they never wanted to see grow up in bondage, to children ripped away from them at birth to children they did not choose to carry.
Taking away the access to a life changing choice should not be taken lightly. Abortion is the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Life for the person who does not want or is not ready to be pregnant and give birth. Not to mention the horrendous Maternal-Child mortality and morbidity rates for Black birthing people in this country.
Banning abortions would increase pregnancy related deaths for Black birthing people by 33%. Forcing a Black person to give birth when they are 4x more likely to die in childbirth and after childbirth than any other demographic is abhorrent. However, we are not new to this. We are in fact true to this cause.
Our platform includes (but is not limited to): medicaid funding for abortion and doula services; requiring private insurance companies to cover the full cost of abortions without copays, coinsurance, or deductibles; expanding the list of clinicians who provide abortions; allow young people access to abortion free and safely. We will continue fighting the good fight and providing education in our community, creating equitable access to maternal child healthcare and resources, and advocating for the bodily autonomy of Black People.
In the meantime in between time - please consider donating to independent local abortion access funds in states where abortion is not codified into state law. Find out if your state will keep abortion legal even if Roe v. Wade is overturned here.