Too often, movements for social justice silo themselves into their respective issue areas. We leave environmental issues to climate groups; racial issues to civil rights organizations; poverty and economic inequality to social welfare institutions; and so forth. By doing so, we fail to acknowledge that these challenges are interconnected in profound and important ways. And we also limit our potential capacity. In this moment we must come together in solidarity.
While the leaked draft decision on the Dobbs case helped prepare me for this moment, it didn’t make it any less difficult. I have lived an extremely privileged life. I’m a cis-gender, straight, married, white woman, with a master’s degree, living in Maine with my upper-income family. The fear I feel for myself is nothing compared to the fear experienced by marginalized communities. I am fearful for Black, Brown, and Indigenous women. I am fearful for gay, non-gender conforming people, and trans men. I am fearful for our planet. Given my privileged identities and the privilege and power of the Sierra Club as an organization, lifting up marginalized communities is my (and our) responsibility.
The SCOTUS decision has set us back decades. It means that anyone with a uterus does not have control over their own body. They have stolen this basic human right. It will shove more people into poverty, it will harm our planet, and people will die.
The intersections of climate change and reproductive injustice will more greatly impact marginalized communities. For example, pollution makes pregnancy and fetal development riskier. In fact, pregnant people who live in communities close to oil and gas wells or chemical factories are more likely to have high-risk pregnancies, and give birth prematurely to babies who may face lifelong health and developmental challenges. These communities may not have the luxury of moving. And, now they don’t have the right to get an abortion.
Sierra Club Maine is committed to rising with our allies to mobilize against the Court’s decision and ensure reproductive justice for all. We know that every person deserves the right to live in healthy, clean, and safe communities with access to healthcare. While we’re not a reproductive rights organization, we will follow the lead of and stand in solidarity with those who are. Sierra Club Maine will continue to tackle the pieces of the problem that we’re uniquely well-positioned to solve: the fact that extreme heat, pollution, and climate disasters reduce our choices around when and how we wish to raise a child. Environmental justice is reproductive justice.
I encourage you to donate, follow, and/or volunteer with the amazing organizations listed below who are fighting for reproductive justice.
In solidarity,
Sarah Leighton
Chapter Director
Sierra Club Maine
Keep Our Clinics seeks to provide abortion providers, independent clinics, and their advocates the financial support to constantly defend reproductive rights in the courts and in their communities.
Maine Family Planning works to ensure all Maine people have access to high-quality, affordable reproductive health care, comprehensive sexual health education, and the right to control their reproductive lives.
Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund offers financial assistance and practical support to persons seeking abortion as well as free emergency contraception, community based comprehensive sex education and fighting for reproductive justice in Mississippi.
National Network of Abortion Funds builds power with members to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access by centering people who have abortions and organizing at the intersections of racial, economic, and reproductive justice.
Planned Parenthood Action Fund works to advance access to sexual health care and defend reproductive rights.
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England provides, promotes, and protects access to reproductive health care and sexuality education so that all people can make voluntary choices about their reproductive and sexual health.
Sister Song strengthens and amplifies the collective voices of indigenous women and women of color to achieve reproductive justice by eradicating reproductive oppression and securing human rights.