On July 22, 2014, DC interns gathered for a final Sex and Politics seminar. The past few sessions focused on developing useful strategies for discussing reproductive justice issues with members of Congress during the 2014 Advocacy Day. Through exploring connections between the LGBTQ Liberation Movement and fight for reproductive justice, learning more about mobilizing the younger generation to vote, and analyzing the work of faith-based organizations in the field students learned of the importance of collaboration and coalition building in affecting political change.

 Queering Reproductive Justice

To "queer" reproductive justice is to facilitate collaboration between two movements that share a long history of advocating for human rights. Reproductive Justice and LGBTQ activists are both motivated by visions for political, economic, and social, equality and liberation for all people regardless of sexual identity. During the July 9th session presented by URGE, the speakers discussed the benefits of forming coalitions between these two movements and how to facilitate building these relationships.

The LGBTQ community and those fighting for reproductive justice are often adversely affected by the same discriminatory legislation and practices. In part due to disparities in sexual education, youth ages 13-24 account for approximately 25 percent ofall newHIVinfections. The majority of these youth are young men who have sex with men (MSM). Dissuaded by problematic insurance protocols that jeopardize medical confidentiality, young people fear seeking medical attention for reproductive and sexual health concerns. Additionally, the Hobby Lobby decision threatens access to sexual health services, setting a discriminatory precedent that could affect the employment of many LGBTQ people under religious exemption clauses. People involved in these movements have a great deal to be angry about; however, the speakers emphasized that rallying around a shared vision for justice is more productive than allowing anger to serve as the primary fuel for social change.

Youth ShowOUT: Turning Out the Vote in Your Community

The July 16th session expanded upon the previous lessons by applying coalition building strategies to mobilize young voters. Presenters from Advocates for Youth, the Feminist Majority Foundation, and Planned Parenthood Generation spoke about their collaboration on the new campaign: Youth ShowOUT. Young people aged 18-29 constituted 21 percent of all eligible voters in 2012; this number is projected to increase by the 2020 elections. The majority of this generation supports reproductive justice ideals, and thus has the potential to make a large impact if organized and empowered to "Show Out." This refers to voting for government officials who share their values and beliefs and encouraging peers to do the same. The campaign was made possible by the organizations' shared values of reproductive health and justice.

Faith Advocacy and Reproductive Rights

The final session on July 22nd addressed the role that faith based organizations can play in the fight for reproductive justice. These organizations are not often regarded as allies to the movement. However, the speakers from Catholics for Choice, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Unitarian Universalist Association, and the United Church of Christ emphasized that stereotypical discriminatory beliefs are often not representative of the entire congregation. A recent study found that 46 percent of Catholics believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Additionally, a majority of Catholic and evangelical voters support the use of prescription birth control and believe all women should be able to access to this contraceptive.

Faith based coalitions such as the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) seek to address these misconceptions and promote a more representative image of faith-based organizations. They have advocated for access to contraception services, better treatment and prevention of HIV, and safe abortions around the world. Similar to the Youth ShowOUT campaign, these diverse organizations are motivated by their shared values to work towards societal change.

It seems unlikely that members of faith based organizations, LGBTQ activists, and advocates for reproductive justice would share similar goals for social justice. However, facilitating collaboration does not necessitate total agreement, but rather relies on connecting with the existing commonalities and shared values to build coalitions. Although these organizations and individuals do not agree on everything, they all value equality and human rights. These similarities have allowed them to come together to advocate as a collaborative unit for global reproductive health justice.

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