Theoretical Framework

How do we conceptualize the question of what, if any, are the psychological and physical implications of recent court decisions on women’s reproductive rights and their right to bodily autonomy through a theoretical lens?

The injustices women face regarding their bodily autonomy can be best explained from the Reproductive Justice lens. According to the founders of the Reproductive Justice framework, “the definition of reproductive justice goes beyond the pro-choice/pro-life debate and has three primary principles: (1) the right not to have a child; (2) the right to have a child; and (3) the right to parent children in safe and healthy environments. In addition, reproductive justice demands sexual autonomy and gender freedom for every human being” (Ross & Solinger, 2017, p. 9). This framework inherently impedes the status quo and seeks to imagine “better futures through radical forms of resistance and critique” (Ross, 2017, p. 292).

    Morison (2021) states that the reproductive justice framework provides psychologists with an “effective lens” to view the “gendered power dynamics and sociopolitical complexities shaping people's reproductive lives and experiences.” Psychologists can aid communities in accessing information and services, education, providing information on sexual exploitation and violence, and they can contribute to the research on both social and economic deprivation (Morison, 2021, p. 4) As mental health professionals who are obligated to comply with certain ethical guidelines set out by the American Psychological Association (APA), we are advocates, allies, and activists for social change (Melton, 2018). This paper seeks to explain a few of the many injustices that plague not only women but specifical women from underserved populations. 

References

Melton, M. L. (2018). Ally, activist, advocate: Addressing role complexities for the multiculturally competent psychologist. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 49(1), 83–89. https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000175 

Morison, T. (2021). Reproductive justice: A radical framework for researching sexual and reproductive issues in psychology. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 15(6). https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12605 

Ross, L. J. (2017). Reproductive Justice as Intersectional Feminist Activism. Souls, 19(3), 286–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/10999949.2017.1389634 

Ross, L. J., & Solinger, R. (2017). A Reproductive Justice History. In Reproductive Justice: An Introduction (1st ed., pp. 9–57). University of California Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctv1wxsth.4