The relationship between feminism, reproductive rights, and reproductive justice is not clear-cut. Early women’s rights activists campaigned for political equality among the sexes based on traditional views about women’s supposedly natural roles as mothers. They argued that some mothers are better than other mothers. The Famous Five espoused white nationalist and ableist beliefs, supporting an overt “Keeping Canada White” policy through eugenics programmes, which forcibly sterilized those labelled ‘feeble-minded.’ Despite a formal end to eugenics in Alberta in 1972, notions of ‘ideal motherhood’ continue to influence eugenic practices. Indigenous women reported coerced sterilization in Alberta hospitals, as documented in a class action lawsuit. Whereas the Canadian women’s movement struggled in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s for reproductive rights, Indigenous, Black, and racialized women continue to struggle for reproductive justice. The case of Ms. G and her son exemplifies the need for reproductive justice, including the right to reproduce in culturally healthy and safe ways. The Government of Canada reports that 52.2% of children in foster care are Indigenous despite comprising only 7.7% of the total population of children in Canada. This is an affront to reproductive justice and the holistic approach to reproductive autonomy developed by women of colour. A reproductive justice approach emphasizes that reproduction happens on a collective level and not just at the level of the individual or family.
Test Yourself
Discussion Questions
Reflect on using gender-inclusive language to discuss pregnancy and parenting. What are your initial responses to reading about the “manly art of pregnancy”? Do you think using gender-neutral language is necessary for achieving reproductive rights and reproductive justice? Why or why not? Make sure to reference course materials in your response.
Remember to schedule an office hours appointment with the course instructor(s) or TAs if you want to check in about anything related to the course. Our office hours booking links are available on eClass.
References
Abortion Caravan. 1970. “Abortion Caravan Demands and Brief.” https://riseupfeministarchive.ca/activism/issues-actions/the-abortion-caravan/
Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice. N.d. A New Vision for Advancing our Movement for Reproductive Health, Reproductive Rights, and Reproductive Justice. https://forwardtogether.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/ACRJ-A-New-Vision.pdf
Campbell, Tenille K. 2018. “Making Love Under Indian Acts.” Briar Patch, December 27, 2018. https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/making-love-under-indian-acts
CBC News. 2015. “Ms. G, Winnipeg Woman in 90s Fetus Rights Case, Watches Son Graduate.” CBC News, June 26, 2015. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ms-g-winnipeg-woman-in-90s-fetus-rights-case-watches-son-graduate-1.3129999
Eugenic Archives. N.d. Eugenics Archive. https://www.eugenicsarchive.ca/
Government of Canada. 2023. “Reducing the Number of Indigenous Children in Care.” Updated February 15, 2023. https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1541187352297/1541187392851
Grekul, Jana, Harvey Krahn, and Dave Odynak. 2004. “Sterilizing the ‘Feeble-minded’: Eugenics in Alberta, Canada, 1929-1972.” Journal of Historical Sociology 17 (4): 358-84.
Harder, Lois. 2006. “Women and Politics in Canada.” In Women, Democracy and Globalization in North America: A Comparative Study, edited by J. Bayes, P. Begné, L. Gonzalez, and L. Harder, 51-76. New York: Palgrave.
Moss, Erin L., Stam, Henderikus J., and Diane Kattevilder. 2013. “From Suffrage to Sterilization: Eugenics and the Women’s Movement in 20th Century Alberta.” Canadian Psychology 54 (2): 105-14. DOI: 10.1037/a0032644.
John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister, believed in the superiority of the “Aryan” race, arguing for the prevention of ‘race’ mixing: “If you look around the world,” he said in an 1885 speech in the House of Commons, “you will see that the Aryan races will not wholesomely amalgamate with Africans or the Asiatics” (quoted in Smith, 2003: 112)
Thompson, Debra. 2009. “Racial Ideas and Gendered Intimacies: The Regulation of Interracial Relationships in North America.” Social and Legal Studies 18 (3): 353-71. https://doi-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/10.1177/0964663909339087
Wallace, J. 2010. “The Manly Art of Pregnancy” In Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation, edited by K. Bornstein and S. B. Bergman, 189-195. Berkeley: Seal Press. https://search-alexanderstreet-com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cdocument%7C1835096?account_id=14474&usage_group_id=96203
Whiting, Glynis, director. 1996. “The Sterilization of Leilani Muir.” National Film Board of Canada. 47 min.
Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice. 1994. “Reproductive Justice.” November 1994.
Wells, Karin. 2018. “50 Years Ago, the Women of Canada’s ‘Abortion Caravan’ Stormed Parliament for Reproductive Rights.” CBC Radio, June 1, 2018. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/sunday/the-sunday-edition-june-3-2018-1.4685998/50-years-ago-the-women-of-canada-s-abortion-caravan-stormed-parliament-for-reproductive-rights-1.4687293