In 2002 there was heavy media coverage on a case that sent ripples around the country. Many LGBT families felt the impact and the possible implications it could have had for many of their own families.
Steven Lofton and Roger Croteau, foster parents and a same-sex couple, gained national attention when they tried to formally adopt a 10-year-old boy they raised from birth. A harmful 1977 Florida law prohibited adoptions by LGBT couples.
Although this case received national attention, it is not unusual or unheard of for same-sex families to face situations like this all the time. Whether they are battling a law, loved ones in their own families or society around their "family choice," it is clear that the reproductive justice movement and the LGBT community are closely intertwined.
Reproductive Justice was coined and developed 20 years ago by women of color. It merges the Human Rights Declaration, social justice principles and reproductive rights into a framework that recognizes these basic tenets:
— The ability to terminate a pregnancy
— The ability to carry a pregnancy to term; and
— The ability to parent the children you have without governmental interference
The phrase means "the complete physical, mental, spiritual, political, economic, and social well-being of women and girls, and will be achieved when women and girls have the economic, social, and political power and resources to make healthy decisions about our bodies, sexuality, and reproduction for ourselves, our families, and our communities in all areas of our lives."
Although it was developed initially for women and girls, it is clear that this framework encompasses all individuals as they demand their right to full autonomy. In Article 12 of the Human Rights Declaration it states that "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks."
Marginalized communities have always suffered reproductive injustices. Whether it was being forced to bear children against their will, being forcibly sterilized without knowledge or consent, or governmental monitoring of families thru "assistance programs," poor people have always had their rights violated.
So the LGBT community needs to recognize that the lawmakers who work to control the poor are the same ones that are working to stop LGBT families from existing. Obviously, these individuals in power do not believe in "choice." Homophobic and anti-choice individuals do not respect women or LGBT families. This is abundantly clear.
As the former executive director of the Chicago Abortion Fund, I spent the last 10 years fighting against reproductive injustices and advocating for "choice" and "access" for low-income and poor women and girls. When the organization formally adopted the Reproductive Justice framework in 2010 as a part of our mission and vision, it was because we recognized and understood the intersectionality and connections of all community injustices, not just abortion.
Not being able to have the type of family you want or parent the family you already have is clearly discriminatory, clearly a violation of privacy and an attack on parents. Yet, this is just one case. There are many examples of this blatant disrespect of human beings. This is why we must all work for equality for all of us, not just some of us.
Reproductive justice is not just about abortion and the LGBT community should play close attention.
In the case of Steven Lofton and his husband Roger Croteau, their ability to parent the children they were raising in their household without governmental interference is one we must always remember. There is no proven evidence that LGBT individuals are unfit parents. The argument that all children need a "mother" and "father" rather than a "parent" is an argument that does not hold up. Children need love, support, guidance and an emotionally healthy environment, period. To deny individuals the right to parent their children and families is reproductive injustice and must not be tolerated.
If two white male nurses with educations, the financial means and resources can find themselves discriminated against, then everyday LGBT families around the country will find themselves in uphill battles and at the mercy of crazy politicians and draconian laws. Our movements are connected and we must work together. If you fail to stand with your brothers and sisters on their basic right to autonomy, then the enemy will surely come for you as well.
