Day 5- Race, Eugenics, and Roe

What is Murray’s main argument in Race-ing Roe?

• Written pre-Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization warning about Thomas

• Argues trait-selection bans may be used to overturn Roe

• Shows how race + eugenics are being used strategically in abortion law

How did slavery shape reproductive control?

• Enslaved women’s reproduction = economic asset

• After 1808 ban → reproduction replaced slave trade

• No autonomy → forced reproduction

• Resistance:

  • abortion

  • contraception

• Reproduction = tool of control

What was the racial classification system?

• Pseudoscientific grouping of races

• Used to justify:

  • hierarchy

  • inequality

• Foundation for eugenics + racial control

Why was abortion criminalized in the 19th century?

• Fear declining white birth rates

• Concern about immigrants + nonwhite populations

• Physicians pushed criminalization to:

  • control reproduction

  • professionalize medicine that was majority minority women

• Goal: preserve white dominance

What was the eugenics movement?

• “Improving stock” through reproduction control

• Based on:

  • Social Darwinism

  • racial hierarchy

• Led to:

  • sterilization laws

  • anti-miscegenation laws

• Targeted “unfit” populations

How did birth control connect to eugenics?

• Early feminists → autonomy

• Margaret Sanger linked BC to eugenics for legitimacy

• Framed contraception as:

  • preventing “unfit” reproduction

• Distinguished from abortion

How did Black communities respond to birth control?

• Some support (health, autonomy, spacing children)

• Some opposition:

  • “race suicide”

  • interference with nature

• Shows internal debate over reproductive control

What is the “Black genocide” argument?

• Abortion + family planning seen as:

  • tools to reduce the Black population

• Supported by:

  • Black Panthers

  • Nation of Islam

• Reflects distrust of state intervention

How did Black women respond to the genocide narrative?

• Defended reproductive access

• Argued real issue =:

  • unsafe abortions

  • poverty

• Emphasized:

  • autonomy

  • structural inequality

What role did Black media play?

• Published discussions on family planning

• Spread information within Black communities

• Influenced public perception of reproduction

What were population control arguments?

• Framed abortion as:

  • environmental solution

  • economic necessity

• Both Often targeted:

  • poor

  • marginalized groups

• Echoes eugenic logic

What is reproductive justice?

• Goes beyond “choice”

• Focuses on:

  • structural inequality

• 3 rights:

  • have children

  • not have children

  • raise children safely

What did Roe leave out that the reproductive justice movement mentions?

• Focused on privacy and choice, not equality

• Ignored:

  • race

  • class

  • access

• Limited ability to argue:

  • funding

  • structural barriers

What were the limits of Roe in practice?

• Assumed women had:

  • money

  • access to doctors

• Ignored realities:

  • poverty

  • childcare

• Result: unequal access despite legal right

How is race used in abortion debates?

• Anti-abortion advocates:

  • compare abortion to slavery (e.g., Dred Scott v. Sandford analogy)

• Frame fetus as oppressed group

• Use racial justice language for political goals

What is the distinction between negative and positive rights?

• Negative rights: freedom from state interference (Roe)

• Positive rights: actual access (funding, care)

• Roe provided only negative rights → limited real-world impact

How is RJ used today? What was June Medical service case

• Focus on:

  • inequality

  • real-world burdens

• Seen in cases like June Medical Services v. Russo- abortion restrictions disproportionately burden low-income people and communities of color

• Highlights disproportionate impact on:

  • low-income people

  • people of color

How do opponents use RJ language?

• Claim abortion = racial injustice

• Use messaging like:

  • “Black genocide.”

  • “Unborn Black Lives Matter.”

• Strategic reframing to gain support

What are the 3 components of RJ?

• Reproductive health (services)

• Reproductive rights (legal access)

• Reproductive justice (social equality)

How do race and disability intersect?

• Disability used in abortion debates:

  • pro-choice → emphasizes hardship

  • anti-abortion → emphasizes value of life

• Laws (e.g., PRENDA) restrict abortions based on:

  • race

  • sex

  • disability

• Tied to Thomas’s argument linking abortion to eugenics

What is Dorothy Roberts’s main argument about reproductive rights?

• “Choice” framework is too narrow and privileged

• Assumes equal access, but ignores:

  • race

  • class

  • resources

• Calls for Reproductive Justice (RJ) → focuses on real ability to control reproduction

Why does Roberts argue the “choice” framework fails?

• Frames abortion as a private decision → weakens support for funding (e.g., Hyde Amendment)

• Ignores:

  • sterilization abuse

  • right to have children

• Blames women for “bad choices” instead of structural inequality

• Overlooks issues like:

  • welfare limits

  • criminalization of pregnancy

What does Roberts say about foster care?

• Disproportionately affects children of color

• Reflects:

  • systemic inequality

  • devaluation of Black motherhood

What example shows criminalization of pregnancy?

• “Crack baby” panic

• Mothers arrested for endangering fetus

• Focus on punishment rather than support

What did Harris v. McRae hold and why is it important?

• Upheld Hyde Amendment

• Government does not have to fund abortion

Reasoning:

• Constitution protects negative rights (no interference)

• Not positive rights (no obligation to provide access)

Impact:

• Reinforces inequality in access

• Effectively pushes poor women toward childbirth