Joyce Arthur, Executive Director ARCCÂ
Joyce Arthur is a Canadian feminist and pro-choice activist based in British Columbia. She is the founder and executive director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC), a national organization that advocates for accessible and affordable abortion services across Canada. She has been active in the pro-choice movement for many years and is known for her work in educating the public and policymakers about abortion rights and reproductive justice. She also write and publish on those topics.
What is Reproductive Justice?
Reproductive justice is a framework that encompasses the right to have children, the right not to have children, and the right to parent the children one has in safe and healthy environments. It is a social justice movement that emerged from the intersection of reproductive rights and civil rights movements in the United States. The term was first coined in 1994 by a group of Black feminists, and it has since been adopted and expanded upon by other marginalized communities.
The Reproductive justice lens is a more comprehensive way of looking at reproductive health issues by highlighting the intersection of different social issues such as economic, racial and gender discrimination. It addresses the ways in which these issues impact individuals and communities’ ability to control their own fertility, access healthcare, and raise their children in safe and healthy environments. This concept thus expands the traditional pro-choice movement that focuses only on the right to access abortion and birth control, to recognizing the multiple ways in which systemic oppression can hinder or enable people’s reproductive lives.
Why Don’t We Discuss Abortion in Schools?
There still is a heavy stigma on the topic of abortion for many reasons. It is a deeply personal issue that is also steeped with morality . For Joyce however, you cannot achieve equality without having
Abortion is a complex and emotionally charged issue, and discussions about it in public schools can be controversial and divisive. In many places, there are differing opinions and beliefs about abortion, and schools may be reluctant to take a stance on the issue or to facilitate discussions that could be seen as promoting one viewpoint over another.
In addition, there are many legal and policy considerations that come into play when discussing abortion in schools. In the United States, for example, the Supreme Court has held that states have the right to regulate abortion, and some states have laws in place that prohibit or limit the discussion of abortion in schools.
Schools are also generally supposed to be a safe and inclusive space for students, and discussing abortion may make some students feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. Some students may come from families with strong religious or moral objections to abortion, or may have had personal experiences with abortion, and discussing the topic could be traumatic for them.
