Bodily autonomy is and always will be a central part of climate justice.
The relationship between extraction, environmental degradation and the violations of bodily autonomy are deeply connected. Whether it is the epidemic of gender-based violence faced by Indigenous water protectors and women human rights defenders on the frontlines of fossil fuel extraction, or the impact of heat waves and environmental toxins and pollutants on pregnant people—especially within Black, Indigenous and communities of color—the struggle for reproductive health and rights and bodily autonomy cannot be separated from the struggle for climate justice. Similarly, the ongoing assault on the human rights of transgender people, including the right to access gender-affirming care, is deeply violent.
The climate crisis demands that we transform the world we live in—one rooted in domination, extraction and exploitation—and move towards a world based on care and consent. This includes mobilizing to resist all forms of bodily control, violations of consent, and denial of reproductive rights and services—recognizing that these policies and ideologies are ones rooted in white supremacy, colonialism and patriarchy.
In both this immediate moment and the long-term struggle of mobilizing in the United States for abortion and reproductive rights, and gender justice broadly, WEDO also takes heart in recognizing that this is a global struggle. Feminist movements everywhere are winning victories, sharing lessons, and building power around abortion access, bodily autonomy, self determination, and reproductive justice.
Let us say loud and clear: gender justice means bodily autonomy and self determination for all.
Abortion is health care. Trans rights are human rights. There will be no climate justice in a world without bodily autonomy for all.
A few resources we’re reading and learning from, and taking action with:
