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A congressional bill to ban sex-selective abortions and those based on race—the so-called PRENDA bill—poses as a defender of gender equity and racial justice. Sujatha Jesudason says its real effect would be to undermine both.
In this editorial by Sujatha and Julia Epstein, argue that the disability rights framework offers the pro-choice movement its best opportunity to shift the abortion debate from a medical argument about fetal pain and viability to a positive, potentially game-changing platform on overall human rights.
We hosted an online Webinar to discuss the release of our latest report: Forensic DNA Database Expansion: Growing Racial Inequalities, Eroding Civil Liberties and Diminishing Returns. The report highlights some key issues: growing racial inequalities, eroding civil liberties and diminishing returns.
“Restricting women’s rights and questioning their decision-making is an utterly misguided approach to promoting gender equality”, said Sujatha Jesudason, Executive Director, Generations Ahead. “Our real challenge is to change the context in which sex selection occurs,
and address gender and racial equality issues while protecting the right of all women to make the best reproductive decisions for themselves and their families.”
Sujatha Jesudason and Julia Epstein write about the “unfortunate paradox that arises when pro- and anti-choice advocates talk about disabilities. On one hand, reproductive rights proponents can portray disability as a tragic state that justifies abortion,” while on the other hand, “anti-choice advocates proclaim their value for all life, including individuals with and without disabilities.”
Sujatha joined two other scholars to discuss issues facing the future of families. For her part Sujatha discussed “What’s a Feminist to Do? How New Anti-abortion Strategies and New Technologies are Reconfiguring the Debate over Sex Selection, Race and Abortion”
Sujatha was invited to contribute a commentary in this weeks “Room for Debate: Making Laws About Making Babies.” She concludes, “Before we go down the tricky and contentious path of regulating family making, let’s first make a concerted effort to give families, doctors, insurance companies and fertility clinics the easiest opportunity to do the right thing. And only if that doesn’t work, let’s then talk about regulation.”
In this age of too much effort to control our unpredictable world, let us all strive to shift our emphasis from “What kind of child do I want?” to “What kind of parent do I want to be?” -Susannah Baruch
Tackling the real gender inequality and stereotypes that lead to sex selection, including infringements on women’s choices, is the only way to have people regard potential daughters with the joy and expectation too many reserve only for sons.
Sujatha discusses ways sex selection raises complex social and cultural questions in Asia, Asian American communities and for the reproductive justice movement around the world. Discussion begins at minute 36:45.
Generations Ahead is mentioned as an organization that has prioritized the issue of sex selection
Article mentioning Generations Ahead’s research on “family balancing.”
Magazine includes an article about sex selection written by Generations Ahead
Blog linking to the sign-on statement about disability rights and reproductive rights.
Blog linking to the sign-on statement about disability rights and reproductive rights.
Generations Ahead is one of four organizations highlighted in, How Four Social Justice Organizations Succeeded in the Face of Financial Insecurity
Sujatha Jesudason responds to the efforts to regulate sex selection as a foreshadow for emerging attempts to regulate assisted reproductive technologies.
Video interview of Sujatha Jesudason.
Written interview with Emily Galpern.
Written interview with Emily Galpern, Miriam Yeung, Jackie Payne, Kierra Johnson.
Audio interview with Sujatha Jesudason, Aimee Thorne-Thomsen and Mia Mingus.
Audio Interview with Debora Spar and Emily Galpern.
Sujatha will be on a panel focused on surveillance and tracking through government data collection. Panelists will discuss the current state of biometrics and DNA collection at the federal level and how that data collection impacts privacy, especially for immigrant communities. Panelists will explain the technology behind biometrics and DNA collection and will discuss what is possible now and in the future. Panelists will also talk about specific programs already in place at the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, and the FBI, information sharing among the agencies, and the specific privacy laws and practices that govern federal data collection.
Sujatha spoke about one of the more incendiary tactics by anti-choice advocates: legislation to ban abortion for sex and race. Conflating charges of sex selection with claims of “race-selective abortions” and black genocide, they introduced legislation to “protect” Asian and African American women while undermining abortion. Yet, selective abortion and technologies that allow for trait selection are challenging feminists to develop more nuanced positions on reproductive freedom least we abandon our commitments to race, disability and gender justice. What positions might we take? What are the politics “discouraging” sex selective practices and pivoting to “healthy parenting” while protecting women’s reproductive freedom?
Come join Narika for a FREE audience participatory workshop with renowned panelists:
Dr. Sunita Puri
Sujatha Jesudason Ph.D
Professor Raka Ray
Saturday, October 29, 2011 from 11 AM – 1 PM
Fremont Family Resource Center
Pacific Room (H800)
39155 Liberty St
Fremont, CA 94537
Registration is required. To register please email: outreach@narika.org
Or Call: (510) 444-6068
Seats are limited.
Sujatha joins two other scholars to discuss issues facing the future of families. For her part Sujatha will discuss "What’s a Feminist to Do? How New Anti-abortion Strategies and New Technologies are Reconfiguring the Debate over Sex Selection, Race and Abortion"
Fatal Invention is a major new work on the frontier of race and genetics by acclaimed author Dorothy Roberts, whose book Killing the Black Body revolutionized our understanding of ethnicity and the politics of reproduction and made Roberts an icon in the field. The author will discuss her book and thought-provoking work followed by a Q&A; books will be sold and signing will be held after the discussion. Free admission. This event will be of special interest to activists, scholars and all others concerned about social, racial and reproductive justice. RSVP requested to cgs@geneticsandsociety.org
© 2008-2012 Generations Ahead, a Project of the Tides Center