Mobilizing for Reproductive Justice: Activists’ Perspectives on Fighting Abortion Stigma and Creating Social Transformation

Abstract

Recent moves by the majority of U.S. states to restrict abortion rights marked a new stage in the movement for reproductive justice, the intersectional human rights framework inaugurated by Black feminists in the 1990s. Political organizing to engage voters and shift public opinion in favor of abortion rights implicates a number of key psychological processes, including prejudice and intergroup contact, despite a relative lack of attention to abortion stigma in mainstream psychology. Moreover, research on campaigns’ capacity to shift voter attitudes has largely focused on how such campaigns influence their targets; that is, potential voters. As part of a long-term collaboration with a statewide sexual and reproductive health advocacy group in Tennessee, we interviewed 18 canvassers who participated in a form of canvassing that focuses on dialogue and perspective-taking, rather than argumentation. These canvassers were trained in the reproductive justice framework and conducted hundreds of conversations in the months leading up to the landmark Dobbs decision. Thematic and situational analyses of our interviews yielded insight into how canvassers understand abortion stigma's multidimensional effects and the impact of deep values conversations on their own political views and life histories, as well as how political organizers can better engage their supporters and detractors.