online – Seeking Women’s Health Justice

The Covid pandemic highlighted just how dysfunctional and inequitable the United States health care system is. Health care spending, both per person and as a share of the national budget, continues to be far higher in the United States than in other high-income countries, and yet we have higher maternity and infant death rates than any other developed country. And the Supreme Court ruling that over-turned Roe v. Wade eroded women’s right to control their own bodies. This change indicated that additional rulings may further diminish other health-related rights such as access to contraception.

This webinar will examine three areas of women’s health from the perspective of justice – reproductive rights, health care challenges of incarcerated women, and maternal health. The webinar will explore how the US health care system does not adequately address the health needs of women. By assessing health justice through the lens of women’s health, we see that not only is the system inadequate, but that also, because of excessive pentagon spending we lack the resources to adequately alter the system.

Join us on International Women’s Day for a discussion about women’s health justice and its connections to the peace movement. Register for the Zoom webinar here!

We will be joined by:

Chris Chanyasulkit is President of the American Public Health Association. Chris’ work is grounded in a strong belief in eliminating the structural barriers to equity for vulnerable populations, and by working to promote racial, gender, and health equity. Building on her research on maternal and child health and health disparities, Chris will explore the issues of abortion health justice.

Sashi James is the director of reimagining communities for Families for Justice as Healing and The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. As a daughter of formerly incarcerated parents she understands the trauma endured when a parent is separated from their child because of incarceration. Sashi oversees a partnership with the Women’s Bar association to train attorneys to coordinate representation for clemency petitions, and engage with communities impacted by incarceration. Sashi will discuss how we can seek justice in health care for incarcerated women.

Liz Miranda is a Massachusetts State Senator, member of the Massachusetts Black and Latino caucus, and a member of the Massachusetts Special Commission on Racial Inequities in Maternal Health. She has passed legislation to provide enforceable tools to protect the life and health of environmental justice communities, improve maternal health outcomes of Black women and birthing people, and to extend postpartum health insurance coverage. In 2021, Sen Miranda received the Progressive Legislator of the Year Award by Progressive Massachusetts, and was named one of Boston’s Most Impactful Black Women, by Boston Magazine. Sen. Miranda will present an overview on Maternal Health Justice.