We are working to protect Black people’s rights to bodily autonomy and privacy.

The graphic reads, "Keep Black people safe. Fight for reproductive justice. #NoDataForCops". The background image is a copy with binoculars. In the binoculars is an image of a positive pregnancy test. The Color Of Change logo is in the bottom corner.

John, 

Anti-abortion legislation is not pro-life; it’s pro-white supremacy. Instead of opposing abortions in favor of programs that would protect pregnant people and children, such as expanding social welfare services or advocating for paid parental leave or universal healthcare, anti-abortion activists often rely on violence to force birth without a safety net. Organizations like the National Association for Christian Lawmakers (NACL) have pushed for anti-abortion legislation that legalizes the bounty hunting of people who seek abortions in other states.1,2 In the United States, white supremacist actors have often cloaked their hateful movements in purported Christianity to deflect scrutiny from their true motives.3 And at the same time, tech companies like Facebook and Google collect data that can be used by these hateful groups to enact state-sanctioned violence. Last month, Facebook gave Nebraska law enforcement access to the direct messages of a teenager who had an abortion so that they could charge her with “removing/concealing/abandoning [a] dead human body,” “concealing the death of another person,” and “false reporting.”4 She is at risk for violence, harassment, and intimidation from anti-abortion extremists, some of whom have even murdered abortion providers.5 Due to the inherent violence of these groups and the danger of weaponizing reproductive health and outcomes data, companies must stop collecting this data and update their policies on hate groups to include these anti-abortion groups.

TELL TECH COMPANIES TO STOP BEING ACCOMPLICES FOR ANTI-ABORTION GROUPS

The criminalization of certain pregnancy outcomes is an act of coercive reproductive control, one that furthers a white supremacist agenda. The “great replacement” myth is a racist and anti-Semitic narrative that there is an intentional effort to replace white populations in current white-majority countries with historically oppressed populations.6 It has been the impetus for several mass shootings by white supremacists, including the murder of 10 Black people in Buffalo, New York, on May 14, 2022.7,8 This myth also drives the ongoing eugenics campaign in the United States, which has included the forced sterilization of Black people to limit the Black population.9 In 1973, Mary Alice and Minnie Relf—mentally disabled Black sisters—were only 14 and 12 years old when they were coerced into sterilization. Their eventual lawsuit exposed how federally funded programs threatened to take away economically-disadvantaged people’s welfare benefits if those persons declined sterilization.10,11 The overlap between anti-abortion groups and white supremacist and nationalist groups makes these abortion bans a matter of life and death for Black people. 

Reproductive justice is “the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.”12 We know achieving reproductive justice is neither just securing the right to an abortion nor a single-issue struggle. The Black storytellers from our Liberated Bodies campaign speak about the spectrum of barriers—from the inability to afford an abortion to the physical distance to the nearest abortion provider—to getting an immediate abortion and how accessing abortions contributed to their autonomy.13 Reproductive and economic justice are racial justice; when our people achieve racial justice, we thrive.

Our bodily autonomy is central to our liberation. Corporations that serve as accomplices to governments seeking to limit our bodily autonomy don’t deserve peace. We have sent almost 3,000 postcards and are sending more to corporations demanding that they center the needs of Black women, trans, and non-binary people. Corporations must stop collecting private data and start deplatforming anti-abortion groups so we can move closer to a world where Black people have the freedom and safety to make decisions about our own health and bodies without fear of surveillance or punishment. Companies must always prioritize the safety and well-being of all Black people, even when the law does not. 

SEND A POSTCARD TO TECH COMPANIES NOW!

Until justice is real, 
—Jade Magnus Ogunnaike and the Color Of Change team

P.S. Please donate to abortion funds and learn how to keep your reproductive decisions private and secure.

References: 

  1. Caroline Kitchener and Devlin Barrett, “Antiabortion lawmakers want to block patients from crossing state lines,” The Washington Post, June 30, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/357414?t=9&akid=53535%2E4731121%2EJsUFo8. 
  2. “NACL Model State Heartbeat Act,” National Association for Christian Lawmakers, July 22, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/358254?t=11&akid=53535%2E4731121%2EJsUFo8. 
  3. Tom Gjelten, “White supremacists ideas have historical roots in U.S. Christianity,” NPR, July 1, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/358255?t=13&akid=53535%2E4731121%2EJsUFo8. 
  4. Jason Koebler and Anna Merlan, “ This is the data Facebook gave police to prosecute a teenager for abortion,” Vice, August 9, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/358257?t=15&akid=53535%2E4731121%2EJsUFo8. 
  5. “Anti-Abortion Violence,” NARAL, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/361925?t=17&akid=53535%2E4731121%2EJsUFo8.
  6. Jason Wilson and Aaron Flanagan, “The Racist ‘Great Replacement’ Conspiracy Theory Explained,” Southern Poverty Law Center, May 17, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/358258?t=19&akid=53535%2E4731121%2EJsUFo8. 
  7. Ibid.
  8. Carolyn Thompson, “Buffalo supermarket shooter arraigned on federal charges,” AP News, July 18, 2022,  https://act.colorofchange.org/go/358259?t=21&akid=53535%2E4731121%2EJsUFo8. 
  9. Paola Alonso, “Autonomy Revoked: The Forced Sterilization of Women of Color in 20th Century America,” Texas Women’s University, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/358260?t=23&akid=53535%2E4731121%2EJsUFo8. 
  10. “Relf V. Weinberger,” Southern Poverty Law Center, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/361926?t=25&akid=53535%2E4731121%2EJsUFo8.
  11. Ibid.
  12. “Reproductive Justice,” Sister Song, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/142194?t=27&akid=53535%2E4731121%2EJsUFo8. 
  13. “Liberated Bodies,” https://act.colorofchange.org/go/358266?t=29&akid=53535%2E4731121%2EJsUFo8.