IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1411 

Recognizing July 2024 as the 30th anniversary of the reproductive justice 

movement to raise awareness around the history of reproductive justice 

and honor the foremothers of the reproductive justice movement, build 

a world in which Black girls and gender expansive people, as well as 

all Americans marginalized by their race, class, or gender, are free 

from systems of reproductive oppression of their bodies, sexuality, labor, 

and reproduction. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 6, 2024 

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. WILSON of Florida, 

Ms. UNDERWOOD, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, and Mr. EVANS) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing July 2024 as the 30th anniversary of the reproductive justice movement to raise awareness around the 

history of reproductive justice and honor the foremothers 

of the reproductive justice movement, build a world in 

which Black girls and gender expansive people, as well 

as all Americans marginalized by their race, class, or 

gender, are free from systems of reproductive oppression 

of their bodies, sexuality, labor, and reproduction. 


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•HRES 1411 IH 

Whereas, 30 years ago, in 1994, a trailblazing group of Black 

women came together to advance a health agenda centered on the unique concerns and lived experiences of 

women and girls of color, especially Black women and 

girls, who faced longstanding health disparities, including 

higher rates of infant and maternal mortality and morbidity, breast cancer, fibroids, gender-based violence, and 

HIV/AIDS; 

Whereas they coined this vision to be ‘‘reproductive justice’’, 

building on concepts of reproductive rights, social justice, 

and human rights as a way of centering the specific lived 

experiences of Black women; 

Whereas reproductive justice offers a human rights framework that affirms the right to not have a child, the right 

to have a child, the right to the social and economic supports to parent one’s children, free from violence, and the 

right to bodily autonomy and sexual expression; 

Whereas the foremothers of the reproductive justice movement helped the Nation to understand that Black women 

know what it means to lead communities and lead movements, while struggling for basic equality, social justice, 

and human rights; 

Whereas reproductive justice seeks to address bans and restrictions on reproductive health, including abortion, that 

have perpetuated systems of oppression, lack of bodily 

autonomy, White supremacy, and anti-Black racism, all 

rooted in systems resulting the enslavement, rape, and 

experimentation of Black people, forced sterilizations, 

medical experimentation on low-income women’s reproductive systems, and the forcible removal of indigenous 

children; 


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•HRES 1411 IH 

Whereas Black women and gender expansive Black people are 

three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related 

causes than White women in the United States; 

Whereas studies show that when Black women suffer from 

severe injuries or pregnancy complications or simply ask 

for assistance, they are often dismissed or ignored in the 

health care settings that are supposed to care for them; 

Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States upended 

nearly 50 years of its own precedent and issued a majority opinion in Dobbs v. Women’s Health Organization 

that overturned the constitutional right to abortion care 

enshrined by Roe v. Wade and continues to disproportionately impact Black women and girls, who are more 

likely to lack economic resources, to be unemployed and 

uninsured, and to be insured by programs that restrict 

coverage for abortion care; 

Whereas the Black LGBTQIA+ community experiences disproportionate levels of homelessness, poverty, and unemployment and a crisis of violence against Black 

transgender women and girls; 

Whereas, too often, Black families lack access to jobs with a 

living wage, safe and secure housing, accessible transportation, and affordable, healthy food; 

Whereas Black families bear the brunt of environmental injustices like air and water pollution, which worsen health 

outcomes, and the burden of law enforcement officials operating with unfair and unjust biases, which can be fatal; 

and 

Whereas Black women are the largest voting constituency in 

the United States electorate: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 


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•HRES 1411 IH 

1 (1) honors the 30th anniversary of the founding 

2 of the reproductive justice movement; 

3 (2) acknowledges a history of institutional rac4 ism, inhumanity, and inequality of access to infor5 mation, services, and supports, especially for Black 

6 women, girls, and LGTBQI+ individuals, and recog7 nizes that the mission of reproductive justice can 

8 help to continue to remedy this history, as we fight 

9 to fully realize the promise of these United States; 

10 (3) acknowledges the right to bodily autonomy 

11 rooted in the ‘‘liberty doctrine’’ of the 14th Amend12 ment to the Constitution, established during the Re13 construction era to ensure all Americans, including 

14 enslaved Americans—Black Americans—had a fun15 damental right to life, liberty, and property, free 

16 from forced labor, forced abortion, and forced preg17 nancy; 

18 (4) supports the Equal Access to Abortion Cov19 erage in Healthcare (EACH) Act’s policies of repeal20 ing the Hyde Amendment to guarantee abortion cov21 erage regardless of a patient’s health insurance sta22 tus or ZIP Code; 

23 (5) supports the American Rescue Plan’s poli24 cies to address racial disparities in maternal and 

25 child health outcomes and give States the option to 


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•HRES 1411 IH 

1 provide a full year of postpartum coverage to women 

2 on Medicaid, increasing it from just 60 days pre3 viously; 

4 (6) recognizes a long history of reproductive in5 justice fueled by systemic racism and bias; 

6 (7) supports a whole-of-government approach to 

7 make even progress in reproductive health inequities, 

8 including through the White House Blueprint for 

9 Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis; 

10 (8) supports the ability to parent one’s child in 

11 a safe and secure environment, with all necessary so12 cioeconomic support and without any form of vio13 lence; 

14 (9) encourages public officials, educators, li15 brarians, public health officers, health care workers, 

16 and all the people of the United States to raise 

17 awareness around the history of reproductive justice 

18 and observe this anniversary; 

19 (10) commits to advancing policy that will build 

20 a world in which Black girls and gender expansive 

21 people, as well as all Americans marginalized by 

22 their race, class, or gender, are free from systems of 

23 reproductive oppression of their bodies, sexuality, 

24 labor, and reproduction; 


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•HRES 1411 IH 

1 (11) affirms that voting rights is a reproductive 

2 justice issue, and access to the ballot box is central 

3 to protecting reproductive health, rights, and justice 

4 in localities and States across the country; and 

5 (12) recognizes that reproductive justice calls 

6 on governments and society to ensure conditions 

7 exist for each individual in the United States and 

8 across the world to realize reproductive justice val9 ues. 

Æ 


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