July is Disability Pride Month. A time to celebrate disabled people, challenge ableism, and recognize disability as part of human diversity. Not a footnote. Not a side issue. Central to the fight for justice.
Reproductive justice means every person gets to decide if, when, and how to grow their family, and lead safe, healthy, self – determined lives. Disabled people have been fighting for that right for generations, often against the same systems.
The history is not subtle.
Forced sterilization. Denied parenthood. Medical decisions made without consent. Healthcare access blocked by inaccessible buildings, ableist providers, and systems that were never built with disabled bodies in mind.
Reproductive oppression and disability oppression share a root: control over whose bodies get to exist on their own terms.
Disability does not exist in isolation.
It intersects with caste, class, gender, and race, shaping who gets access to care, dignity, and opportunity in the first place. When caste, race, or class gets left out of disability advocacy, or when disability gets left out of reproductive justice work, the most marginalized people pay the price.
[Disclaimer: These stories reflect the voices, experiences, and perspectives of the COLOR team shared in the spirit of learning, connection, and collective growth.]