Paper short abstract:

Antiabortion activism has increased recently in the United States, introducing legislative restrictions and funding cuts. This paper discusses the strategies by and collaboration between three organizations within the movement for reproductive justice that counter antiabortion activism.

Paper long abstract:

Antiabortion activism has increased recently in the United States where conservatives are becoming proactive. Conservatives have introduced a municipal ban on abortion in Albuquerque and a constitutional amendment defining personhood in Colorado three times, and restricted access to reproductive health care in Texas through funding cuts. These efforts have provoked opposition and collaboration by organizations in the movement for reproductive justice by and for women of color that frame their work through intersectionality and human rights. Dorf and Tarrow (2014) call for analyses of reciprocal relations between movements and countermovements in legal and political opportunity structures. This paper discusses the strategies by and collaboration between three organizations within the movement for reproductive justice that counter antiabortion activism. I argue that women of color working in the movement for reproductive justice resist antiabortion forces using particular strategies: 1) They construct a "strengths-based" approach that does not engage the opposition directly but instead frames their work as drawing on the resiliency and spirituality of communities; 2) They strategically use storytelling—eliciting narratives and dialogues in public settings—to garner voter support; 3) They reach out to political actors who previously have not been involved in reproductive justice by collaborating "across sectors"—differences by race, religious affiliation, political emphases, etc. 4) They provide resources and moral support to one another. These practices concretize the praxis of intersectionality through "world-making" (Duong 2012)— creating a collective political identity that incorporates constituents across the political spectrum that range from LGBTQ to faith-based activists.