Community-Driven Solutions Are Urgently Needed to Address Discrimination in Healthcare and Beyond

For Immediate Release: March 13, 2025

Contact: Lasamee Kettavong, media@napawf.org

WASHINGTON D.C. – The Chicago Reproductive Justice Coalition (RJC) has released an advocacy brief exposing widespread racial, gender, and economic barriers to reproductive justice in Chicago. The brief, “Reproductive Justice Pathways for Chicago,” shares the firsthand experiences of Black, Latina/e and Asian American women navigating reproductive and sexual healthcare access across Chicago, with significant representation from the Northwest Side, Far North Side, and South Side. 

Despite Illinois’ legal protections following the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, the brief makes clear that many Chicagoans still face systemic violations of bodily autonomy, inadequate access to reproductive healthcare, and unsafe conditions for raising children. Based on insights from seven in-depth focus groups with 40 participants, the brief highlights the urgent need for community-driven solutions to combat class, race, and gender barriers to reproductive justice.

Key findings include:

  • Half of participants reported experiencing undignified healthcare or violations of bodily autonomy due to racism, ageism, and classism. 
  • 70% of respondents faced significant barriers to seeking care, including cultural stigma, medical racism, and a lack of educational resources to make informed decisions.
  • Many participants struggled to find safe and sustainable communities to raise their children in, citing the need for stronger financial and social support systems.

The six steering committee members have released the following statements in response to this report’s publication:

Ruqqayah Sorathia, Policy Advocacy Coordinator for Apna Ghar: “Apna Ghar is honored to stand united with our fellow members of the Reproductive Justice Coalition (RJC) in releasing the Reproductive Justice Pathways for Chicago report. As an organization committed to serving Illinois immigrant, refugee, and marginalized gender-based violence survivors, we realize that reproductive justice is central to enabling survivors to heal and reclaim their lives.

“Gender-based violence and reproductive oppression are intertwined. Survivors face tremendous barriers to healthcare, economic stability, and legal protection—barriers further magnified for immigrant and refugee survivors due to language access barriers, immigration issues, and systemic discrimination.

“Reproductive justice must be a focus of policymaking to ensure all survivors, no matter their immigration status, access to the care, protections, and support they need. We urge state and city legislators to act proactively in advancing policies that uphold the rights and dignity of survivors and historically oppressed communities.”

Mekazin Alexander, Executive Director of BA NIA Incorporated: “The urgency of addressing maternal health disparities cannot be overstated. Black women and birthing people of color in our communities face a significantly elevated risk of pregnancy-related death, a reality that demands immediate action. These are not mere statistics; they represent the lives of mothers, daughters, and community members. BA NIA Inc. is committed to leveraging our expertise and community connections to create a more robust and equitable maternal health system. The well-being of mothers and birthing people in our community depends on this crucial support. We are proud to release this report and raise awareness, particularly among those who have the power to effect change and safeguard the lives of those most affected.”

Ji Hye Kim, Executive Director of KAN-WIN: “KAN-WIN is proud to release this report alongside our partner organizations who are champions for reproductive justice, gender justice, and immigrant justice. As an organization serving Asian immigrant and Asian American survivors of gender based violence in the Chicagoland area, we know all too well that immigrant survivors are uniquely vulnerable to experiencing relationship violence, and that they face multiple barriers to receiving the social, legal, and economic support they need. Amid ongoing attempts to stifle reproductive justice, it is crucial that our city and state lawmakers continue to support survivors and their families. Chicago has the opportunity to be a leader in supporting reproductive justice, and we hope it will take on this responsibility.”

Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Form (NAPAWF): “We are publishing this report at an important and harrowing time.  The federal government is actively dismantling fundamental rights–stripping access to healthcare, threatening language justice, and gutting hard-won DEI initiatives–at a time when Asian American, Pacific Islander, and other communities of color need them most. Without these protections, medical discrimination, undignified reproductive care, housing insecurity, and job instability will only worsen. This brief makes one thing clear: Chicago has an opportunity to lead, but only if the city is willing to confront the realities of what’s at stake–the livelihoods and health of communities of color.”

Juliet de Jesús Alejandre, Executive Director of Palenque LSNA: “During this dangerous time, I am so proud that we are centering the protection and access to critical reproductive health and justice for women of color in the Chicagoland area. As a grassroots community based organization building power with women and young people to shape their lives around affordable housing, education justice, and immigrants rights, Palenque LSNA is proud to stand with other women-of-color led organizations to shape policies and practices impacting our bodies across our governments, in clinics and in our homes.” 

Cherisse Scott, CEO & Founder of SisterReach Illinois: “SisterReach Illinois is excited that the Chicagoland community will now have access to these data which we hope will inform policy and access changes county-wide specific to the reproductive and sexual healthcare access of Black, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Latina/e women in Cook County. It is our hope, as a Black woman-led and focused reproductive and sexual justice organization committed to the health and wellness of the people we serve, that Black women and our families will become a priority when policymakers, and healthcare providers consider how they will address policy change and patient-centered care.

The full report, including key findings and full policy recommendations, is available at: https://napawf.org/resources/reproductive-justice-pathways-for-chicago/

###

The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is the only multi-issue, progressive, community organizing and policy advocacy organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls in the U.S. NAPAWF’s mission is to build collective power so that all AAPI women and girls can have full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities.