Trans-Inclusive Abortion Care
season 1, episode 6
December 29, 2020
Illustration by Carla Camoglio
Everyone has a fundamental right to sexual and bodily autonomy, including the right to decide whether or when to become a parent, parent the children we have, and to do so with dignity and free from violence and discrimination. However, trans people have historically been denied these rights, since institutions and services that focus on pregnancy, parenthood, and abortion continue to cater exclusively to cis women. On this episode, A.J. Lowik will discuss the ways that trans people have been excluded from receiving dignified reproductive healthcare, what trans reproductive justice looks like, and why it is important to ensure the inclusion of trans people in abortion politics.
On this episode, we use the term 'trans’ as an umbrella term to include transgender, transsexual, non-binary, genderqueer, gender neutral/agender, and gender non-conforming identities and experiences. We use the word 'cis-' to describe those whose gender identity matches with the sex they were assigned at birth.
A.J. Lowik (they/them) is a PhD Candidate at the University of British Columbia, where they study trans people’s reproductive lives, health and decision-making processes. They are the Gender Equity Advisor at the Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity in Vancouver. A.J. teaches Intro to Trans Studies, and runs a inclusion consulting business where they train health care providers, researchers, yoga teachers and others about how to meaningfully include trans people into their services, spaces and work.
Links and Resources:
A.J. Lowik’s website
Trans Inclusive Abortion Care, Canada (2018)
A.J.’s instagram: @thegenderoffender
National LGBTQ Taskforce: Queering Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice
