Reference no: EM133666913
In module 3, we learned about the criminalization of reproductive health, the experiences of pregnant incarcerated women, and the experiences of incarcerated mothers and their children. We will also briefly cover the police brutality against Black women and the criminalization of Black girls in schools.
The reason we are covering the criminalization of women's reproductive health is because it is a pathway to contact with the criminal legal system that is completely unique to women and other people who give birth. Those who are impacted by the criminalization of reproductive healthcare are often similar to the women found in Can't Catch a Break, marginalized due to their race, class, and gender.
We read a chapter from Michele Goodwin's book, Policing the Womb: Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood. In Chapter, "Creeping Criminalization of Pregnancy Across the United States" Goodwin states, "Framing reproductive rights as abortion rights both undermines the security of an abortion right and problematically ignores the broader interests contained within reproductive privacy... This framing disservices women who choose to parent even under arduous circumstances."
We read a chapter from Our Bodies, Our Crimes: The Policing of Women's Reproduction in America by Jeanne Flavin. You may remember reading Flavin's article "An Invitation" in Module 1. Chapter of Our Bodies, Our Crimes describes the toll incarceration takes on incarcerated mothers and their children through detailing the structural and institutional barriers incarcerated women face when attempting to maintain ties with their children. Moreover, it explains the state's involvement in separating mothers from their children through involvement with the child welfare system.
- What is one question you have about the materials covered in Module 3?
- What is one question you have about the final project?
- What is one item that you have learned about thus far that you would like to learn more about OR what is one item that we haven't covered yet that you are excited to learn about?
- What has been the most interesting topic that we have covered thus far and why?