Earlier this month, If/When/How, along with the Council for Culture and Community and sponsored by The George Barrett Social Justice Program, welcomed two attorneys from Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi to Vanderbilt Law for a discussion on racial justice and reproductive freedom.
The conversation featured Nya Parker, a community organizer, and Isabella Bartolucci, the organization’s statewide legislative lead. They offered a grounded account of reproductive justice work in Tennessee, focusing on racial disparities in maternal health and current legislative issues. Parker and Bartolucci framed reproductive justice as a broad question of bodily autonomy, healthcare access, legal protections, and the ability to build and sustain families in safe communities.
Paths into Reproductive Justice Advocacy
Parker and Bartolucci reflected on the experiences and events that led them to their work in reproductive justice. Parker described her longstanding connection to healthcare through her grandmother, who was a nurse, and claimed that even while she was considering a future in medicine, she always asked, “how does the doctor advocate?” That question eventually led her to join Planned Parenthood for reproductive rights advocacy.
Bartolucci described a less direct path, beginning in journalism and documentary work before volunteering as a clinic escort at an abortion clinic in Queens. A move to Tennessee during the pandemic marked the beginning of her work with Planned Parenthood. Both speakers emphasized that advocacy work often grows out of lived experience and a willingness to follow questions of injustice across professions.
Reproductive Justice as a Framework for Community Autonomy
A central theme of the discussion was the reproductive justice framework, which Parker described as a broader and more inclusive approach to reproductive rights developed by women of color in the late twentieth century. She explained that the framework emerged in the 1980s and 1990s when activists such as Loretta Ross recognized that existing women’s rights movements often failed to address the experiences of women of color and other marginalized communities, prompting advocates to create a more inclusive model of reproductive advocacy. The “new” reproductive justice model emphasizes four interconnected principles: the right to have a child, the right to not have a child, the right to raise children in safe and sustainable communities, and the right to bodily autonomy.
Parker emphasized that the third pillar significantly expands the scope of the framework beyond individual healthcare decisions to include issues such as environmental safety, housing conditions, school funding, and criminal justice policy, all of which influence whether families can safely raise children. It also explains why many reproductive justice advocates often work across multiple policy areas, including healthcare, education, environmental justice, and civil rights, rather than focusing narrowly on abortion access alone.
Maternal Mortality and Racial Disparities in Tennessee
Parker noted that Tennessee currently has the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States. Data reviewed during the event highlighted significant racial disparities, with non-Hispanic Black women experiencing the highest rates of pregnancy-related death. Bartolucci also pointed to data on pregnancy-related mortality and the role of social determinants of health. “If you are unmarried, you face more issues. If you have a high school education or less, you face more issues. If you rely on Medicaid, you face more issues. If you live in a rural area, all of this kind of makes sense,” she said.
The speakers also examined the state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee, a body created through legislation to review maternal deaths and identify patterns contributing to poor outcomes. Parker raised concerns about the composition of the community member board. She explained that while the board is intended to represent a broad range of community perspectives, it consists largely of medical professionals, with limited input from members of grassroots organizations such as reproductive health nonprofits or maternal health advocates that work directly with affected communities.
Legislative Environment and Reproductive Policy in Tennessee
Bartolucci discussed recent reproductive policy debates in the Tennessee legislature. She described the state as a “testing ground” for highly restrictive reproductive legislation, due to its small size and one-party control for highly restrictive reproductive legislation.
One bill discussed during the event was HB0945/SB0793, a bill related to assisted reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization (IVF). Although the bill initially focused on reporting standards and regulatory oversight, an amendment would have required individuals pursuing IVF treatment to declare in advance how many children they intended to have. The state would then limit the number of embryos that could be created based on that declared number. For Bartolucci, the proposal reflects significant misunderstandings about reproductive medicine and the scientific realities of fertility treatment.
The most controversial legislation discussed during the event was HB570/SB738, which speakers described as an “abortion execution bill.” The proposed amendment would classify abortion, and potentially miscarriages, as homicide of an unborn child under Tennessee criminal law, which could imply that individuals involved in obtaining or assisting with an abortion could theoretically face penalties including life imprisonment or capital punishment. While she expressed skepticism about its chances of passing, Bartolucci emphasized that such proposals still shape the broader legislative environment by pushing policy decisions toward increasingly punitive frameworks.
Medical Refusal Laws and Access to Care
Another significant policy topic was Tennessee’s Medical Ethics Defense Act, which allows healthcare providers to refuse to participate in certain medical services if doing so conflicts with their personal, ethical, or religious beliefs.
Parker cited a recent case in East Tennessee in which a pregnant woman seeking prenatal care was reportedly denied treatment by her physician because she was unmarried. As a result, she had to travel to Virginia to obtain care. Parker highlighted this case as an example of how refusal laws can directly affect patients’ ability to access basic healthcare services.
In response to these concerns, Planned Parenthood is supporting new legislation intended to create a limited carve-out from the Medical Ethics Defense Act. The proposal would ensure that pregnant patients cannot be denied prenatal care under the law. The speakers described the bill as one of the organization’s first proactive legislative initiatives in several years.
Advocacy and Legal Engagement
Parker encouraged students to participate in Planned Parenthood’s “Lunch Break Lobbying” sessions, which involve contacting legislators about pending bills, while Bartolucci emphasized that understanding the legislative process firsthand can be an important step for law students and future advocates.