HRRJL is a 501c(3) that funds abortion and offers practical support to those seeking abortion care. As abortion access                                                          continues to be under attack in Virginia and the US as a whole, HRRJL is seeing an increase in needs among
those who may not be able to access the essential abortion care they want, need, and deserve.

One way you can help is to join our team of autonomous fundraisers!

An autonomous fundraiser is any fundraiser thrown to benefit HRRJL not organized by HRRJL. That’s right, these are
fundraisers 100% organized by our community! They are one of the most impactful ways community members can
participate outside of direct volunteer efforts.
We can fund callers because we have community funders; because we have a community who cares about a future
based on reproductive justice and mutual aid.

The Basics

Think of an activity/event you enjoy! Whether it’s a bake sale, a pot luck or picnic, a film screening, or art show,
be creative! It tends to be easier (and more joyful!) to keep it focused on one theme or activity that’s already a
part of your life.
Pick a date and time. find a venue – it can be a public place like a park or library OR a business whose
community you are a part of like a brewery, shop, roller skating rink, community center…anywhere!
Invite friends and family, folks you know who are interested in creating positive social change, acquaintances
outraged by the state of our political climate, community leaders — the options are unlimited. Send invites
and/or publicize it on your social media channels if it’s public facing. In publicizing the event, be conscious
about security.
Have a clear message about why you care about reproductive justice, why you’re pro-abortion, and what
people can expect from the event once they arrive.

FAQs

If you would like a HRRJL repro justice organizer at your event, email as much information as you have about
the event’s desired date, venue, and theme to movement@hrrjl.org.
If you have questions about language, see below or email movement@hrrjl.org.
Yes, even $20 is extremely helpful in providing direct aid to our neighbors who are seeking abortion and
reproductive care.
We are a 501c3 and can provide a letter if needed.
If you’ve heard the terms mutual aid or solidarity but aren’t sure of the definition, according to Dean Spade,
mutual aid is “radical collective care that provides a transformative alternative to the demobilizing
frameworks for understanding social change and expressing dissent that dominate the popular imagination.”

Sharing information on HRRJL

You don’t need to be an expert on abortion access or currently involved with HRRJL to host a fundraiser. You just
have to be passionate and willing to share your passion with your network. For more information on our
organization including our mission and vision, visit hrrjl.org.

Language Best Practices

1. HRRJL operates within the framework of Reproductive Justice, which is defined by Loretta Ross, SisterSong
Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective, as the following:

a. Reproductive Justice is the complete physical, mental, spiritual, political, social, and economic well-
being of women and girls, based on the full achievement and protection of women’s human rights.

This definition as outlined by Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ) offers a new
perspective on reproductive issues advocacy, pointing out that for Indigenous women and women of
color it is important to fight equally for (1) the right to have a child; (2) the right not to have a child;
and (3) the right to parent the children we have, as well as to control our birthing options, such as
midwifery. We also fight for the necessary enabling conditions to realize these rights. This is in
contrast to the singular focus on abortion by the pro-choice movement that excludes other social
justice movements.

b. The Reproductive Justice framework analyzes how the ability of any woman to determine her own
reproductive destiny is linked directly to the conditions in her community—and these conditions are
not just a matter of individual choice and access. Reproductive Justice addresses the social reality of
inequality, specifically, the inequality of opportunities that we have to control our reproductive
destiny. Moving beyond a demand for privacy and respect for individual decision making to include
the social supports necessary for our individual decisions to be optimally realized, this framework
also includes obligations from our government for protecting women’s human rights. Our options for
making choices have to be safe, affordable and accessible, three minimal cornerstones of
government support for all individual life decisions.

c. One of the key problems addressed by Reproductive Justice is the isolation of abortion from other
social justice issues that concern communities of color: issues of economic justice, the environment,
immigrants’ rights, disability rights, discrimination based on race and sexual orientation, and a host of                                                                                             other community-centered concerns. These issues directly affect an individual woman’s decision-
making process. By shifting the focus to reproductive oppression—the control and exploitation of                                                                                                women, girls, and individuals through our bodies, sexuality, labor, and reproduction—rather than a
narrow focus on protecting the legal right to abortion, SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive
Health Collective is developing a more inclusive vision of how to build a new movement.

d. Because reproductive oppression affects women’s lives in multiple ways, a multi-pronged approach
is needed to fight this exploitation and advance the well-being of women and girls. There are three
main frameworks for fighting reproductive oppression defined by ACRJ: Reproductive Health which
deals with service delivery, Reproductive Rights which addresses legal issues, and Reproductive
Justice which focuses on movement building.

2. Examples of the language we use: