Eesha Pandit
Fall 2005
Series Number: 37
The nightly news is ridden with gruesome tales of increasing crime in our communities. Daily, battles are fought and lost in the ‘war on crime’ and the ‘war on drugs,’ both of which are pseudonyms for the criminalization of poverty. Are our communities stronger and healthier as we become increasingly dependent on systems of incarceration to solve social problems? The answer is an emphatic no. Further, prisons and the criminal justice system at large have specific consequences for women’s reproductive freedom. Here are 10 reasons why women’s health and reproductive rights advocates should think critically about prisons, their impact on women and their role in our society.
