How do women distinguish between a right and a privilege?

The Center for Reproductive Rights found itself at a tricky crossroads – looking for ‘force multipliers’ to amplify their reach at a time when Americans are in such an uneasy relationship with institutions, and frankly, one another.

The research brief centered around exploring how to get more women under the tent of the organization’s mission (and in turn broadening the donor base). We wondered, ‘how do women even define reproductive rights’? How do women distinguish between a right and a privilege?

This topic in media is consistently depicted as a political/religious battle. Consequently, reproductive rights have become synonymous with abortion. When the topic of reproductive rights gets politicized, it becomes socially taboo. At the least, it’s a real dinner party downer. We found women of all stripes and backgrounds interpreted reproductive rights with a long radius that included everything from mental health services for post-partem depression, to prenatal nutrition, to sex education. Yet, they did not feel anyone was protecting access to these things.

Our work identified what we call “The Cycle of Suppression” – a model that illustrated why women aren’t talking about these topics among themselves and how politics has hijacked the conversation. This learning paved the way for a wholly new communication strategy for our client and illuminated an unmet need among women to have these conversations facilitated without rhetoric or confrontation.