AG Campbell creates reproductive justice unit
10/4/23 by Peyton Benbow
Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced the establishment of the Reproductive Justice Unit on Monday, appointing attorney and abortion rights advocate Sapna Khatri as executive director. The unit will focus on protecting access to reproductive and gender-affirming care, as well as addressing maternal care disparities for female minorities.
In the aftermath of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health (2022,) which eliminated the federal right to abortion access, nearly half of the states in the country have abortion restrictions. AG Campbell said in her press release, “We must meet the escalating anti-science, extremist attacks on our basic right to bodily autonomy with bold and comprehensive action”. The launch of the Reproductive Justice Unit will promote that Massachusetts is a leading abortion-protective state by defending the legal reproductive rights in place.
Prior to Sapna Khatri’s appointment as Director of the Reproductive Justice Unit, she was a clinical teaching fellow at the University of California Los Angeles where she created the UCLA Reproductive Justice Externship Program. With this reproductive justice program, she led the establishment of UCLA’s first medical-legal partnership with Planned Parenthood.
Upon her appointment, Khatri said, “I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to serve as Director of AG Campbell’s Reproductive Justice Unit, a unit whose mission is not only one I care deeply about, but is critical in our fight for reproductive justice nationwide”.
The decision to launch the Reproductive Justice Unit is a major step for AG Campbell’s campaign promise to protect and promote reproductive rights in Massachusetts. One of her first actions in office was to create the free and confidential Abortion Legal Hotline, (833) 309-6301, in collaboration with the ACLU of Massachusetts and the Reproductive Equity Now Foundation. In August, Campbell announced a $1.5 million Maternal Health Equity grant for care disparities with female minorities.
On Monday, AG Campbell said, “I am confident that, under her leadership, Massachusetts will be a north star in showing just what is possible when people are free to make decisions for themselves about their bodies, lives, families, and futures with dignity and respect.”