Boston’s own Rep. Ayanna Pressley talks reproductive care and more at SXSW
By: Meg Richards and Nia Harmon
Today at SXSW, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) joined The Emancipator’s Amber Payne to talk about reproductive justice, advocacy, and community. They talked about Pressley’s work in Washington representing Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District, and how she infuses her work with love and care. Here are the major themes they covered:
Reproductive justice
Payne asked Pressley about the recent shift away from using the words “pro-choice” when referencing the reproductive justice movement.
“I never know if it’s the chicken or the egg. So, does a language change then change the movement, or does the language change reflect the movement? It goes both ways, but language matters.”
The Trump administration has passionately opposed abortion, threatening harsh and potentially harmful restrictions to the procedure and women’s reproductive rights.
“It’s an anti-freedom agenda, because all freedom begins with your body.”
Pressley stressed the importance of advocating for women’s right to healthcare, encouraging attendees to understand how vital upholding this form of access will be for generations of women in the United States.
“Now, if you want to be on the right side of history, you have to support abortion access, and recognize [that] it is a matter of healthcare.
When asked about the backbone of progressive movements, she shared what she believes is the best approach to fighting for justice.
“In studying movements, I believe there are three recurring themes that speak to the success of a movement…imagination…strategy, and stamina.”
Her biggest piece of advice for people feeling disillusioned by the current state of our: “Dream big.”
“The Abortion Justice Act is just an acknowledgement that…we need to restore Roe, but Roe was always the floor. It was never the ceiling,” Pressley said. “A denial of care is resulting in a loss of life.”
Black maternal morbidity crisis
Black women are 3-4x more likely to die in childbirth than white women. Pressley’s grandmother was one of those women. Growing up hearing about the grief her father and his siblings endured because of this tragedy motivated her to dedicate her life’s work to reproductive care.
“That does not just affect one person. You have to remember, these are women that belong to families, that belong to communities, and that’s a big part of why I did this work. I don’t want to pass on to my 16-year-old daughter generational trauma. I want to pass along to my daughter generational joy.”
Pressley further emphasized this by pointing out that her grandmother died in childbirth in the 1950s, and yet today, Black women still have devastating mortality rates during childbirth in 2025. This tragedy was not limited to her grandmother, though. She saw the struggles her mother faced as a Black woman with limited access to healthcare, childcare, and more.
“I saw the ways in my mother’s life, every day, [that] policy failures were showing up, so it gave me that awareness.”
Diversity, equity, and inclusion
“What helps me is to always look back — we are very much still in the Civil Rights Movement.”
Amid rollbacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives coming out of the White House since Jan. 20th, Pressley vocalized the importance of representation and accessibility for marginalized individuals in today’s political climate.
“We are in a moment of wholesale harm, of chaos, of corruption…and I am going to continue to choose community.”
As a fierce advocate for the American people, she is a living reminder of how hard Black Americans fought for autonomy and equality in this nation, which has been under attack.
“To be a Black woman in this country is to manage a dichotomy of hyper visibility, and invisibility.”
Working on Capitol Hill
During the House hearing held last week, mayors of sanctuary cities were called to testify in front of the Republican-led House committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Among them was Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who engaged in a fiery back and forth with Republican representatives. Pressley called her a “compassionate” leader and defended her throughout the hearing. Shortly thereafter, Pressley requested a unanimous vote to introduce an article alleging that U.S. born citizens commit more crimes involving sexual violence than immigrants. Her motion was denied.
“I’m not new to this, I’m true to this. I know what was in my rights procedurally,” she said “I held my ground, I continued to reclaim my time, [because] I know when I reclaim my time, figuratively, I’m doing that for every Black woman.”
To Pressley, her activism is a form of love and care. She says, “policy is my love language,” even printing it on merch. She spoke about the importance of empathy and love in legislation.
“Every hurt and harm that has been done in this country to anyone is harm that was legislated. It was codified in law. It was not harm that organically happened in the ether,” Pressley said. “So I’m a firm believer [that] if you can legislate hurt and harm, then you can legislate equity. You can legislate healing. You can legislate justice.”
Outside of legislation, Pressley is cognizant of the work done by advocates and champions of the reproductive justice movement, as well as other progressive movements. She recognized that without them, much of the work done on Capitol Hill would not be possible.
“More often than not, [the] government does not lead, but it does respond,” she said. “Advocates are so often the canaries in the coal mine.”
Immigration
Pressley represents “one of the most diverse Congressional districts.” Boston is home to the third highest population of Haitian immigrants and a rich diaspora of Hispanic and Asian immigrants.
Pressley said Boston is “diverse, vibrant, dynamic, but also incredibly unequal.”
Delving into this further, Pressley talked about the vast inequities across Boston neighborhood lines and down the Charles River.
“In a three-mile radius in my district, from Cambridge, home to MIT and Harvard, to Roxbury, one of the Blackest parts of my district, life expectancy drops by 30 years. Median household income [drops] by 50,000 dollars.”
Boston is home to many mixed status families, including DACA recipients, work visa holders, asylum seekers, and undocumented individuals. To Pressley, these struggles, like those of other marginalized individuals, all intersect with the struggle of abortion and healthcare.
“Imagine being undocumented and being in need of abortion care,” she pointed out. She linked this to the forced sterilization of Black women during Reconstruction — an abusive medical practice that reportedly has been taking place in migrant camps too.
Pressley used SXSW for a timely call to action, urging the creatives in the room to use their talents for the greater good.
“There is no resistance without the art[s]. There’s no resistance; there’s no revolution without art, without creatives.