Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced the office's Reproductive Justice Unit on Monday, tasked with ensuring access to reproductive and gender-affirming care, as well as addressing misinformation that hinders people's access to this care and disparities in maternal health.
Campbell said the Reproductive Justice Unit will address all reproductive rights issues in an "intersectional, holistic way."
“Reproductive justice is not just about abortion care, it is also about maternal health in many ways, of course, postpartum care. And so, this unit will take on all those issues at once,” she told Boston Public Radio Friday during an installment of "Ask the Attorney General."
She cited the racial disparity in infant mortality rates as a “major issue” that the new unit will address. Eight out of every 1,000 Black or African American infants died in Massachusetts in 2020, more than double the rate of white infant deaths, according to data compiled by KFF.
The formation of the Reproductive Justice Unit also comes just after the closure of the Birthing Center at UMass Memorial Health Alliance-Clinton Hospital in Leominster.
"Where we think this unit will be absolutely useful is going into pockets of the state and making sure that every pocket of the state has the infrastructure and the providers to be able to provide this critical care. ... We're going to do our part working with providers on accessibility and affordability," Campbell said.
She added that her appointed board member for the Health Care Policy Commission, Dr. Alecia McGregor, is also tackling the issue of birthing center closures.
"We have committed to so many things and in order to continue to build trust between the office, government and constituents — which I know in certain aspects is at an all-time low. ... We have to deliver on the things we say we're going to create and do," Campbell said.
The unit is also connecting with officials from other states to share learnings and advocate for new legislation, both within Massachusetts and nationwide.
"We have the strongest provider- and patient-protecting shield law in the country. We're working with other states — California just passed one — to show them what our legislation looks like. So this unit will have a local and a national focus on all things reproductive justice," she said.
Campbell appointed abortion rights advocate Sapna Khatri as the director. Previously, Khatri was a teaching fellow at the UCLA School of Law and the Williams Institute and as a law fellow for the ACLU.
