Tucson, Alice.— A new report from the Center for Biological Diversity examines the harm environmental threats, such as pollution and climate disruption, have on fertility, pregnant women, fetuses, infants and children.
Impact of ecotoxicity, racial inequality, and capitalism on reproductive health It describes the damage caused to reproductive and environmental health by fossil fuel extraction, plastic production, pollution from industrial agriculture, and climate catastrophe under market capitalism. It brings reproductive harm to the conversation about how environmental toxins and climate change will exacerbate public health outcomes.
Kelly Dennings, Campaigns Manager for the Center, said: “Reproductive health is invisibly undermined by poor environmental quality. I hope it sheds some light on how.”
This report is used to educate nurses, students, and other health professionals through online learning modules developed by Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health.
“Understanding the impact of environmental exposures on the human body and how they are unequally experienced in our societies is essential in advocating for reproductive justice,” says Nurses for Sexual and said Jace Anderson, teaching and research assistant at Reproductive Health. “Nurses and other providers need to be informed about the health implications of environmental issues and have the confidence to advocate for equal access to a healthy, safe and sustainable environment for all. This report laid an important foundation for the development of a module to teach nurses and other health professionals about environmental justice.”
The report recommends social, economic and environmental policies that prioritize health and healthcare over profit. Corporate transparency and accountability for damages. Hazardous chemical testing, regulation and banning. Increase access to safer and healthier foods. Rapid transition to community-based and equitable renewable energy systems. Transition from disposable to reusable products.