Vision: A world that guarantees reproductive autonomy, equity, and justice.
Mission: The Reproductive Equity Action Lab (REAL) conducts rigorous and cutting-edge research that identifies key structural inequities that stand in the way of reproductive autonomy. We partner with community-based organizations, governmental agencies, and private sector decision makers to support evidence-based, transformative policies. We advance a more just and inclusive science by creating opportunities for the next generation of researchers, clinicians, and community leaders.
Our Values in Action
Our collaborative, multi-disciplinary team works to advance reproductive equity across the lifespan. We work daily to shape evidence-based practices, promote inclusivity in the scientific process, and foster social innovation to realize our vision of safeguarded reproductive autonomy, equity, and justice. Our work is embedded in our core values which include:
Centering the most affected
We center the voices of those whom science has excluded from research in the past and present, face the greatest barriers to accessing care and societal resources, and experience the largest health inequities. We partner with communities that face structural inequities because integrating communal lived experiences improves the significance, innovation, and rigor of our scientific research.
Rooting our work in reproductive justice
We are a team of diverse, dynamic individuals with a shared vision of a more equitable world where all people have the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children they have in safe and sustainable communities.
Generating opportunities for the next generation of leaders
We create training and educational opportunities for all levels of learners. We construct pathways to ensure that learners who face disproportionate barriers to entry can engage and contribute meaningfully. In doing so, we cultivate tomorrow’s leaders and changemakers in reproductive equity research and clinical practice.
Challenging the status quo through research
We implement mixed methods research to generate evidence that documents, challenges, and innovates the status quo in reproductive health. We are committed to following the data where they lead and grounding our work in evidence and best practices. Yet, we also know that imagination and innovation is where the possibilities for a better future become real.