Summary Of Killing The Black Body By Dorothy Roberts

The pregnant female is viewed upon in a specific light: maternal, sensitive, and affectionate. She is expected to act a certain way in society unless she is of a different race. Killing the Black Body by Dorothy Roberts, is a tell-all about American society, past and present, concerning females and their reproductive systems. Dorothy Roberts is a Yale Graduate, she also attended Harvard Law School. She is a well-known author who has written for the Harvard Law Review and the New York Times. Her book is an exposé about race and reproduction and how they coincide. When Kimberle Crenshaw came to Penn State to speak, she said ‘you cannot talk about reproduction without talking about race,’ and that is what Dorothy Roberts addresses in her book.

These are two mothers who were investigated for child abuse because their babies tested positively for cocaine in their system. Whitner's lawyer convinced her to plead guilty, assuming she’d be placed in a treatment facility for drug addiction. However, the judge didn’t get her the help she longed for, she was instead sentenced to eight years in jail. Johnson, however, already had four children and had previous counts of child abuse against her but instead of jail, she was given a choice. Johnson could either spend seven years in prison or she could spend one year in prison, three years on probation, and she must be implanted with Norplant. After she agreed to the lesser sentence and the birth control, Johnson found out that with her health issues, the Norplant would not be a good idea. Whitner and Johnson had a few things in common: they’re both mothers of newborns, both women used drugs during their pregnancy, and they were both black. During the epidemic of ‘crack babies’ the media and the law targeting black women. There were fifty-two cases of women giving their children a controlled substance and seventy percent of those cases included a black defendant. Roberts explained, “Poor women, who are disproportionately Black, are in closer contact with government agencies, and their drug use is, therefore, more likely to be detected,” and

One of the most disturbing aspects, to me, was the Norplant birth control. I was completely unaware of how the government aimed to regulate black women’s reproductive systems. This form of birth control claims to be effective for about five years. However, there were instances when the implant was lost in the patient's arm or capsule fragments remained within the patient's arm after removal. Darlene Johnson was forced to go through with the Norplant birth control, even after it was proven that her medical conditions would cause complications. This punishment is inhumane and wicked. These women didn’t have control over their own bodies or what was done to them. Whether or not a woman has a child is up to her, it is her body. As Kimberle Crenshaw stated, racism has to be included in this discussion. These women were targeted because they were black. The judges were telling them they don’t deserve to be mothers rather than helping them through the addiction. Since these women were black, they were viewed upon in a different light then, for example, alcoholic white