Loretta Ross

Loretta J. Ross (born August 16, 1953) is an American academic, feminist, and activist who advocates for reproductive justice, especially among women of color.

As an activist, Ross has written on reproductive justice activism and the history of African American women.

Ross was born in Temple, Texas on August 16, 1953, the sixth of eight children in a blended family.

Her father, who immigrated from Jamaica, was an Army weapons specialist and drill sergeant.

He retired from the military in 1963, worked for the Post Office, and held odd jobs to support his family.

Ross' mother worked as a domestic worker and owned a music store, but was a stay-at-home mother while Ross was growing up.

For her primary education, Ross attended integrated schools: Army schools through second grade, then public schools.

She was double-promoted in elementary grades and was an honors student in high school.

Ross' grades were high and she received honors during her school years.

She was driven to excel in school so that she could have a good job and not have to do housework like her mother.

In 1964, at age 11, Ross was raped by a stranger.

Three years later, Ross was raped by her distant cousin.

Abortion was not a legal option in 1969, and she got pregnant and gave birth to her son, Howard.

Ross lost her scholarship from Radcliffe College of Harvard University when she decided to keep her son instead of placing for adoption.

At age 16, she got pregnant again from consensual sex with her first boyfriend.

However, abortion was legal in D.C and she was able to have a safe abortion.

In 1970, Ross attended Howard University for her tertiary education after being denied admission to Radcliffe after officials found out about her child.

During her undergraduate career at Howard, she became actively involved in black nationalist politics, civil rights movements (feminism and antiracism), and tenant organizing.

Ross joined a Marxist–Leninist discussion group called the D.C. Study Group, and the South Africa Support Project.

In 1976, at age 23, Ross experienced sterilization abuse when she was rendered sterile with the Dalkon Shield, an intrauterine device that was marketed despite being found to be defective.

The device caused major negative health threats to its users, especially inflicting harm on African American and poor communities.

Loretta Ross received the Dalkon Shield at Howard University from a health clinic free of charge.

This device caused her to develop a pelvic inflammatory disease which she endured for six months.

During these six months, her concerns were brushed off.

Clinic staff told her that her problem stemmed from a rare STD from having sex with GI soldiers that had come back from Vietnam.

However, she did not know any GIs.

After half a year of dealing with her disease brought on by Dalkon Shield, she developed a severe infection which resulted in a coma.

Her life changed after waking up from the coma - the doctors had performed a total hysterectomy.

Ross says that her doctor visited her after she had her operation and wrongly assumed that she would be happy to no longer need the usage of birth controls or deal with menstruation.

Ross was among the first women of color to win the lawsuit against the manufacturer of Dalkon Shield, A.H. Robins.

This incident has influenced Ross tremendously.

She became convinced that her sterilization was a form of population control due to the birth control being given for free at a historically black college, and became extremely vocal around issues regarding reproductive rights.

Because of this experience, she found her passion advocating for reproductive justice and racial equality.

In November 1980, the murder of her close friend and political ally, Yulanda Ward, became a turning point in Ross' life as an activist.

Yolanda Ward was a cochairwoman of the District's City Wide Housing Coalition.

Ward was mysteriously shot and killed in the midst of a street robbery.

Ross has referred to this murder as a political assassination.

In 2007, Ross completed her bachelor's degree at Agnes Scott College.

Under the direction of professor Elizabeth Hackett, Ross wrote Just Choices: Women of Color, Reproductive Health and Human Rights, her capstone Women's Studies independent study project at Agnes Scott.

She is currently pursuing her PhD in Women's Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.