Featuring Pamela Merritt, the Executive Director of MSFC.

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The term reproductive justice was coined in 1994 when 12 Black women joined together to voice concerns that reproductive rights were not extending to under-represented communities. Their work has since grown into a national movement that dreams of a future beyond the typical Roe-centered goals of reproductive-rights leaders who are typically tied to more established organizations like Planned Parenthood.

Pamela Merritt, a longtime reproductive justice organizer based in the St. Louis area, was part of the initial conversations that eventually evolved into what became Amendment 3.

At the time, Merritt said she was the only Black woman at the table, and she encouraged the other coalition members to involve Gatson, who had already announced her own initiative petition effort…