By Ariana Camara
If/When/How’s Quick Question series highlights the work of our Reproductive Justice Fellows, introducing our network to the incredible advocates who are dedicating their lives to the movement to lawyer for reproductive justice. We’re so proud of the work they’re doing at placement organizations across the country to ensure that everyone can safely decide if, when, and how to create and sustain their families and actualize sexual and reproductive well-being on their own terms. But we can’t support them without you: Please donate $10 to help us give aspiring and new lawyers the resources they need to thrive. And if you can’t give — share!
Ariana Camara (Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law ’22) has been working in the non-profit sector since 2014. Prior to law school, she worked as the Office Coordinator for Jane’s Due Process and has continued volunteering on their support hotline since 2019. During law school, Ariana served as a student attorney in the Alona Cortese Elder Law Clinic, where she assisted low-income seniors in navigating social benefit programs, particularly for healthcare, and seeking legal recourse in situations of elder abuse. As an intern with Break the Cycle in 2020, Ariana also supported teens experiencing dating violence. Most recently, she has worked with NARAL Pro-Choice America as a legal fellow, advocating at the federal level for reproductive justice policies, including Title X funding, paid family leave, and the expansion of abortion rights and access.
Ariana graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Political Communication.
We asked Ariana to tell us a little about herself as she prepares to begin her Reproductive Justice Fellowship year at All* Above All this August.
If/When/How: Who are you?
Ariana Camara: My name is Ariana Camara, and I use she/her/hers pronouns.
If/When/How: Where are you from?
AC: I was born and raised in Austin, Texas, and moved to Orange County, California for law school in 2019 with my partner and our cat, Luna, and tiny dog, Winnifred.
If/When/How: Where are you going (literally or existentially)?
AC: I am going towards creating a world free from stigma around abortion care and reproductive health in general, where access to reproductive care does not depend on one’s age, income, location, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, or immigration status. As a hotline volunteer with Jane’s Due Process, one of the most difficult scenarios to navigate is discussing the client’s own shame around seeking abortion care or other services, and it is my hope to someday have a world where this shame no longer oppresses people in seeking to care for themselves.
If/When/How: What drew you to reproductive justice work?
AC: I felt propelled to work in social advocacy around immigration rights from a young age as a Mexican-American growing up in Texas. This eventually led me to the reproductive justice framework, as it encompasses immigrant rights, economic justice, racial justice, LGBTQIA+ rights, gender equity, and equitable access to healthcare. The more I learned about the reproductive justice movement, the more affirmed I felt in my own experiences navigating reproductive care in Texas, where there are extensive and oppressive barriers to accessing healthcare. The movement helped me move past my own internalized shame surrounding reproductive health, and I became more dedicated to understanding how reproductive justice as a framework is intrinsic to creating a more just world. The movement inspired me to obtain a law degree and use it to dismantle systems of oppression to create a world where the goals of the reproductive justice movement are realized.
If/When/How: When you are not lawyering, what do you get up to?
AC: When I’m not lawyering, I’m likely to be found reading fantasy books, playing with my animals, or exploring SoCal with my partner. Because I have celiac disease, I find a lot of joy in baking gluten-free versions of my favorite foods. My usual weekend will consist of me finding new recipes on NYT Cooking and cooking for my best friends.
If you’re as excited as we are to see Ariana succeed, donate $10 to help If/When/How support new lawyers like her.