I have an article over at Oklahomans for Reproductive Justice about the similarities between reproductive justice and the capability approach to social justice.
Parenting children, determining the spacing of children, preserving bodily integrity, and so on are specific functionings that reproductive justice advocates recognize as important. What makes the reproductive justice framework different from other frameworks — and what makes it so similar to the capability approach — is that it recognizes that legal rights alone are not sufficient to have the capability to act out the functionings important in the realm of reproduction.
To have the genuine and real opportunity to protect one’s bodily integrity, determine the spacing and number of children, and so on, things like social resources and power are necessary. The legal right to access contraception or abortion does not create a capability to do so for those who cannot afford either. The legal right to make reproductive decisions does not create a capability to do so for those who lack the necessary education.