Latinas among most harmed by abortion restrictions
New report from Stanford University shows the problems faced by that group
As Latinas move to abortion-restrictive states, they have been disproportionately affected by the laws that hamper their reproductive freedom compared to their white counterparts.
A new study from Stanford University researchers indicated that 46 percent of Latinas live in areas that restrict those rights. That amounts to roughly 5 million people. Dr. Josefina Flores Morales spoke to Repro Rights Now about her research. She said that the biggest takeaway is that Latinas are younger than most other racial cohorts. And so they are more likely to be harmed by these laws.
“If they're younger age structure, we're going to see disproportionate impacts in that way. And that's the main part of the report. Latinas are a younger population. Therefore, they are at higher risk of being affected by these abortion bans.”
When teenagers and those under the age of 18 are factored in, there are more Latina women who live in restrictive states than white women.
The report discusses how transportation barriers also harm women of color generally. For Latina women, many of them don’t have a driver’s license. So getting on the road is always a risk because an authority at an immigration checkpoint may pull them aside and they may get in trouble for being undocumented.
“Even though women may want to drive to another state or a couple of states over, the fear of encountering checkpoints and immigration checkpoints becomes a kind of lock-in situation,” Morales said. “So there is the issue of transportation in general, but also the issue is, is it safe to move around? Is it safe for immigrant Latina women to actually go to other states?”
The report calls for states to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitution. It requests that the federal government expand the Medicaid program. The researchers concluded that they needed to increase funding to clinics and combat the spread of misinformation. It also encouraged lawmakers to protect non-binary and transgender people.
“Strengthening the healthcare systems in those states, especially in neighboring cities, is going to be particularly important for practitioners and policymakers at the local levels,” Morales said.
The report is available below.
