Abortion rights activists listen to questions from reporters during a press conference after Arizona House Democrats tried to repeal the 1864 abortion ban on April 17, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. Photographed in Phoenix, Arizona on April 17, 2024.Liliana Salgado/Reuters Photo
This article was originally published by The 19th on May 3, 2024.
Millions of Latino Floridians and Arizonans started May with new and pressing restrictions on reproductive health decisions.
Florida, which has the third-largest Latino population in the country, on Wednesday became the latest state to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before many people know they are pregnant. In Arizona, a key battleground state and home to the nation’s sixth-largest Latino population, a Civil War-era abortion ban will remain in place for at least several months before a repeal approved by the state Legislature takes effect. Become.
Analyzes show that the changing landscape of abortion regulations in Florida and Arizona could lead to an increase in abortion bans for Latinas, the largest group of women of color affected by current and likely bans. This highlights that the impact is enormous. In both states, large Latino populations could play a crucial role in passing amendments enshrining abortion rights in the state constitutions.
“In many of these regions, including Florida and Arizona, inequalities for Latinas in terms of access to health care were already very high,” said Lupe Rodriguez, executive director of the National Institute for Latinx Reproductive Justice. talk. “Latinos have the highest rates of being uninsured and therefore do not receive various types of preventive health care, including preventive reproductive health care. These laws are extremely potentially harmful to our communities. we know.”
clock: How the reinstatement of Arizona’s near-total abortion ban will impact 2024 toss-up races
An analysis released in October by Rodriguez’s group and the National Partnership for Women and Families found that nearly 6.7 million Latinos (representing 43 percent of all Latinos of reproductive age) It turns out she lives in one of 26 states that restrict abortion before the fetus is viable. . Latinas in Florida, Arizona and Texas, where abortion is completely banned, account for one-third of all Latinas of reproductive age in the country.
According to a federal analysis, Latinos have the highest uninsured rate in the nation and second only to 20% of Native Americans. Rodriguez said the closure of clinics that provide abortions would disproportionately impact health care access for Latinos, as clinics are often “the only entry point for care for many.” He said there is a possibility of giving. Her group is in the early stages of researching the impact of abortion bans and subsequent clinic closures on this population.
As the U.S. Latino population continues to grow younger, the impact of bans on reproductive health care decisions is magnified. A UCLA study published in late 2022 found that in states that restrict abortion, the percentage of Latina women of childbearing age tends to be significantly higher than the percentage of white women. In Florida, 49 percent of Latina women are between the ages of 18 and 44, compared to 31 percent of white women. In Arizona, the shares are 60 percent and 34 percent, respectively.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, while Latinas make up more of the affected women, black women live in states with these restrictions at the highest rate of all women. It is important to point out that , accounting for 60%.
Just over 1 in 10 Latinos are undocumented immigrants, and the impact on these Latinos will be even worse. In Florida, a state law restricting the travel of illegal immigrants would make it harder for these patients to obtain abortions, said a former South Florida abortion fund network focused on increasing abortion support. said Aisa Isaosaales, who joined the progressive group. State Abortion Rights Ballot Initiative. A new state law signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis makes it a felony to drive into the state with an illegal immigrant, adding criminal penalties for family members and volunteers on top of existing concerns about deportation.
Isa-Osales said Wednesday was a “sad day” for abortion access as Florida’s six-week abortion ban went into effect. The silver lining for abortion rights advocates is that voters in November will have the opportunity to weigh in on a bill that would protect abortion rights up to the point where the fetus is alive.
“We know, our Tiers and our Prima and our abuelas I have experienced an abortion. We know that there has never been and never will be a world without abortion. “We know that Latinos are putting our health at risk, and I believe we can limit government intervention in the state of Florida,” said Isaozales, an immigrant from Chile. Ta.
Scottsdale, Ariz., April 14, 2024 Republican state Rep. Matt in Scottsdale, Ariz., after the Arizona Supreme Court reinstated an 1864 law that banned abortion in virtually all cases. A woman holds a placard during a protest in the Gures constituency. File photo by Caitlin April 14, 2024 O’Hara/Reuters
Abortion access remains confusing in Arizona. The state Legislature on Wednesday approved repealing an abortion ban that predated statehood and was reinstated last month by a state court. The ban is expected to go into effect in June, but its repeal would take effect within 90 days of Congress adjourning for several more months, potentially lasting into the summer. The timeline creates a gap for the ban to take effect.
The ban, part of a civil rights-era law, criminalizes performing or assisting in an abortion, with no exceptions for rape or incest. This reinstatement replaced a ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
read more: Arizona’s Democratic governor signs bill repealing most 1864 abortion bans
Efforts to repeal the ban in the Arizona Senate are being led in part by Latino members elected to the House in 2022, and many Latinos appear to be leading efforts to expand reproductive rights. It shows.
State Sen. Anna Hernandez, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, said the West Phoenix district has the highest percentage of Latino residents in the state. They also have a higher proportion of the working class, which magnifies the impact of abortion restrictions “because they already have barriers to accessing treatments that are now legal and they don’t have the resources to get up and travel out of state.” “To seek care,” she said.
Hernandez was part of a group of political leaders and reproductive rights advocates who traveled to the Dominican Republic in December to better understand the impact of a blanket ban on abortion, with no exceptions. My experience there strengthened my commitment to reproductive rights in Congress.
Latinas in the Arizona Legislature are not forming a united front against abortion regulations. House Majority Whip Teresa Martinez was one of the Republicans leading the effort to block repeal. According to the Arizona Mirror, she aimed to steer voters away from the abortion rights referendum by stuffing the ballot with other abortion-related bills with titles suggesting they would protect abortion rights. He reportedly submitted a bill to do so.
“In my opinion, separating healthy babies from healthy mothers is not medical or reproductive medicine. Pregnancy is not a disease,” Martinez said on the House floor last month.
In the end, Martinez and most of her fellow Republicans were unable to keep the Civil War-era ban alive. Support for repeal comes from Hernandez and 15 other Latino lawmakers, a group whose representation reached a historic high after last year’s election.
