'This is what we feared': Latinas are largest group of women of color affected by abortion bans
Latinas are the largest group of women of color affected by current or potential state abortion bans and restrictions, according to an analysis of data published by two advocacy groups.
More than 6.5 million Latinas – or 42% of Latinas ages 15 to 49 – live in the 26 states that have banned or are likely to ban abortion, according to the report by the National Partnership for Women & Families and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice.
“Anybody who is capable of getting pregnant at some point in their life may need or want an abortion,” said Shaina Goodman, director for reproductive health and rights at the National Partnership for Women & Families, and report co-author. “...That being said, there are people who are disproportionately harmed, and those are people who live at the intersection of multiple historically marginalized identities where there are real structural barriers to get care.”
The U.S. Supreme Court made the landmark decision earlier this year to strike down the constitutional right to abortion solidified by Roe v. Wade, making it so Americans’ access to abortion depends primarily on where they live.
The ruling opened the door for 13 states to implement abortion bans through so-called “trigger laws,” bills approved in the past that would take effect if the Supreme Court overturned Roe. Pending bans in seven other states could go into effect later this year, Goodman said. Other states have restricted or are looking to restrict abortion access.
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The analysis "gives us a picture of just who is most harmed by abortion bans,” Goodman said. “It's moms with young children. It's people who are struggling to make ends meet. And critically, it's people who live their lives at the intersection of all of these different identities.”
About 7 million, or about 44% of Latinas living in these states, are already mothers, according to the analysis.
About 44.5% of Latinas in these states are also economically insecure, meaning they're often less able to travel to other states for abortion care, Goodman said. A person who is denied abortion care is significantly more likely to be pushed deeper into poverty as a result, she said.
Nearly 43% of Latinas with disabilities also live in these 26 states, according to the report. Latinas with disabilities face additional barriers in accessing abortion care due to discrimination and lack of culturally competent and accessible care, Goodman said.
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Goodman said the study builds on previous research that shows the impact of abortion bans are particularly harmful for women of color, who already face reduced access to abortion care due to systemic barriers. For Latinas, these barriers include low rates of insurance coverage, mistrust of medical providers due to a long history of systemic racism in health care, discrimination in health care systems and a lack of culturally competent services, Goodman said.
The report also found more than 1 million Latinas living in states with current or likely abortion bans do not speak English well or at all, putting language on the list of systemic barriers to reproductive rights access, Goodman said.
Latinas are also overrepresented in low-wage work and jobs that don’t offer benefits like sick days, paid leave and flexible schedules, making it more difficult for many to pay for reproductive health care or travel for abortion services, Goodman said.
“There is a cumulative impact when you encounter structural barriers at the intersection of all of those different identities, and those barriers make abortion care and reproductive health care incredibly difficult, and in many cases, entirely impossible to access,” Goodman said.
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The analysis is not without its limitations, Goodman said. The study uses U.S. Census data from 2016 to 2020, which does not include sufficient data on transgender and nonbinary people who are also able to get pregnant, she said. As a result, the analysis focuses on cisgender women.
Still, Goodman hopes the report highlights “very real consequences to real people's lives when you ban abortions.”
“What we're seeing in the landscape after the overturning of Roe v. Wade is shocking but not surprising,” she said. “This is what we feared the reality would look like, and seeing the actual numbers is alarming in a visceral way.”
For people interested in helping improve access to abortion care for marginalized communities, Goodman said voting, contacting lawmakers and getting involved in local organizations are good first steps.
“No one policy will solve our problems, but we do have to tackle together the structural inequities and barriers that people face,” she said. “We need to ensure access to culturally competent, affordable, high quality health care. We need to ensure living wages, paid sick days and flexible scheduling. And we need to repeal abortion bans.”
Contact News Now Reporter Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Latinas disproportionately impacted by abortion bans, study finds
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