Thread: Latinas need voice in abortion debate

Latinas need voice in abortion debate

By Silvia Henriquez, Special to CNN
December 11, 2009 3:31 p.m. EST

Editor's note: Silvia Henriquez is the executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, a nonprofit policy and advocacy organization based in New York and Washington that works on behalf of reproductive health interests of the nation's 15 million Latina women.

(CNN) -- When Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered her oath last summer, many women -- and especially Latinas -- felt renewed hope as a champion of women's rights took her place on the U.S. Supreme Court.

With Democrats in the White House and both houses of Congress, we believed that we could stop playing defense and actually advance women's rights, including access to abortion.

However, the health care debate quickly convinced us that we had to mobilize.

First, Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Michigan, crafted the Stupak-Pitts amendment, designed to restrict women's access to abortion coverage in the proposed public health insurance marketplace. Millions of women who have access to abortion coverage through their insurance plans would lose this coverage if the insurance plans were offered in the exchange.

We were told that women could use their own money to buy an abortion rider in advance: Women would have to plan for an unplanned pregnancy. An abortion can range in cost from several hundred dollars to thousands of dollars for a "threatened" pregnancy.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi allowed the amendment to move forward in the House health care bill out of fear that opponents would use abortion politics to tank health care reform. Within weeks, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, offered a near-exact model of the Stupak bill in the Senate.

After the push for the Stupak amendment, characterized by backroom dealings among elected officials and reported pressure from the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops, it appeared that senators might go along.

Hundreds of Latinas and women of all backgrounds descended on Capitol Hill to let legislators know that they can not play politics with our reproductive health care and to advocate for abortion care coverage as a part of health care reform.

For now, senators are standing up to those who would sink reform with abortion politics, voting to table the Nelson amendment, effectively killing it. But we know that these victories are often tenuous and that the growing Latina voice in favor of reproductive health care must stay strong.

Over the past few weeks, I've heard from many Latinas and their families, outraged that these amendments would make a legal medical procedure financially inaccessible for many women.

They called their senators and wrote letters on behalf of daughters, sisters, aunts and mothers in their communities, urging policymakers to vote for reform that includes coverage for abortion -- and also provides health care access for immigrants.

They organized because they know what is at stake. The amendments claim to "simply codify" the Hyde amendment, an existing federal policy that prohibits federal government money from being used to fund abortions through Medicaid.

But in reality, both amendments would create a two-tier health care system.

After 30-plus years of the Hyde amendment, a Guttmacher Institute report released this year indicates that among Medicaid-eligible women -- that is, low income -- who would have an abortion if it were paid for by the government, one in four instead continue the pregnancy to term in the absence of funding. This is because politicians prevent federal tax dollars from covering the procedure.

Moreover, the proposed House and Senate bills both maintain the five-year ban on legal permanent residents accessing publicly funded benefits, including Medicaid, leaving millions of legal residents without coverage for basic medical needs.

According to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 38 percent of Latinas are uninsured, compared with 14.7 percent non-Hispanic white women, and more than half of all immigrants are women.

The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by 2050, one in four Americans will be Latina. As Latinas, we will be disproportionately affected if we do not have a health care package that includes access to the full range of reproductive health services.

Opponents argue that more women will be covered under overall health care reform, as if that should satisfy us. The fact remains: If millions of low- and moderate-income women covered under a new federally subsidized health system can't access abortion care from an insurance plan bought even partly with federal support, policymakers are essentially telling them that they do not matter -- that the reality of their lives must be ignored.

The legacy of health care reform should not be to send women back into the shadows. We have worked too hard to reform our health care system for women to be worse off than they were before.

There is no denying that people around the country, including many Latinas, have complex feelings about abortion. Many have conflicting feelings because of their religious faith -- Latinas are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic.

But my work with Latinas during these debates reminds me that for many women confronted by the decision to terminate a pregnancy, abortion is not a political issue; it's a personal health care issue between a woman, her family and her doctor.

We have an opportunity to make history in these next few weeks and months. Health care is not a luxury; it is fundamental to a healthier and stronger nation. I urge policymakers to respect women who are trying to plan their pregnancies, take control of their futures and improve the lives of their families.

We demand reproductive justice for women. Anything less would be un-American.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Silvia Henriquez.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/12/11/h ... google_cnn

Two factoids that caught my eye in particular were these:

1)"The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by 2050, one in four Americans will be Latina." [Latina being female in gender]

2)"more than half of all immigrants are women."

Now this isn't a definitive observation, but don't those two statements seem to indicate that by 2050 about 1 in 2 "Americans" will be of Hispanic origin?

Maybe I'm just tired and a little confused. Anybody else read that differently?

With Democrats in the White House and both houses of Congress, we believed that we could stop playing defense and actually advance women's rights, including access to abortion.

Wait a minute, aren't many of them the same Latinas that the supposedly anti-abortion Catholic Church says should have green cards and health care, apparently so that they can access abortion?

Is it just me, or is the world insane?

I thought they wanted as many anchor babies as possible. Why would they abort a profit-making child?

Originally Posted by Bowman

With Democrats in the White House and both houses of Congress, we believed that we could stop playing defense and actually advance women's rights, including access to abortion.

Wait a minute, aren't many of them the same Latinas that the supposedly anti-abortion Catholic Church says should have green cards and health care, apparently so that they can access abortion?

Is it just me, or is the world insane?

EXACTLY! The Roman Catholic Church is completely against any form of birth control, especially abortion. Exactly why so many Latin countries have an out of control birth rate.

Originally Posted by ReggieMay

I thought they wanted as many anchor babies as possible. Why would they abort a profit-making child?

My guess is they are thinking ahead to after an "Amnesty" when anchor babies won't be so necessary.

Originally Posted by Ratbstard

Originally Posted by ReggieMay

I thought they wanted as many anchor babies as possible. Why would they abort a profit-making child?

My guess is they are thinking ahead to after an "Amnesty" when anchor babies won't be so necessary.

My thoughts exactly.

Originally Posted by bigtex

EXACTLY! The Roman Catholic Church is completely against any form of birth control, especially abortion. Exactly why so many Latin countries have an out of control birth rate.

The Church might be against it but most members still use birth control, that's why the birthrate in Latin America is now not much higher than in the USA (eg. 2.3 in Mexico vs. 2.1 in US). My point is why does the Church support amnesty for (mainly) Catholic illegals so they can then go have abortions? Obviously the church is just as corrupt as many of our politicians, maybe even more so.

Originally Posted by Bowman

Obviously the church is just as corrupt as many of our politicians, maybe even more so.

On this topic I agree.

Originally Posted by Bowman

The Church might be against it but most members still use birth control, that's why the birthrate in Latin America is now not much higher than in the USA (eg. 2.3 in Mexico vs. 2.1 in US). My point is why does the Church support amnesty for (mainly) Catholic illegals so they can then go have abortions? Obviously the church is just as corrupt as many of our politicians, maybe even more so.

This came from the CIA statistics

Haiti 35.87 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 2.453% (2007 est.) Death rate - 10.4 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 4.86 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Guatemala - 29.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 2.152% (2007 est.) Death rate - 5.27 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 3.7 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Paraguay 28.77 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 2.416% (2007 est.) Death rate - 4.54 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 3.84 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Honduras - 27.59 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 2.091% (2007 est.) Death rate - 5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 3.48 children born/woman (2007 est.)

El Salvador 26.13 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 1.699% (2007 est.) Death rate - 5.6 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 3.08 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Dominican Republic 22.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 1.5% (2007 est.) Death rate - 5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 2.81 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Bolivia 22.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 1.42% (2007 est.) Death rate - 7.44 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 2.76 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Ecuador 21.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 1.554% (2007 est.) Death rate - 4.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 2.63 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Venezuela 21.22 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 1.486% (2007 est.) Death rate - 5.08 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 2.55 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Mexico - 20.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 1.153% (2007 est.) Death rate - 4.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 2.39 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Colombia 20.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 1.433% (2007 est.) Death rate - 5.54 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 2.51 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Peru 20.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 1.289% (2007 est.) Death rate - 6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 2.46 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Costa Rica 18.02 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 1.412% (2007 est.) Death rate - 4.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 2.21 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Argentina 16.53 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 0.938% (2007 est.) Death rate - 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 2.13 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Brazil 16.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 1.008% (2007 est.) Death rate - 6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 1.88 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Chile 15.03 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 0.916% (2007 est.) Death rate - 5.87 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 1.97 children born/woman (2007 est.)

United States 14.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 0.894% (2007 est.) Death rate - 8.26 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 2.09 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Uruguay 14.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 0.504% (2007 est.) Death rate - 9.16 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 1.97 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Cuba 11.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Population Growth - 0.273% (2007 est.) Death rate - 7.14 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Fertility rate - 1.6 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Mexico alone has about 6.2 births per 1000 population than the United States. Countries like Haiti and Guatemala almost double that figure. Only the industrialized nations in Latin America like Argentina, Chili and Brazil have learned how to control their populations.

What would really be interesting is how much of that 14.6/10000 in the USA is contributed to by illegal aliens. I'll bet it is a large percentage.

Also note the comparison between the birth rates and death rates. The USA comes to a net of 6.34/1000 while Mexico is 15.28. Over double that of the USA.

Also something think about is that the more educated and industrialized Latin American countries are similar to that of the USA, despite being predominantly Roman Catholic. Perhaps education is the key to thinking beyond the wishes of the Catholic Church and learning to balance population with income.

To answer your question about the Catholic Church support of illegal aliens is their base here in the USA is fleeing the church because of their archaic views. They know that illegal aliens, especially from Latin American countries will fill their churches in America on Sunday. They will still preach against birth control and use fear to control the uneducated membership they have drawn in.

While Mexico's birth rate may have dropped in the past few decades, my guess is that is because those who were having all of the kids (the uneducated) have moved to the USA and are increasing our birth rate by leaps and bounds.


Differences by Race and Ethnicity

In 2005, Hispanic women had the highest fertility rates, followed by non-Hispanic black women, Asian women, Native American women, and non-Hispanic white women.* Fertility rates for Hispanic women were over 45 percent higher than those for non-Hispanic black women and Asian women (99 births per 1,000 for Hispanic women versus 67 births per 1,000 for non-Hispanic black and Asian women), and more than 65 percent higher than those for Native American women and non-Hispanic white women (60 and 58 births per 1,000 women, respectively). (See Figure 3)



Among Hispanic women, in 2004 (the most recent year for which such estimates are available), Mexican woman had a much higher fertility rate than Puerto Rican and Cuban woman (107 births per 1,000 compared with 68 births per 1,000 and 53 births per 1,000, respectively). (See Table 1)
http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/tabl ... able_1.htm