The Quickie: Politicians Got It Wrong — Latino Voters Support Abortion Rights
For Immediate Release: Nov. 3, 2022
Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.
In today’s Quickie: Latino voters overwhelmingly support abortion rights, a TX woman’s harrowing abortion travel story, immigration and repro advocates GOTV in PA tomorrow, and PP Votes bringing power to the polls in PA!
POLITICIANS GOT IT WRONG — LATINO VOTERS SUPPORT ABORTION RIGHTS: Today, the Washington Post debunked the common misconception that Latino voters are not supportive of abortion rights. Indeed, several recent polls have debunked that belief: one found that 68% of Latino voters say abortion should be legal (on par with white voters), another found that two-thirds of Catholic Latinos opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and 84% of young Latinos think abortion should be legal. Experts have cited the growing Latino youth population as well as acculturation as the driving forces behind changing views on abortion. Assumptions about Latinos’ views on abortion were driven by misconceptions about the role that religion, in particular Catholicism, played in Latinos’ lives, according to the Washington Post.
“There’s a misconception that Latino communities are less engaged on this, and I think that’s incorrect. Particularly when you talk to young Latinas … they want access to reproductive health, they want access to abortion care — and their families, their moms and their dads, understand that,” said Long Beach, California, Mayor Robert Garcia (D), who is also running for Congress and has partnered with Planned Parenthood on get-out-the-vote efforts.
Read more at Washington Post.
“I DON’T FEEL SAFE BEING PREGNANT IN MY HOME STATE ANYMORE”: Yesterday, Texas Public Radio featured the story of Ashley Brandt, a Houston mother who was ecstatic in May to find out that she and her husband were pregnant with twins. Tragically, Brandt’s 12-week ultrasound revealed a devastating diagnosis of anencephaly for one twin, who would survive a few hours after birth at most. But like other states that have banned abortion, Texas makes no exceptions in the law even for lethal fetal anomalies, forcing Brandt to travel to Colorado for abortion care to protect the healthy twin.
“We went from pure excitement to deep sadness and terror,” Brandt told Texas Public Radio. “This was the most traumatizing experience of my life and one that was made so much worse, unnecessarily, because of these illogical and dangerous laws.”
After her abortion, Brandt experienced some other pregnancy-related complications that caused her to bleed. Fearing potential criminalization for getting an abortion even in a state where it was legal, Brandt nearly avoided seeking emergency medical attention in Texas and now struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder.
… “We had always planned to have more children but I can’t risk going through what I went through again,” Brandt said. “I don’t feel safe being pregnant in my home state anymore.”
Read Brandt’s full story at Texas Public Radio.
TOMORROW: IMMIGRATION & REPRO ADVOCATES JOIN FORCES FOR GOTV PUSH IN PENNSYLVANIA: On Friday, Planned Parenthood Votes and Make the Road Action Pennsylvania will rally with community organizers to kick off GOTV weekend in the Lehigh Valley. Canvassers will convene in downtown Allentown for a rally before heading out to reach voters, mainly in the valley’s Latinx communities. Grassroots volunteers are ready to engage Pennsylvanians and encourage them to get out the vote for champions who will stand for the dignity, freedom and autonomy of all.
Members of the press are invited to join canvassers in the field after the 11 AM press conference. Please RSVP to Olivia Cappello at PP Votes for more information.
HOW PLANNED PARENTHOOD VOTES IS BRINGING POWER TO THE POLLS IN PENNSYLVANIA: A new Insider feature highlights the surge of Pennsylvania women who have been motivated to take action to turn out abortion rights supporters in the midterms following the reversal of Roe v. Wade, focusing largely on the role of Planned Parenthood Votes (PPV) canvassers in getting out the vote.
Karen Toth, a PPV canvasser in Allegheny County, emphasized just how important abortion rights are for women across the state, despite anti-abortion candidates Mehmet Oz and Doug Mastriano deeming the issue a “distraction.” Toth recalled a conversation she had with a mother while door knocking: "I said, 'Is there anything else, other than reproductive freedom, that you're worried about in this election?' And she said, 'Is there anything else?'" Toth told Insider, adding that the 27-year-old woman said, "It's hard to think about any other issue until this one is addressed."
Read more at Insider.