Mobilizing Latino Communities to Safeguard Reproductive Health and Rights: From the Community to Latino Leaders and Elected Officials

Latinas experience higher rates of unintended pregnancy than the general population of women in the United States. Latino views on reproductive rights are complex and vary based on national origin, age, gender and years lived in the United States. Recognizing the reproductive health disparities faced by Latinas in New York, the Institute for Reproductive Health Access, which is the programmatic arm of NARAL Pro-Choice NY, and the Hispanic Federation, a membership organization of 90 Latino agencies, joined to create the Latino Reproductive Rights Project. The multi-year project is aimed at: researching the knowledge and attitudes about reproductive health among New York Latinos; training Latino activists to become adolescent peer educators and promotoras to promote reproductive health issues; cultivating Latino leaders and elected officials in New York to be more vocal and active on reproductive health and rights policies; and implementing a social marketing/media campaign to cover reproductive rights and health in Latino communities. The end goal is to develop an activist/advocacy network which will promote and monitor Latino sexual and reproductive health needs and rights. This presentation will discuss collaborating with Latino service agencies to integrate reproductive health and rights through: 1) training of promotoras and the adolescent peer educators, 2) establishing partnerships with the agencies to increase mobilization and education efforts, 3) facilitating the dispersal of the social marketing/ media campaign and, 4) establishing a city-wide activist/advocacy network demanding the participation of Latino leaders and elected officials to safeguard Latino reproductive rights and health needs.