Latinas disproportionally affected by Florida’s 6-week abortion ban

The 6-week abortion ban that went into effect in Florida in May has endangered women with at-risk pregnancies or health issues. And no one is more impacted than Latinas, pro-choice advocates say.

On November 5th, Florida voters will cast their vote to decide whether they want to keep Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 6-week abortion ban – which bans abortion before many women know if they are pregnant – or override it to protect abortion rights up to fetal viability, which the medical community puts at about 24 weeks of pregnancy. 

The 6-week ban went into effect in May of this year and has placed many women with at-risk pregnancies or health issues at risk, as doctors, fearful of facing the consequences of violating the ban – which can include hefty fines and even the loss of their medical license – refuse to treat them, even when their lives could be potentially in danger. 

Many pro-choice advocates are sounding the alarm that if Amendment 4 fails to pass with at least 60% of the vote, women’s reproductive rights will continue to be in the hands of state lawmakers, and out of their control. 

And no one will be more impacted than Latinas in the Sunshine State, they say.

If the abortion ban stays in place, reproductive rights advocates say, it will continue to impact mainly low-income women, including Latinas and other women of color. 

RELATED: Florida doctor says 6-week abortion ban is ‘jeopardizing future of healthcare in Florida’

Latina women with low incomes are especially impacted by abortion bans, as they are more likely to lack access to enough funds to travel to another state for abortion care. This is not only cost-prohibitive for many, but also requires taking time away from work and family, a luxury many can’t afford. 

And being forced to give birth can worsen and deepen the cycle of poverty, according to Geeta Minocha, a Florida attorney and reproductive rights advocate.

“This is a human rights issue, but it’s also at its core, an economic justice issue,” Minocha told Floricua. “Florida’s poverty rate is significantly higher than the poverty rate of states across the nation. And we know that the state’s Hispanic poverty levels in particular are extraordinarily and disproportionately high compared to the rates in the rest of the country.”

In fact, Florida is home to 1.4 million Latinas of reproductive age, and of this population:

• 558,000 are economically insecure. 
• 594,600 are mothers, including 145,900 mothers of children under three. 
• 9,100 are veterans. 
• 75,000 are disabled.

Some also face systemic barriers such as lack of health insurance, or “access to culturally and linguistically competent health systems,” Aurelie Colón-Larrauri, the Florida state policy advocate for the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, told NBC News.

As a result, “marginalized women will be most affected, and any woman that suffers an unfortunate medical situation or miscarriage or any other number of medical conditions that could put their life at risk or the baby’s life at risk,” says Alejandra Rondon, co-lead of floridalibertad.com, the Spanish language arm of the Floridians Protecting Freedom campaign that put abortion rights on the ballot. 

“I think that it’s very clear that extremists and conservatives in Congress want to ban abortion and have and are not shy about where they stand on that issue,” Veronica Ingham, Senior Campaign Director for Free & Just, a non-profit organization that works to make sure that abortion is protected on the federal level, told Floricua, “We are hoping that voters vote to enshrine abortion in the constitution in Florida.” 

If Amendment 4 were to pass, it would amend the state constitution to include language stating that “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”

RELATED: A red state abortion ban nearly killed his wife. Now he’s speaking out.