Ahead of the Nov. 5 election, pro-choice advocacy groups are urging Hispanic voters to support Amendment 4, which would make access to abortion — before fetal viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health — a state constitutional right.
The measure is a response to what critics call the near total abortion ban that took effect in Florida, which largely bans the procedure after only six weeks of pregnancy. Amendment 4 needs 60% of the vote to gain passage — and the latest polls show it will be close.
“When we look at the reality of who is being impacted by the extreme abortion bans, Latino Catholics know very clearly their wives, their mothers, their daughters, their sisters are all potentially at risk,” Gloria Romero Roses, who is on the Florida board of directors for the abortion rights nonprofit Catholics for Choice, said during an interview on WLRN’s South Florida Roundup.
“When you have such an extreme measure undermining their ability to make that decision with their family, their faith and their doctors," she contends.
Supporters are looking for a swing vote — and that bloc is likely Latinos. While some might associate Latinos with the Roman Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion, a new AP poll shows 67% of Latinos oppose abortion bans.
Latinos in Florida, however, tend to be more conservative on issues like abortion than Latinos from other states. A recent Florida International University poll found only 36% of Latinos opposed the state’s new six-week abortion ban while 27% were undecided.
In the last few weeks, Washington, D.C.-based pro-choice group Catholics for Choice has been running pro-choice advertisements on Spanish-language radio stations across the state, particularly in South Florida. In the ad, Dr. Cecilia Grande, a South Miami gynecologist and a Catholic, says in Spanish that the state’s current six-week abortion ban conflicts with medical ethics and her conscience.
Daniela Martins, a reproductive access expert and Women’s Emergency Network Vice Chair, and Gloria Romero Roses joined WLRN’s Tim Padgett on the show Friday. Below are highlights of their conversation.
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Padgett: Gloria Romero Roses, let me start with you because your nonprofit, Catholics for Choice, has really led this media campaign to persuade Florida Latinos to vote for Amendment 4. As I mentioned, a lot of people might consider that a quixotic task because they think Latinos, they think Catholic, they think anti-abortion. But that’s not actually the case. How would you describe the Latino mindset on abortion rights – and why do you think they’ll turn out to be the decisive vote on Amendment 4?
Romero Roses: Catholics for Choice partnered with Mi Vecino, a civic engagement nonprofit that works throughout Florida to get people to vote, on a phone banking operation to call Latino Catholics throughout Miami and Orlando. In that phone banking operation, we asked them about the importance of protecting family decisions, and 84.5% of them supported being able to protect their family, making decisions without government interference. And, what I think is incredibly heartening for us when we think about how Hispanic voters sometimes are taken for granted in campaigns, 75.5% of them are aware of Amendment 4, and they intend to vote on this issue. Catholics, and specifically Latino Catholics, are the future of the church and of Florida. When we look at the reality of who is being impacted by the extreme abortion bans L atino C atholics know very clearly their wives, their mothers, their daughters, their sisters are all potentially at risk when you have such an extreme measure undermining their ability to make that decision with their family their faith and their doctors.
Padgett: But there are Latinos – and then there are Florida Latinos, who at least in South Florida tend to be more conservative on issues like abortion than non-Florida Latinos, like Puerto Ricans in New York or Mexicans in California. So while 67% of Latinos nationally support abortion rights, in Florida, a recent Florida International University poll found only 36 % of Latinos opposed the state’s new 6-week abortion ban while 27% were undecided. Is there a bigger challenge here when it comes to persuading Latinos to support the expanded abortion access that Amendment 4 promises?
Romero Roses: No, I don't believe so. Because again, the conversations that we've been having at doors, Florida Latinos, whether they're Catholic or Christian of other denominations, fundamentally agree that the decision, as difficult as it may be, is between them, their family, their doctor and their faith. It is not to be, frankly, a function of government interference.
Padgett: Daniela Martins, you also worked on the Spanish-language Amendment 4 ads. From your own work as a reproductive health access expert, why do you feel Latinos could be the vote that makes or breaks Amendment 4 next month?
Martins: It's been a very interesting election cycle because, while we are seeing that Latinos in Florida are leaning more conservative, abortion seems to be the exception of this. So, every time that we talk to Latinos in Florida, the second that they are becoming aware of the extreme abortion ban that is currently in place since May, their instance on abortion immediately shifts. A lot of them actually self identify as pro-life themselves. They wouldn't have an abortion, that wouldn't be a decision they would make; however, they also self identify as pro-choice. These are not dichotomies among Latinos in Florida.
Padgett: Gloria, what is perhaps different about the message that groups like yours are trying to get across to Latinos?
Romero Roses: I think for Florida Catholic Latinos, it's important to get a reality check because unfortunately the bishops in Florida have been distorting the current reality of Florida's extreme abortion ban. The fear mongering that my friends and family are telling me they hear from the pulpit on Sundays is really disconcerting about the intention of Amendment 4 and the reality that, as it currently stands, women's health is absolutely at risk by the six week ban that's in place. I think for us, having the ability to provide someone like Dr. Grande, the platform to share not just her professional opinion and experience with the current six week ban, but the fact that she, as a woman of f aith , can absolutely be pro-choice because of that faith and not in spite of it.
Padgett: Daniela, does this message perhaps resonate more with Latino women and families because the Latino community in general, much like the Black community, has felt itself short changed when it comes to healthcare access in general in this country?
Martins: Yes, that's right. From the Women's Emergency Network, we see how Latinas are disproportionately impacted by the extreme abortion ban. And we've seen in other states that have these types of abortion bans, maternal mortality rates have skyrocketed and they're even higher among Latinas. So, we know as a community that we're more vulnerable now. Pregnant Latinas could have a miscarriage. They could have a complication and they may need an abortion to save their lives from a hemorrhage or from an infection. And right now, these bans are delaying the treatment and they're putting our lives at stake.
The transcription has been edited for brevity. You can listen to the full conversation above or wherever you get your podcasts by searching: The South Florida Roundup.
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