Report: Latinos Don’t Necessarily Fit the Pro-Life Stereotype
Looks like Mitt Romney might have to try a different angle.
Contrary to popular political generalizations, Latinos may not all be against abortion. According to a Lake Research Partners survey conducted with 600 participants, a majority of Latinos believe that abortion should be legal. 73% believed that women should be able to make personal choices about her body without the interference of politicians, and the same number believe that we should not judge someone who does not feel ready to become a parent. Latinos also appear to support increasing abortion access, as 61% believe that money should not determine a woman’s access to abortion.
This is great news. Women of color are among the most disadvantaged groups when it comes to access to contraception services–therefore planning their pregnancies–and to abortions. Latinas are perhaps even more disadvantaged, as many of them are immigrants and suffer from language barriers and limited legal rights. This report shows that Latinos are beginning to support women making decisions for their own bodies, which is a great thing.
However, it’s also important to be critical of this study. The survey was conducted specifically among registered voters, a population of people who are generally financially better off than their peers. The majority of them are probably not recently immigrated, and many have the money and education to seek out the legal resources needed to achieve citizenship. Otherwise, they were born in the States, and have probably benefited over Latinos who might be here without documents, working in low-skilled jobs. One thing is for sure: they all speak English. I hate to say it, but this population of Latinos probably does not represent the average opinion of all Latinos.
And maybe that’s not the point of the survey. It’s still valuable to consider that the more financially stable and educated Latinos are, the more liberal they become towards abortion, something which holds true for white citizens as well. In other words, Latinos are not inherently anymore conservative or close-minded towards abortion than any other demographic. And that is certainly good news.
