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ST LOUIS, MO - MAY 31: The exterior of a Planned Parenthood Reproductive Health Services Center is seen on May 31, 2019, in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Michael Thomas/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - MAY 31: The exterior of a Planned Parenthood Reproductive Health Services Center is seen on May 31, 2019, in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Michael Thomas/Getty Images)

Latinxs and Planned Parenthood: How does it affect us?

More than half a million Latinxs are left at risk after Planned Parenthood’s withdrawal from Title X.

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The position of the Hispanic community in the United States regarding the work of organizations such as Planned Parenthood is not entirely clear.

While some believe that the religious inclination of Latinxs would make them prone to accept the defunding of pro-abortion organizations, others might say that this is another reductionist vision of an incredibly heterogeneous community.

However, the debate about the existence of public health organizations such as Planned Parenthood impacts much more extensive issues than simply access to abortion.

According to figures from the Kaiser Family Foundation, Hispanics are the minority with the highest uninsured rate in the country (19%), ranking above the African-American community by 8 percentage points.

Likewise, access to medical care among Latinxs in the United States presents greater obstacles than for other minorities, with family income, culture, and language barriers being the main risk factors.

A study by the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health found that approximately 26% of Latinxs might not have visited a doctor in the past 12 months, for reasons that range from public transportation and lack of access to health care providers, to the absence of a doctor who can communicate effectively in Spanish.

This disparity in accessing fundamental services such as health services inevitably influences the socioeconomic development of the communities and perpetuates cultural stigmas that are usually reinforced by Donald Trump’s White House.

It’s another typical case of a snake that bites its own tail.

And this Monday, the government has managed to worsen the situation for Latinxs in the country.

According to Politico, Planned Parenthood finally decided to withdraw from the federal Title X family planning program "rather than comply with a new Trump administration rule barring federally funded clinics from referring patients to abortion providers."

What does this mean?

The media explains that by withdrawing more than 400 of its participating clinics from the program, Planned Parenthood “will leave low-income women in many parts of the country without federally-funded access to birth control and other reproductive health services.”

This includes much more than the right to abortion, and impacts people of all genders.

The federal program allocated about $60 million a year to health care centers whose efforts included the fight against HIV, sex education at all levels, prevention and testing programs for sexually transmitted diseases, and prenatal care.

While Planned Parenthood defended its decision to withdraw from the federal program because "it would force physicians and clinics to withhold medical information from patients, would interfere with the doctor-patient relationship and could deny pregnant women the range of options available to them," this new cut in funds for public assistance will seriously affect the country in wider ways.

Considering that Latinas have higher rates of cervical cancer, HIV diagnoses and sexually transmitted diseases than their white or African-American counterparts, this is a direct attack against the health and well being of the Latinx community.

Not to mention its impact on undocumented immigrants who, according to the Planned Parenthood platform, do not have access to Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by order of Federal Law, which also prohibits them from buying affordable medical insurance in the ACA Marketplace.

Planned Parenthood medical assistance centers serve up to 560,000 Latinx individuals every year nationwide, and the reduction of funds will put everyone at risk.

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