The NLIRH (National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health) strongly agrees with the idea of contraception as a preventive service for women of the Hispanic community. The contraception program that they support can help improve the health of Hispanic women and at the same time fortify their growing population in the United States by promoting support and respect for a woman’s decision-making as opposed to being dictated to what care she can or cannot get.
Majority of the Americans and Catholics in the country promote the birth control program including the Hispanic community. Supporting the birth control coverage is also an act of economic justice as not everyone can afford to buy the contraception that they need, especially Latinas and women from other minority groups.
Facts about Latinas, including Catholic Latinas, about the Use of Contraception
- The percentage of Hispanic women who have used contraception when they have sex is 97%.
- The percentage of Hispanic women who have used contraception programs that are banned by the Vatican and are sexually active is 96%.
- The percentage of married Catholic Hispanic women that use contraception is 90%.
Facts about Latinas, including Catholic Latinas, supporting the use of contraception
- The percentage of Latina voters that fall under the 18-34 age bracket who promote contraceptive coverage without copayments is 89%.
- One of the most popular provisions of the Affordable Care Act is the HHS decision to provide contraceptives without copays to control birth rate in the country.
- Many religious Latinos are continuously supportive of the birth control program even if the church leaders take a different view when it comes to the law.
Birth Control Utilization
Contraceptive coverage without copays is beneficial for women’s health, overall well-being of the family and the Hispanic community in general.
Survey has shown that the women of the Hispanic community as a whole are using birth control programs at rates that are lower than the American whites. This is one of the reasons why there is a high rate of teen pregnancy among the Latino population.
Many of the Spanish-speaking women living in the country are misinformed about hormonal birth control which is considered to be a very efficient method by majority of the healthcare workers. Using hormonal birth control has many benefits for women which makes it an ideal choice especially for those who fear experiencing harmful side effects.
Being properly educated about birth control and other sex issues is something that will greatly help the Hispanic women. Their lack of education and experiences in medical racism are some of the factors that led them to mistrust the medical community.