News Archive: All

This fall, Jessica González-Rojas stepped into her new role as Executive Director of NLIRH. Below is her letter to the NLIRH community, introducing herself and her vision for change, in addition to a slideshow of photos from her fifteen year involvement in social justice. 

Read more »

Washington, DC---- Anti-choice House lawmakers launched the latest attack on women’s health and family planning on Wednesday. In a House subcommittee hearing entitled "Do New Health Law Mandates Threaten Conscience Rights and Access to Care?," several lawmakers showed their true colors, arguing for the preferences of employers over the right of women to make their own contraceptive health decisions in consultation with their doctors. Read more »

We are excited to introduce our newest initiative, the e-LOLA!

Our Latinas Organizing for Leadership and Advocacy (LOLA) trainings have been carried out in 11 cities across the country since 2003, and the new e-LOLA has been designed to accommodate the lives of busy young adults by allowing them access to the materials presented at our traditional, rigorous two and a half day LOLA Reproductive Justice Institutes.  Read more »

The National Coalition of Immigrant Women's Rights (NCIWR) is appalled by the August 5th announcement that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will not honor state contracts regarding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) "Secure Communities" program.  Read more »

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote a post on our Nuestra Vida, Nuestra Voz's blog today. Check out this must-read blog here in english or here in español.

Just one year ago, during our first ever Latina Week of Action for Reproductive Justice, Latinas from across the nation sent letters to the Obama Administration urging them to consider birth control an essential part of preventive care. Today we launch our second annual Latina Week of Action for Reproductive Justice with news that Secretary Sebelius responded to our comments by issuing groundbreaking regulations, making it affordable for many more Latinas to have health care such as birth control, cancer screenings, and well woman exams.

Be sure to follow the Blog Carnival every day this week -- or join us with a blog of your own!

Read more »

We're thrilled to announce that today begins our 2nd Annual Latina Week of Action for Reproductive Justice! 

This year, under the theme Caminamos: Justice for Immigrant Women we are advocating for immigrant women's rights and recentering gender in the immigration dialogue.

Immigrant women are facing increasing attacks on their reproductive health and livelihood in the US while the real problems facing our communities are not addressed. 

All the ways to get involved in the Latina Week of Action for Reproductive Justice are below. Please join us!

How can you get involved in the Week of Action?

We're thrilled to announce that next week, August 1-5, will be our 2nd Annual Latina Week of Action for Reproductive Justice! We're once again partnering with California Latinas for Reproductive Justice and Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, and we're hoping to have an even bigger impact than last year.

Last year we focused on contraception and our community. This year, under the theme Caminamos: Justice for Immigrant Women we hope to engage our community in advocating for immigrant women's rights and recentering gender in the immigration dialogue. Immigrant women are facing increasing attacks on their reproductive health and livelihood in the US while the real problems facing our communities are not addressed.  We've got much in store for the 2011 Latina Week of Action for Reproductive Justice and we're excited to partner with all of you!

For more information about how to get involved in the week of action, go here.

Read more »

The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) applauds Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and the many congressional cosponsors for re-introducing the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minor, commonly known as the DREAM Act.

We also thank President Obama for reaffirming his support of the DREAM Act in El Paso Tuesday where he remarked that to punish children who grew up in this country is cruel. "We're a better nation than that," President Obama said. Read more »

As leaders working to champion the agency and leadership of young people and as social justice organizations committed to erasing health inequities and championing the reproductive rights of women who are working hard to provide for their families, the undersigned organizations are deeply troubled by the FY2011 budget that passed in the House and the Senate yesterday. Read more »

For the last couple of years, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health has been doing a lot to turn around the conversation on teen pregnancy and young motherhood. From sitting on advisory tables on reproductive health at the White House, to releasing our white paper on removing stigma, to working with legislators to introduce legislation that would help young mothers succeed, we’ve been challenging the stigmatizing narratives that paint young mothers as irresponsible, hopeless, and drains on the state.

So it is with great excitement that we present our newest campaign: What’s the Real Problem?

Read more »

New York - This afternoon the New York City Council approved a measure that will require crisis pregnancy centers – anti-choice establishments seldom staffed by medical personnel – to disclose on all signage and advertising what services they do and do not provide. Under the guise of medically-licensed clinics, crisis pregnancy centers routinely provide misinformation regarding women’s options when pregnant, and do not provide contraception, abortion, or referrals to either of these services. Read more »

Today's votes in the U.S. House of Representatives on harmful amendments to the federal spending bill (H.R. 1) was a new low in attacks against women and their families. While the bill and its amendments attempt to take aim at the country’s alarming deficit, they do so by slashing a number of important programs and measures. The cuts are misguided and dangerous and strike in the areas of public safety, education, and infrastructure at a time when jobs in these very areas could help millions of people in the U.S. Read more »

Bill would severely limit access to important reproductive health services for women, particularly women of color and immigrant women

January 20, 2011 (Washington, DC) -- The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH), and the Reproductive Health Technologies Project (RHTP) strongly oppose H.R.3 which was introduced in the House of Representatives today.  

Read more »

The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) offers our deepest condolences and solidarity to the families and victims of the assassination attempt on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-8). Read more »

Despite a devastating loss on the DREAM (the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health applauds the Senate's 65-31 vote on Saturday to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT).  DADT is the law that forces LGBT military members to hide their sexuality at the risk of losing their careers.
Read more »

NLIRH is happy to support the President's pending signature on The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment (CAPTA) Reauthorization Act of 2010.  The legislation passed both the House and Senate last week and is critical in the fight against child abuse and neglect.  This Act reauthorizes CAPTA through FY2015 and enacts important revisions that, as the White House stated, will “strengthen child protective services and continue life-saving program Read more »

Last week the House took a historic and courageous action and voted to pass the urgently needed Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. However, the Senate is stalled because there is an insufficient number of members willing to permit a vote on the DREAM (S3992).

DREAM would allow young undocumented immigrants, who were brought to the United States before they turned 16, a path to U.S. citizenship.

That's why we need you to urge your Senator to support the DREAM Act. This bill provides a much-needed route to lawful citizenship to the country many immigrant young people call home - contact your Senator today, and demand that we do this right away!

Read more »

The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health applauds the inclusion of a new topic area on LGBT Health into Healthy People 2020.  At the start of each decade, Healthy People is developed to provide a blueprint for the United States’ public health priorities and goals for the next ten years.  While some objectives on LGBT health had been included in the previous version of Healthy People (2010), the inclusion of LGBT health as topic area unto its own represents a major win for LGBT health advocates nationwide.   Healthy People 2020 also includes a new topic area Read more »

Following an exceptional eight years leading the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, Silvia Henriquez is stepping down as Executive Director in mid 2011. With unfaltering commitment and ingenuity, Silvia advanced NLIRH’s vision, elevating the voice of Latinas in the fight for reproductive rights and justice. Read more »

The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) applauds Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for his announcement that he plans to offer the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act (S.729) as an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill. We call on bipartisan support of the measure which is expected to receive a vote by next week. Read more »

The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health applauds the Obama Administration for its recent release of the United States’ first ever nation-wide comprehensive HIV/AIDS reduction strategy as part of the recent health care reform law.  With 56,000 new infections in the nation every year and 1.1 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS, the strategy will focus on prevention through increased education, testing, and removing the stigma associated with the disease.  Read more »

 Statement from the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

Yesterday, President Barack Obama announced the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, Kagan would become the third woman to sit on the nine-person court, making it the most representation by women in the history of the court. Solicitor General Kagan would fill the seat of retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, a long-time supporter of civil and reproductive rights.

The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) applauds President Obama for his decision to nominate a woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kagan is a well-qualified nominee with extensive legal experience, who has long been known for challenging traditional stereotypes. A former Harvard Law School Dean, she currently is the first woman to hold the position of Solicitor General. Read more »

Last night, the House of Representatives voted 219-212 to pass health care reform.

The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health commends Congress and the Administration for continuing to push for much-needed health reform and we encourage the Senate to pass the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act that includes critical pieces affecting our community.  

However, this battle was fought on the bodies of women and immigrant women.  In the eleventh hour, President Barack Obama caved to the demands of a handful of anti-choice Democrats by agreeing to use the lives of women as trade.  He will use his pen to add weight to the already cumbersome abortion restrictions in the health care bill.  Latinas, immigrants, and women of color are deeply affected by any language restricting abortion access – because women of color and immigrants are disproportionately poor, they are less likely to be able to pay for reproductive health care out-of-pocket, which puts them at risk for seeking alternative, unsafe abortion methods. While health reform might lead to more Latinas being covered, it leaves out a significant portion of the population.  By excluding and stigmatizing immigrants and women who need abortions, we are pushing them to the shadows of our health care system and placing unfair burden on the already-strained system of community health care centers and emergency rooms.  Over half of all immigrants are women, and 53% of all immigrants are from Latin America; though it has yet to be signed by the President, this bill is outdated already. 
Read more »

This upcoming Sunday, March 21, thousands of people from all over the nation will fly, drive, and walk to Washington D.C. to march for immigration reform.

March for America, organized by Reform Immigration for America, is scheduled to begin at 1:00pm with an Interfaith Prayer Service on the National Mall.

Staff from the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and other members of the National Coalition for Immigrant Women’s Rights (NCIWR) will be at the event handing out posters, pins and other information. To find us, just come to the corner of 12th and Madison Street on the North side of the National Mall.

Want to know more about why we march? Don’t know how to get around on the nation’s capital? No problem! NCIWR has developed a tool kit with all this information and more helpful hints for you to make the most out of the march. To access it, go to this page on NCIWR’s website.  There you will also be able to download the posters and other advertising documents to hand-out and/or to bring with you to March of America.

See you there, and please spread the word!

More information available at our blog.

Read more »

On Monday, February 21st, President Obama unveiled the proposed health care reform plan that was discussed by Congress during the bi-partisan health care summit that took place on February 25th. The President hosted the six hour televised summit on health care reform where he brought together Republican and Democratic leaders to hammer out key provisions in the President’s proposal and offer new ideas and solutions. Read more »

On Monday, President Obama delivered the proposed budget for fiscal year 2011 to Congress.  
Read more »

The fight for health care reform has reached its last stage, and the bills passed by the House and the Senate are currently being merged by Democratic leadership.  It has been long and it has been tough, and now we are advocating for the best possible result even though closed-door meetings have replaced an open conference process.   Our efforts have not led us where we would have liked given the momentous opportunity that health care reform presented.  Certainly, the final bill will contain a number of key provisions that will improve the way people access health care by ending pre-existing conditions exclusions, expanding Medicaid, and ending gender-rating (the practice of charging women more than men for similar policies).  Although we knew from the beginning that this legislation would not create a system of truly universal health care, we dedicated our best efforts into improving reform options for Latinas and their families. Read more »

To those of you that have been paying attention to NLIRH’s work during the long process to craft and pass health care reform legislation, it might seem as though what was a flurry of action at the end of the year has died down.  Behind the scenes, however, we are hard at work.  Though many provisions in both the Senate and the House version of the health care reform legislation are deeply flawed, NLIRH is not ready to give up.  We are currently developing strategies and materials for the last leg of this struggle, and we are continuing our work both with activists on the ground and our colleagues in the movement to ensure that the merged bill comes out free of provisions that are hurtful to women of color, low-income people, and immigrants. 

The Senate and House versions of the bill will be merged soon, but right now it is not clear exactly how that will happen.  Though legislation typically enters a conference committee made up of members of both the House and Senate to resolve differences and emerge with a final bill, there is speculation that health care reform will undergo an alternative process in order to avoid Republican stalling tactics. 

Stay tuned – we will need all your help soon!

Read more »

Health care reform legislation is being debated right now, and your representatives need to hear from you!

Go here to take action and demand that health care reform legislation meet the needs of women and immigrants by sending an email or calling your Representatives.

Statement from the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

Women, particularly Latinas, suffer tremendously under the current health care system and the ban on funding for comprehensive reproductive health care, including abortion. In fact, one in four women living in poverty who want to choose abortion can’t because politicians prevent federal tax dollars from covering the procedure.   

Read more »

Day two of the Supreme Court confirmation hearings began with questions from Senators and Judge Sonia Sotomayor's answers under oath on the issues that impact the lives of our community. This conversation between the Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Judge Sotomayor marks one of the only times in which we will hear her explain her opinion on important issues affecting Latinas and all women. The right of privacy, upholding precedent and settled law such as Roe v. Wade were among the legal issues discussed during the second day of the hearings and are critical to ensure the reproductive rights and liberties of all Latinas. Read more »

Yesterday, the questions from Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee continued during the Sotomayor’s Confirmation Hearings in Washington, DC. Judge Sotomayor was asked many questions about her views on abortion rights, based on cases such as Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood.

Read more »

Yesterday marked the final day of the confirmation hearings and the last day where the public will hear directly from Judge Sotomayor.  The Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman hopes to have a full committee vote on Judge Sotomayor’s nomination next Tuesday, July 21st, 2009. Read more »

Congress has recently launched a formal debate for reforming the ailing U.S. health care system. A Senate committee is currently considering a comprehensive bill backed by Democrats and the Obama administration. In the House, hearings on the Tri Committee Proposal, a single health care reform bill, are scheduled for this week. Both chambers are striving to vote on bills before the August recess in order that the conference committee can negotiate a compromise and send it to President Obama by October. Read more »

Commissioner von Eschenbach has assured Congress that the Office of Women’s Health (OWH) will be allocated $4 million in 2007. The Commissioner has made this assurance after a scare that the OWH would have its budget cut to 2.8 million only a few short weeks ago.

NLIRH applauds the efforts made to secure funding for the OWH because of the important role it has in informing the public on women’s reproductive health:

The Office of Women’s Health Office within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides Read more »

Just before its end, the Bush Administration put in place a set of regulations that would allow any employee of a health care provider to refuse to treat any individual receiving any services that would violate the employee’s moral beliefs, dramatically and unnecessarily expanding conscientious refusal protections and undermining the importance of reproductive health.

Now is the time to make your voice heard. Let Charles E. Johnson, Acting Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services know that we will not stand for scientifically inaccurate policies meant to undermine reproductive justice!

Read more »

In February Texas Governor Rick Perry issued an executive order mandating that all girls entering the sixth grade in 2008 get an HPV vaccine. In April, the state House voted 135-2, and the Senate voted 30-1 to pass HB 1098, a bill that would prevent mandatory HPV vaccines to be administered to sixth grade girls in Texas until 2011. On May 8, 2007 Gov. Perry announced that he would not veto that bill, therefore, the bill will become law.

Gov. Schwarzenegger proposes extending medical insurance to all Californians, including undocumented immigrants. The Californian Governor wants to transform the health care market by spreading the $12 billion cost of universal coverage among employers, individuals, insurers, government and health care providers.

Read more »

Immigration as a Matter of Reproductive Justice

Because NLIRH recognizes that the reproductive health of immigrant women is profoundly affected by immigration policy, we understand that it is imperative to monitor legislation that may affect the legal status and eligibility for benefits for immigrant women and their families.

Recently several bills have been introduced in the U.S. Congress that could have both a positive and/or negative affect on the reproductive health of Latinas if passed.

NLIRH gives a Yea to:

* S9: Calls for comprehensive reform Read more »

Last week President Bush named Eric Keroack as the new chief of the Department of Health and Human Service's Office of Population Affairs (OPA), or rather, the office for family planning services.

The office provides funds for birth control, pregnancy tests, breast-cancer screening and other health services for millions low-income people annually. So Keroack, who has a record of opposing birth control and abortion, is not the best candidate for a position that will affect many Latinas in the U.S.

Lawmakers Making Waves Read more »

Are they serious?

Evidently yes. Some Missouri Congresspersons have declared that abortion is to blame for illegal immigration and have signed a committee report to that effect. They argue that the number of women getting abortions since its legalization has decreased the labor supply, and therefore undocumented persons are encouraged to cross borders illegally to fill the demand for labor in the U.S. market.

Anti-Choice, Anti-Immigration: The Link Read more »

1. Hope for the Future

NLIRH would like to thank all of you for getting out there and voting!!! The Democratic Party is now in the majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate after almost 12 years of Republicans claiming the majority. More importantly than which Party is in power, we now have more pro-women, pro-health and pro-choice members. This is an important win for reproductive health advocates.

What does this mean for the next two years? Read more »