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Our Mission
The mission of NLIRH is to ensure the fundamental human right to reproductive health and justice for Latinas, their families and their communities through public education, community mobilization and policy advocacy.
Breaking News
The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health decries the State Department’s discriminatory practices toward Latino US citizens
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that some Latino citizens in the Rio Grande Valley on the US/Mexico border are being denied access to their citizenship rights based on documentation issues. Their citizenship is being called into question (despite years of residence and employment in the United States, and even successful background checks) due to their birth to midwives in private residences.
The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health believes this is a racist and unfair practice, which leaves these individuals scrambling to prove citizenship with other documents, where for others a birth certificate is sufficient. This practice unfairly targets Latino citizens on the border and those who were born to parteras or midwives in private residences, a common practice among Latinos. Further, the fact that once additional documentation has been provided some individuals are still being denied makes it clear that the State Department is discriminating against these individuals along the border in Texas.
See the full press release here.
Take Action
Bush Administration tries to define contraception as abortion
The Bush Administration has drafted a set of regulations that would define abortion as “any of the various procedures -- including the prescription and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other action -- that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation.” The regulation also would allow any employee of a healthcare provider to refuse to treat any individual receiving any services that would violate the employee’s moral beliefs. The language of this regulation not only is meant to be politically inflammatory, but is scientifically inaccurate.
These broad and scientifically innacurate definitions of pregnancy and abortion could impact funding for programs that are crucial to many Latinas' access to birth control, such as Medicaid and Title X. Latinas' access to birth control could be severely compromised.
Now is the time to make your voice heard. Let Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt know that we will not stand for scientifically inaccurate policies meant to undermine reproductive justice!
Upcoming Events
September 5, 2008
Reproductive Rights Are Human Rights:
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and Reproductive Justice
The Guttmacher Institute
125 Maiden Lane, 7th floor
New York, NY 10004
9am-11am
RSVP: Jessica@latinainstitute.org or call 212-422-2553
September 13, 2008
Join us! NLIRH supports the Cervical Cancer and HPV
Prevention and Awareness Walk
Saturday, September 13th, 2008 – 8:00 am to 12:00 pm
Carl Schurz Park, East End Avenue & East 86th Street, NY
Sponsored by Tamika & Friends, Inc.
For more information, click here or visit www.tamikaandfriends.org
Complete information here.
Instantes Newsletter Sign-Up
Latina Activists in Action: Spotlight on Civic Engagement!
MI-LOLA (Miami International Latinas Organizing for Leadership and Advocacy) launch CALL. EMAIL. TEXT. For Women’s Equality Day. 08.26.08.
MI-LOLA presents CALL, the first of three brief clips about the Florida Primary Election and Women’s Equality Day – both of which fall on Tuesday, August 26th. Click “CALL” below to see the clip.
MI-LOLA urges you to CALL your friend, your mom, or a colleague and remind them to vote in celebration of Women’s Equality Day. OH, and don’t YOU forget to VOTE. See you at the polls!
Voice Your Opinion
Check out the Latina Institute blog: Nuestra Vida, Nuestra Voz.
Log on for breaking news, opinions and to share your ideas about reproductive justice and latinas!
NLIRH Supports Health Care for All!
Check out our statement in support of Health Care for All here (en español)
NLIRH is a partner of Raising Women's Voice, a national initiative to support quality affordable health care for all. Learn more about the project here
Women in Texas, Share your Stories!
The Healthy Women, Healthy Families coalition is collecting stories from women across Texas about the healthcare challenges they face. The coalition will bring Tejanas’ personal stories to Texas lawmakers so they know what their community needs to keep women and families healthy. The coalition – made up of diverse organizations from across Texas – will bring women’s stories to Texas lawmakers to advocate for better services and program to improve the reproductive health of women and their families. If you are a woman from Texas and want to tell lawmaker what you need for better reproductive health for your Texas communities, you can take their survey online (or print it out and mail in a paper copy) here.
For more information, email Liza Fuentes, Senior Research Associate.
If you are seeking reproductive health services, including abortion contact Planned Parenthood by web or by calling 1-800-230-7526. You can also contact the National Abortion Federation by web or by calling 1-800-772-9100. These services are bilingual and confidential.
Si busca información acerca de servicios de aborto o planificación familiar, por favor llame Planned Parenthood al número 1-800-230-7526. También puede llamar a la línea de ayuda de La Federación Nacional de Aborto al número 1-800-772-9100, o visite su página web aquí. Estos servicios son bilingües y confidenciales.