Building a Latina movement.

CURRENTLY, THERE ARE MORE THAN 18 million Latinas in the United States, comprising almost 52 percent of the total Latino population. Moreover, by the year 2050, one out of every four women in the US will be a Latina. (US Census Bureau, "Current Population Survey," March 2000) The same survey tells us that approximately 40 percent of Latinos residing in the United States are foreign-born. Our strength can be measured not only by our growth in numbers but also by the substantial contributions we make to the social and economic well-being of this nation each and every day.

Yet, lack of health coverage, the negative impacts of regressive and conservative federal and state legislation, lack of linguistically and culturally relevant health care and fear and discrimination are some of the challenges that Latinas face in the health care system in general and within reproductive health care specifically. Because of these barriers, Latinas, their families and their communities continue to face serious health care issues and consequently experience higher incidences of disease, negative health outcomes, and a poorer quality of life. (National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, "Hands that Shape the World: Report on the Conditions of Immigrant Women in the World, Five Years After the Beijing Conference," 2000.)

The reproductive rights movement has not adequately addressed the needs of immigrant women. The current framework of the reproductive rights movement is too narrow and does not fully address the complexity, and multiplicity of issues that immigrant families face. Therefore, in order to fully change the movement and truly integrate the needs of immigrant women and low-income women, we must frame reproductive rights as a basic human right--not just as the right to privacy. We cannot ignore the need for basic health care in low-income and immigrant communities. If we want to broaden our movement, engage a new population of constituents and truly bring reproductive justice to all women, we must be committed to:

* Ensuring that the bureau right of every woman to access affordable, culturally and linguistically appropriate health care is recognized;

* Demanding that all immigrants are free from xenophobic and discriminatory policies that prevent them from accessing health care and;

* Working with immigrants to encourage self-empowerment in making personal, informed decisions about their health and sexuality.

So how do we create a proactive agenda? The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health will work with Latinas throughout the country on leadership development, advocacy and coalition building. Additionally, NLIRH will collaborate with state-based immigrants' rights organizations and human rights advocates and we will work to develop comprehensive and appropriate models that reflect the needs of specific immigrant communities. Through past challenges we have learned that there is not just one model that works within our communities; instead there are a multiplicity of models, each having varying values for different communities. As health care advocates and immigrant rights groups, we need to:

* Cultivate partnerships with local community residents;

* Create viable, accessible and improved alternatives that do not punish communities or push them further into the margins of the informal sector;

* Develop community leaders who become active and part of the solution;

* Find solutions that bring further resources into the community.

Community members are familiar with local resources and can provide the best information on what will work for them. In some communities the Promotora Programs/Peer Health Educators are very successful and in others, this model may not be appropriate. It is our job as advocates to be a vehicle through which community residents and community-based organizations can discuss solutions and be a part of the decision-making process. Also, if we are truly changing the health care system--and as a result improving the well-being of families--then we need to find creative ways to bring new funding sources into immigrant communities. In linking the various movements under the umbrella of a human rights analysis to create a cohesive, progressive movement, we can ensure that all populations, including Latina immigrants, can exercise their reproductive freedoms.

SILVIA HENRIQUEZ is the executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. She recently co-authored Our Hearth, Our Rights: Reproductive Justice for Latinas in California during her tenure as a health policy analyst for the Latino Issues Forum. www.LatinaInstitute.org