Statement of Raimundo Rojas, Director of Latino Outreach, National Right to Life
National Right to Life Convention
Dallas, TX
Today, the single most dangerous place for a Latina in these United States is still in her mother’s womb.
That isn’t hyperbole nor is it an opinion – it is a tragic fact. Latinas constitute approximately 16 percent of US female population but account for nearly 24 percent of all abortions. Not convinced? Before the sun sets today, 835 Latino babies will have been aborted – over 300,000 by the end of this year.
The tragedy is further deepened because most of us come from pro-life countries, and contrary to what skewed liberal polls try to infer– Latinos self identify as pro-life.
So why does the disproportionate number of abortions within Hispanic neighborhoods continues to grow? Why do so many of us partake of an activity that goes so against our most basic mores & cultural traditions? I believe the answer to that is equal parts assimilation and targeting.
For 40 years – 40 years too many – the pro-abortion culture of death has been the prevailing culture which has attempted to influence almost every aspect of American life for Hispanics and non-Hispanics alike. The tentacles of American assimilation trap many young Latinos into turning their backs on century-old beliefs.
Latinos newfound ease for choosing abortion also has a deeper, darker and more sinister explanation. For decades the abortion industry has gone after my community with a fervor not seen since Margaret Sanger first began her “weeding out” crusades.
An over abundance of ads for abortion in monolingual papers and 960252_10152800512235147_1419959233_nflyers published expressly for Latino neighborhoods; Planned Parenthood’s choice for a Mexican-American chaplain; the many Spanish language pro-abortion web-sites aimed specifically at Latinas; and the ridiculous over-abundance of abortion clinics in barrios across the United States all contribute to the high Hispanic abortion numbers.
Mercifully, America seems to finally be coming to terms with the realization that unborn babies feel pain, that they dream, and that they suffer immensely as they are dismembered in their mother’s womb. That realization, as difficult as it has been to come-by for White America has been even more difficult in the Latino community due in part to a language barrier and the reluctance by Spanish- language media to promulgate those facts.
It’s our job, our duty and responsibility at the National Right to Life Committee to educate within the Hispanic community and get life-saving and life-affirming information to them. We aim to make our communities aware of the reality of abortion and the availability of life-saving alternatives.
Being pro-life is the most Latino thing to be – we just need to remind ourselves of the how and the why.