The Largest Group of Women of Color Harmed by Bans

WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 14, 2026 – New analysis from the National Partnership for Women & Families and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice reveals the harmful impact of abortion restrictions on Latinas four years after the Dobbs decision overturned the federal right to abortion. Latinas are the largest group of women of color (6.4 million) living in states where abortion is banned. The report also reveals that Latinas are more likely than any other group of reproductive-age women to live in states where reproductive health clinics have been forced to close due to the one-year Medicaid funding ban in Trump’s draconian budget bill also known as One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Together, more than 12 million Latinas live in states with clinic closures, states that have attacked access to medication abortion, or states where abortion is banned. Specifically, the analysis found:

• 6,357,000 Latinas live in abortion ban states
• 10,678,500 Latinas live in clinic closure states
• 5,899,900 Latinas live in states where medication abortion access is under attack

The report details the factors that place Latinas in harm’s way when it comes to access to abortion and reproductive health care overall.

The report details major factors that make access to care especially difficult.

• Latinas are more likely to be uninsured than white, non-Latinas.
• Recent Medicaid and ACA marketplace coverage cuts and restrictions have made care even more difficult to access.
• Immigrant Latinas face limited access to care due to status exclusions from federal health care programs.

Anti-immigrant policies coupled with state abortion bans, restrictions on medication abortion, and financial cuts to reproductive health clinics mean Latinas are often forced to make impossible choices to obtain reproductive health care.

“In a political climate where our truths are being challenged, erased or pushed aside, the data we are releasing today becomes more important than ever,” said Lupe M. Rodríguez, executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice. “Research documents the harm and preserves our reality. But numbers only tell part of the story. Behind every statistic is a person, a family, a decision someone had to make. Abortion bans, Medicaid cuts and immigration enforcement are not separate issues for Latines. They collide in people’s everyday lives. There is no true reproductive justice when people are afraid to seek care or when immigration status dictates whether you have the right to heal. We are here. These are our experiences, and they will be seen, counted and remembered.”

“Our newest analysis on the continuing, sometimes escalating impact of the Dobbs decision underscores a sad but inescapable truth about our nation,” said Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. “We may all suffer, but we rarely suffer in equal measure, and women and communities of color usually suffer the deepest harm. Latinas all too often confront a perfect storm when it comes to accessing reproductive health care and controlling their bodily autonomy. While this report reinforces much of what we know, it should still be a call to action for all of us—the challenges that Latinas confront in asserting their reproductive freedom concern each one of us and the future of our democracy.”

View the full analysis here.

Read related reports here and here.

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The National Partnership for Women & Families is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group dedicated to promoting fairness in the workplace, reproductive health and rights, access to quality, affordable health care and policies that help all people meet the dual demands of work and family.

Founded in 1994, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (Latina Institute) is the only national organization dedicated to advancing reproductive justice for over 68 million Latinas, our families, and our communities in the United States. Through community organizing, policy advocacy, and narrative change, Latina Institute builds collective power at the intersection of immigrant rights, civic engagement and reproductive justice across Florida, Texas, Virginia, and a growing number of states.

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