Guatemalan immigrant and Las Vegas resident Raquel Cruz-Juarez has dedicated her life to uplifting the Latinx community.
Here, in her own words, her story and what a post-Roeworld could mean for the Latinx community.
I was in Washington D.C. for a team retreat and when the [Supreme Court opinion] leak happened.
Channing Smith
WhenRoe v. Wadewas [ultimately] overturned, I was in shock.
I had not prepared my body for the way that it was going to feel.
The first thing that I wanted to do was bein community.
People didn’t want to be alone.
They’ve been living that reality for years.
My mom is really one of the reasons why I began my journey organizing.
I think back on the moment that she shared her abortion story with me for the very first time.
She was in a very violent relationship that she didn’t want to be in anymore.
She didn’t want to have a family with this person, and she made a decision for herself.
It’s about humanizing the issue.
Unfortunately, it is political, because that’s how this country has made it.
But it’s not for a lot of us it’s a very personal decision.
I’m very proud of the fact that we’re not scared to say the wordaborto.
They taught me everything about organizing.
I started as aRaizorganizer in 2015, and now I serve as the director.
Currently, we’re [operating] in 20 states.
[My team] knows the communities because we actually belong to them.
I’m very proud of the fact that we’re not scared to say the wordaborto.
We know that it can be very difficult sometimes as a community to discuss it.
STIs among certain racial and ethnic groups,specifically Latinos, are high.
And women, specifically Latina women, are disproportionately burdened with STI outcomes.
[U.S. schools should also] be providing culturally competent, medically accurate, updatedsex education.
It’s about humanizing [abortion].
Unfortunately, it is political, because that’s how this country has made it.
These are communities who have long faced barriers to abortion access due to systemic barriers anddiscrimination.
Wealthy individuals and those with resources and power will always be able to access abortion.
They’re risking their lives to save their lives.
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