The leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark law that legalized abortion nationwide, has emboldened Latinos fighting to end abortions in the United States.
“It gives me a lot of hope. … This is how I hoped it would turn out,” said Maria Oswalt, 27, of Rehumanize International, a nonprofit that opposes abortion. . “It was shocking, in a good way, to see public opinion shamelessly overthrowing Roe V. Wade.”
The Supreme Court upheld the leaked project as “genuine”, but said a final opinion has yet to be issued. However, the document is an early indication of the direction the court is likely to take with its final decision.
For Latinos like Oswalt, who is of Ecuadorian and Cuban descent, the leaked draft advisory is essentially the culmination of a decades-long campaign by conservatives, religious activists and advocates who oppose the ‘abortion.
“It’s been almost 50 years since Roe was decided,” said Oswalt, who became active in the anti-abortion movement several years ago in Alabama, where she grew up. “But so many other people have spent their whole lives in this movement.”
“It shows that our hard work is paying off,” she said.
Gaby Abosi, an anti-abortion activist in Florida, said she saw light at the end of the tunnel when news broke that Roe v. Wade could be canceled.
“We are hopeful that everything will change,” said Abosi, 38. “For now, we continue to pray.”
Abosi said she remembered how shocked she was after moving from Ecuador to Florida in 2012 when she learned how many abortions were performed in the United States.
Although data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that abortions have declined in recent years, the procedure is still common. The Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights think tank, estimates that nearly one in four women in the United States will have an abortion before the age of 45.
Abosi, who works in real estate, is part of the Archdiocese of Miami Respect Life Ministry. She joins the church group every Saturday as it gathers outside Planned Parenthood’s office in Miami to pray and distribute information about alternatives to abortion to women visiting the offices.
“The baby is not responsible for the state he is in,” Abosi said. “The value my life has is the same value as an unborn child.”
Abosi and Oswalt do not believe that abortions should be legal under any circumstances – which would include rape or incest.
The annulment of Roe v. Wade would activate “trigger laws” banning all abortions in 13 states within 30 days.
It would also give states the power to regulate abortions, taking the issue “out of the hands of the Supreme Court, out of the hands of unelected justices, and allow our legislators to really debate the issue and create laws that reflect the values of our community, said Abraham Enriquezfounder and president of Bienvenidos US, a conservative group in Lubbock, Texas.
Enriquez, who launched Bienvenidos US in 2019, said he partnered with other anti-abortion organizations and even helped organize voters last year when an ordinance was passed banning abortions in Lubbock.
“We defend the dignity of human life, the integrity of our judicial system and the rule of law,” says Enriquez, 27.
It remains unclear whether abortion could become a watershed issue among Latino voters in the upcoming election.
While Latinos have long been labeled anti-abortion, polls have found that such a label does not apply.
Last year, a Pew Research Center survey found that 58% of Hispanics thought abortion should be legal in all or most cases, about the same as whites, 57%. Forty-two percent of Hispanics and 40% of whites thought it should always be illegal.
According to the Public Religion Research Institute, “American Hispanics are the most divided” on the issue of abortion, expressing slightly more opposition (48%) than support (45%) in 2019.
Place of birth and religious affiliation are the two factors that most influence Latinos’ views on abortion, along with age, the Public Religion Research Institute found.
But the issue of abortion is even more nuanced for Latinos who don’t consider themselves conservatives or Republicans, like Oswalt.
“I care deeply about abortion. I care deeply about abolishing the death penalty. I care deeply about establishing a safe social safety net for families in need,” Oswalt said. I often feel like if I vote for the Republican candidate, I’m throwing people under the bus, I’m throwing death row inmates under the bus, or immigrants.
“If I go upside down and try to vote for the Democratic candidate, I end up having to throw the unborn child under the bus,” she said.
Oswalt didn’t vote for former President Donald Trump, but she said she’s glad the justices he appointed are considering overturning Roe v. Wade.
She said she thinks the Republican Party “just has too strong a connection” to the anti-abortion movement, saying she’d like others who oppose abortion to “stand up” in other ways. other political parties.
“I really don’t want to have to compromise,” she said. “That often means I vote for a third party or abstain from voting. That’s what helped me keep a good conscience about voting.”
Nicole Acevedo reported from New York and Carmen Sesin from Miami.
To follow Latin NBC on Facebook, Twitter and instagram.
