Accounts of the struggle for reproductive rights for women in the United States

Accounts of the struggle for reproductive rights for women in the United States

Accounts of the struggle for reproductive rights for women in the United States have typically concentrated on efforts to achieve and defend the right to abortion, efforts which have mainly been led by white women. However, minimal information is given about the challenges faced by undocumented women seeking reproductive healthcare. Even with the hot debates on access to reproductive healthcare, the high stakes and numerous hurdles that undocumented female immigrants face while trying to access primary care is left out of the spotlight. The article, For Undocumented Women Seeking Reproductive Healthcare, Policing and Politics Create a Maze of Barriers by Catherine Gonzalez, discusses how the policies and politics have created a barrier to access to reproductive healthcare, particularly for the undocumented women. This paper will provide an analysis of the article by illustrating how policy and infrastructure make reproductive healthcare inaccessible for women with marginalized identity as well as how race, nationality, and sexuality complicate access to reproductive health.

Border checkpoints and racial profiling are some of the most significant barriers which hinder people along the Mexico and US border from seeking health care. According to Catherine , women of color have the highest rates of general health problems such as diabetes and obesity as well as cervical cancer and mortality rates. This is attributed to the barriers that they face while seeking health care. Most undocumented people fail to seek healthcare due to the fear of being deported back or inaccessibility to hospitals. For most immigrants, Planned Parenthood is the closest health care provider they get to see. However, with the defunding of these clinics, poor communities are likely to go without any health care. Other community health centers that will be required to take care of the patients are not well equipped with the cultural competency that immigrants depend on, such as medical translation and multilingual health care providers. States, “ignoring the difference of race between women and the implication of those differences presents a serious threat to the mobilization of women power.” Even though all women require reproductive care, it would be wrong not to consider the differences in those women such as age, race and class.

The undocumented people often rely on federally funded clinics which offer health care services to people with an income of over 150 percent below the poverty line. These clinics are often overloaded with patients since they provide services regardless of the documentation status of the patients. Most undocumented families live on the outskirts of communities where transportation means are limited. There is fear of travelling or walking for long distances due to the exposure this puts them to the border patrol agents and department of public safety agents. This fear of being harassed, abused or deported often make the undocumented women stay at home rather than seek medical attention when they fall sick. Besides the barriers imposed by anti-abortion legislation, there are other literal borders which prevent thousands of immigrants from accessing federally funded clinics.

The increased budget cuts to women health have affected healthcare access for many women, particularly women of color. In Texas, the proposal signed by governor Greg to cut down the funding of breast and cervical cancer for planned parenthood as well as other abortion providers has dramatically affected the undocumented women in the state. Not only do the women have to travel for long distances to seek reproductive health, but they also have to face multiple checkpoints while travelling. A new law voted in by Texas senate states, “all people seeking abortion must present legal ID. ” this is particularly hard for undocumented immigrants since they have no identification. They, therefore, have to seek alternative care from quark doctors or suffer from lack of medical care. As states, “certainly there are real differences between us of race, age and sex”. Even as all women are likely to suffer from the budget cuts on women health, a real difference can be seen on its impact on the women of color. In the United States, people of color make up for the most substantial proportion of people living below the poverty line. Most of these people are also undocumented immigrants with no medical insurance. The strain of taking care of the immigrants who have developed severe conditions and experience high mortality rates cannot only be felt by the poor communities but also the government.

In conclusion, the issue of reproductive healthcare for undocumented women has often been overlooked. Women with marginalized identity are experiencing a wide range of challenges while accessing reproduction health care. The policies enacted by the government has drastically limited their access to healthcare. Due to the defunding of most clinics which were crucial to the immigrants, women are forced to travel across states for the search of reproductive healthcare. There is fear of deportation and abuse on checkpoints have often made immigrants choose to stay at home rather than travelling to seek healthcare.

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