How Texas' anti-abortion law has had a disproportionate impact on Latinas

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Axios Latino is the newsletter that summarizes the key news for Latino communities throughout the hemisphere every Tuesday and Thursday.

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1. The topic to highlight: The potential impact of the abortion ban, as seen in Texas

The fertility rate, or how many births there were per thousand women, increased in Texas for the first time in nearly a decade during 2022, according to a new analysis.

The increase was driven almost entirely by Latinos in the state.

• The data is notable because 2022 was the first year that strong Texas restrictions on the right to abortion were in force.

Why it matters:

 Data in the new report, from an institute at the University of Houston, suggests that American Hispanic women are disproportionately affected by anti-abortion measures.

The report also suggests what could happen in the coming years as restrictions or almost total prohibitions on the voluntary termination of a pregnancy spread across the United States. 

• In Texas, a ban was first in effect in 2021, such that people who wanted to terminate a pregnancy could only do so legally within the first six weeks (or four weeks from conception, when the vast majority do not even know they are pregnant yet).

• The state then issued a more comprehensive ban — no abortion of any kind is permitted, even if the person is known to give birth to a stillbirth — in mid-2022, after the Supreme Court struck down the right to abortion under the law. the case Roe v.

  Wade.

• Noteworthy:

  Another medical study also published this week concluded that since the abortion bans went into effect in Texas, an estimated 26,300 pregnancies have been caused by rape.

  Terminating a pregnancy is also not permitted in cases of sexual violence.

Details:

 The Institute for Research on Women, Gender & Sexuality at the University of Houston analyzed the most recent birth data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to try to measure the impact of the bans in Texas .

• The institute found that the fertility rate in Texas grew 2% on average for all demographic groups — but almost all of that increase was among Hispanic women of childbearing age, among whom the rate increased 5%.

• The increase was greater, 8%, for Latinas between 25 and 44 years old.

• Fertility rates fell among non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white women in Texas in 2022, while they rose 0.9% for women of Asian or Pacific Islander descent.

• In contrast, nationally fertility rates have been falling steadily for years (a 20% decline between 2007 and 2022), in part due to increased access to contraceptive measures.

Up close: 

The analysis also found that, for the first time in 15 years, Texas had a higher teen fertility rate.

This rate has also been falling for several years in the rest of the United States.

• The overall increase among adolescents was 0.39%, although for Hispanic adolescents it was 1.2%.

• While the rate for non-Hispanic white adolescents fell by 5%.

[Women suing Texas for denying them emergency abortions share their emotional testimonies]

In her own words

: Lupe M. Rodríguez, executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, says the findings of the especially notable impact among Latinas do not surprise her.

• Since state Senate Bill 8, the 2021 ban, "we have seen on the ground that it has become much more difficult for Texans to access the abortion reproductive health care they need," Rodriguez said.

  He cites as an example of these difficulties the lack of health insurance and that Latinos have less work flexibility to request time off so that those who are pregnant could travel to other states that still allow abortions.

• "From our work specifically with the Latino community we know that it is almost impossible for the community to obtain that health care," he added.

  "This devastating data corroborates what we were already seeing anecdotally."

2. A boost to Latin cinema in Hollywood

A trio of Hollywood veterans have launched a new entertainment company with which they hope to elevate Latin voices and talents, two of the creators tell Axios Latino.

Why it matters:

 Latino communities in the United States and emerging Latin American talent rarely appear in Hollywood films or television, whether in front of the screen or behind it.

Many in the industry attribute this to a lack of Latino presence in the production houses where decisions are made about what to finance.

Details:

 The new company is Luz Films, founded by Sergio Lira, Lynette Coll and Cristobal Güell.

The first film produced by the studio is called

In the Summers

;

stars Puerto Rican artist René Pérez Joglar (better known as Residente) and premiered this week to excellent reviews at the Sundance Film Festival.

From left

From left to right, Sergio Lira, Lynette Coll and Cristobal Güell.Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Acura

• Lira and Coll say their new venture will be more collaborative and innovative than the traditional Hollywood model of making movies.

• In the Summers

  chronicles the relationship between two sisters and their troubled father over several summers.

  It is the first film by writer, director and producer Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio.

In her own words:

 "We saw that some companies were talking about initiatives to promote Latin talent, but then nothing happened. We wanted to do something directly," says Coll, who has been working as a producer for years.

• He says that Luz Films' plan is to produce films and co-finance projects to "elevate new voices but also voices that have been around for a while and are just a little push away from being known."

• Sergio Lira, who was previously an executive at the A24 film studio, adds that with this model it will be easier to actually

  make

  the films in contrast to many projects that remain in suspense in what Hollywood calls the development phase.

3. Latina truckers hit the road

Latinas are pursuing trucking jobs in the United States.

Big picture:

 American industry groups have been warning that there is a lack of qualified commercial drivers.

But in recent years many women, including Latinas, have taken the wheel and could remedy the problem.

To wit: 

About 12% of people in the US trucking industry were women in 2023, compared to 8% in 2018, according to data from the Women in Trucking association.

• They also represent a significant percentage of those who have a commercial driving license, sociologist Steve Viscelli tells Anagilmara Vilchez of Noticias Telemundo.

• That data doesn't break down demographics, but trucker Desiree Ann Wood, founder of the advocacy group REAL Women in Trucking, says she's been meeting more and more Latina commercial drivers.

• Another survey from 2023 found that many of the female truck drivers are

  millennials

  and Generation Z, and that the majority say they sought this type of job because of the freedom it offers.

In her own words:

 "I like to be from here to there and from there to here... Basically I am the owner of my own time," Rachel Rubio, who trained as a nurse in Cuba and works truck routes, tells Noticias Telemundo. all over the US

• Dayani Pedroso, who is also of Cuban origin and works as a truck driver, adds that Latinas and women in the industry have formed strong networks to take care of each other.

Important note: 

Some women with commercial driver's licenses say they have been discriminated against when looking for work.

● In October, REAL Women in Trucking filed a class-action complaint against trucking companies, which told drivers they needed additional training from other women, but had no one to provide that training, leaving them unemployed when they were. hiring men. 

3. The impact of climate change in the Amazon

A new analysis found that human-caused climate change and resulting higher global average temperatures have made severe droughts in the Amazon River basin, like the one affecting the Amazon since last year, 30 times more likely.

Why it matters:

 The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world and absorbs large amounts of carbon.

It is already on the verge of instability due to deforestation.

• The Amazon River basin, shared by eight countries, is also a global biodiversity hotspot.

Overview: 

The region has suffered from an intense drought since mid-2023. This has also caused large forest fires that have reduced air quality in major cities in Brazil (which has most of the rainforest) and have emitted greenhouse gases.

• Due to the drought there have also been deaths of flora and fauna, such as more than 100 pink river dolphins, an endangered species.

• In recent years, several studies have warned that climate change and poor land use management threaten to turn the enormous tropical forest into a drier ecosystem, like a savannah.

The new research

comes from the World Weather Attribution group.

• It is comprised of an international team of climate scientists who analyze weather and climate data to identify the role that natural variability and human-induced global warming play in contributing to extreme weather and climate events.

• The analysis found that the climate emergency has played a much larger role in the Amazon drought than has the natural phenomenon of El Niño, whose fluctuations often change rainfall patterns.

5. Summary of key news in Latin America and the Caribbean

1. 

Guatemala's Attorney General

, Consuelo Porras, refused this Wednesday to attend a special meeting with President Bernardo Arévalo after he suggested that she should resign due to loss of public confidence in her work.

• The Public Ministry led by Porras has been carrying out several investigations, which experts say have no legal basis or evidence, against Arévalo and the now ruling party, Movimiento Semilla, since they won the elections last fall.

• One of Arévalo's big promises is to address corruption.

  Porras, who says that the investigations of him are because he is following the law, is included in a list of people considered corrupt or undemocratic with which the United States denies visas to Central American officials.

2. 

Several

Ecuadorian schools 

returned to in-person classes this week, in the midst of a declared internal conflict after several brazen attacks by criminal groups on January 8.

• In addition, the authorities reviewed the curfew that was established nationally two weeks ago.

  Now the restricted movement hours will vary by region depending on the criminal activity in each place, being higher in places like Guayaquil.

Pachanga Thursday

Every Thursday we publish our Pachanga to highlight reader achievements.

If you or someone you know has just celebrated an anniversary, adopted a pet, or had a job success and wants to celebrate, send an email with information and a photo to

axioslatino@axios.com

Today we celebrate musician Bobby Sanabria, nominated for a Grammy award this year.

The ceremony is on February 4.

Photo: Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for the Bronx Children's Museum.

Background Illustration: Axios Visuals

• Sanabria, who with this has five nominations in the category of Best Latin Jazz Album, competes with his latest production

  Vox Humana

  .

• Sanabria was born in New York and is of Puerto Rican origin.

  He is a drummer, percussionist, composer, musician and documentary filmmaker.

Thanks for reading us!

We return on Tuesday.

And thanks to Carlos Cunha, Eulimar Núñez and Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath for helping review and edit.

If you want to share your experiences with us or send us suggestions and comments, send an email to 

axioslatino@axios.com

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Do you want to read any of the previous editions?

The border disputes between Texas and the Biden Government will affect “beyond immigration,” warns a lawyer

Without taboos and building community: the magic of witchcraft is also experienced in the US.

How the Israel-Hamas war is dividing Latino evangelicals in the US