COLOR
Telemundo Denver released a two-part special feature last week titled “Hundreds of Women Come to Colorado Seeking Abortion Access Following Texas Law,” in which the article calls Colorado a tourist destination for out-of-state people who are seeking abortion care (you can watch the second part here). While in fact, our abortion clinics have seen a 500% increase in patients in the past two months, this type of narrative harms the work we at Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) have prided ourselves on, especially for the work we’ve done for the Latinx community for over 20 years.
There have been instances where powerful journalism has explored the impact abortion bans have upon communities of color, undocumented people, and the unfair treatment from the judicial system towards women who have had a miscarriage.
Rather than exaggerating the fact that “Colorado is an abortion tourist destination” for Texans, Telemundo could have focused on the fact that states around Colorado are refusing to make abortion safe and accessible for all people, therefore forcing pregnant individuals to turn to life-threatening options or carry out the pregnancy against their will.
“Access to safe and legal abortions allow people to achieve their personal ambitions and helps decrease the health and socioeconomic inequities faced by people of color, in particular,” said Katherine Riley, Policy Director at COLOR.
We want to encourage our Spanish media to listen to what our communities are saying and believe them when the research shows that they support safe and legal access to abortion – and that everyone deserves to make the best choice for themselves.
According to our newly released Colorado Latino Policy Agenda, a majority (66 percent) of Latino respondents support passing laws to protect access to safe abortions and reproductive rights. A strong majority (85 percent) of Latino leaders also support passing laws to protect access to safe abortions and reproductive rights for state residents. That’s the story that deserves to be highlighted – safe, legal, and equitable access for all.
“The portrayal of abortion in media can sway our community’s perception in a major way and can come to influence policy agendas. When the media focus is honest and accurate, it has the potential to call to attention the disproportionate effects that abortion bans and restrictions have upon communities of color, women, young people, immigrants, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people,” stated Dusti Gurule, Executive Director of COLOR.
When articles or videos are supplemented by ill-informed imagery – such as heavily pregnant bellies or a cemetery with the names of fetuses, as seen in the Telemundo piece – you generate the wrongful perception about not only the story, but the individual whose experience is being misconstrued.
“For our Latino community, it is very difficult to talk about the issue of abortion due to the stigma and taboo. We do not need the type of reporting that unfairly represents the reasons behind the termination of a pregnancy… This type of journalism dehumanizes the experience of our community and of those who need an abortion. Patients are not ‘tourists,’ they are people who have to travel many miles to access a health service because safe and legal abortion is being threatened across the country,” said Gina Millan, Contract Organizer for COLOR.
We want to encourage our Spanish media to listen to what our communities are saying and believe them when the research shows that they support safe and legal access to abortion – and that everyone deserves to make the best choice for themselves.
The Colorado Organization Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) is a community-rooted nonprofit organization that works to enable Latinx individuals and their families to lead safe, healthy, and self-determined lives.
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