With the Texas Senate's passage last week of a controversial bill restricting access to abortion, Latinas are voicing their concerns. Lillian Ortiz, NARAL Pro-Choice Texas board member, joined HuffPost Live's Abby Huntsman to discuss the challenges her community faces.
The bill, which gained national attention when state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) filibustered it last month, would ban abortions after 20 weeks.
"I think that if you just look at the fact that Latina women in Texas are about 36 percent more likely to die from cervical cancer and that we have the highest incidence of cervical cancer rates in the state, then that's a sense of perspective of how hard it is for Latina women in Texas to access any kind of services and preventive car," Ortiz said. "So you add these clinics closing ... you realize women are really going to be in a situation where they don't have access period."
Additionally, she noted that sex education in schools plays a central role.
"I don't think our youth in Texas, or even our adults in Texas, get the proper information. We don't have quality and accurate sex education in schools," Ortiz said. "We have abstinence only. So if you combine that with a family life where parents aren't talking to their kids about sex -- that's just a recipe for disaster."
For more on this discussion, watch the full segment here: