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Minority women most affected if abortion is banned, limited

Getty Israel, founder of Sisters in Birth, a Jackson, Miss., clinic that serves pregnant women, is shown in this Dec. 17, 2021 photograph. Israel believes if lawmakers want to prevent abortions, they should eliminate risk factors that lead women to end pregnancies — low-wage jobs and lack of access to healthcare, higher education and transportation. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Getty Israel, founder of Sisters in Birth, a Jackson, Miss., clinic that serves pregnant women, is shown in this Dec. 17, 2021 photograph. Israel believes if lawmakers want to prevent abortions, they should eliminate risk factors that lead women to end pregnancies — low-wage jobs and lack of access to healthcare, higher education and transportation. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS and LEAH WILLINGHAM / Associated Press 8 min read

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – If you are Black or Hispanic in a conservative state that already limits access to abortions, you are far more likely than a white woman to have one.

And if the U.S. Supreme Court allows states to further restrict or even ban abortions, minority women will bear the brunt of it, according to statistics analyzed by The Associated Press.

The numbers are unambiguous. In Mississippi, people of color comprise 44% of the population but 80% of women receiving abortions, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which tracks health statistics.

In Texas, they’re 59% of the population and 74% of those receiving abortions. The numbers in Alabama are 35% and 70%. In Louisiana, minorities represent 42% of the population, according to the state Health Department, and about 72% of those receiving abortions.

“Abortion restrictions are racist,” said Cathy Torres, a 25-year-old organizing manager with Frontera Fund, a Texas organization that helps women pay for abortions. “They directly impact people of color, Black, brown, Indigenous people … people who are trying to make ends meet.”