Memos & Media Guidance
Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” and the GOP Agenda Are Gutting Reproductive Freedom—Latinas Will Pay the Highest Price
TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Reproductive Freedom for All
DATE: August 8, 2025
RE: Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” and the GOP Agenda Are Gutting Reproductive Freedom—Latinas Will Pay the Highest Price
As state republicans continue to make abortion care less accessible and Medicaid faces devastating cuts, Latina communities across the country are being hit hardest. These compounding policy attacks—on abortion, access to care, and economic safety nets —disproportionately impact Latinas, particularly in states already hostile to reproductive freedom.
Nationwide, Latinas face systemic obstacles to health care: geographic and provider shortages, language access issues, immigration-based exclusions, and economic inequality. These barriers are intensified in states like Texas and Florida, where millions of Latinas live and abortion is now banned or severely restricted. In fact, more than half of all Latinas in the U.S. now reside in states with abortion bans or extreme restrictions (UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute, 2022; National Partnership for Women & Families, 2023).
With proposed Medicaid cuts moving forward, the crisis is escalating. One in three Latinas of reproductive age relies on Medicaid for essential health care, including birth control, STI testing, prenatal care, and abortion-related services (National Partnership for Women & Families, 2023). Cutting this critical safety net will leave even more Latina patients without access to essential, lifesaving care—fewer clinics, longer wait times, increased maternal risk, and often no access at all.
The health consequences are already clear: Latinas are 40% more likely than white women to experience severe maternal complications (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). Stripping Medicaid further will widen these gaps and increase health risks. These attacks are part of a broader effort to restrict bodily autonomy, particularly for women of color.
Latinas Support Reproductive Freedom—And Are Politically Mobilized
Despite the challenges, Latinas remain committed to reproductive rights. Support is strong across all age groups: nearly 70% of Latinas believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases. (Pew Research Center, 2022).
This commitment extends to political participation. 60% of Latina voters say they are more likely to support a candidate who protects abortion access (UnidosUS, 2022). However, their health needs and voices are often marginalized in policy debates. Cuts to Medicaid and abortion bans send a message that their autonomy is not prioritized.
Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” Is Gutting Reproductive Freedom and Health Access
Three years after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” threatens more than abortion rights. It aims to dismantle Medicaid, defund Planned Parenthood, and limit contraception access—critical components of reproductive freedom for Latinas.
Trump’s agenda worsens existing barriers. One in three Latinos is uninsured, and many Latinas face difficulties finding providers who offer culturally competent, language-accessible care (National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health). Medicaid cuts compound these challenges.
Half of women aged 18–34, including Latinas, report that the cost of prescription birth control limits their use (Guttmacher Institute, 2024). The problem is not a lack of support for healthcare, but a lack of affordable access.
What the Data Shows
- One in three Latinos are uninsured (National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health)
- More than 80% of Latinas have never seen a provider for birth control services (ScienceDirect, 2023)
- Low-income Hispanic women have significantly higher unintended pregnancy rates than white women(National Library of Medicine, 2023)
- Latinas with higher experiences of discrimination report lower satisfaction with care (ScienceDirect, 2023)
What’s at Stake
The GOP’s recently passed budget bill is one of the most destructive attacks on health care in recent history. It will strip health coverage from 16 million people, leave 11.8 million more uninsured by 2034 due to Medicaid cuts, and put over 700 rural hospitals at risk of closing.
Already, 41% of all births in 2023 were covered by Medicaid, meaning these cuts will devastate maternal and reproductive health access. The bill also forces the closure of Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide, eliminates $1.81 billion in NIH funding, and zeroes out support for the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
Medicaid is the backbone of reproductive health access for millions of Latinas. Cutting it now—alongside ongoing abortion restrictions—will:
- Eliminate access to preventive services such as contraception, STI testing, and cancer screenings
- Force Latina patients to delay or forgo care, increasing health risks
- Worsen racial disparities in maternal health outcomes
- Leave immigrant and low-income Latinas with limited or no affordable options for care
- Reduce bodily autonomy and access to basic health services within Latina communities.
TAKEAWAY
Medicaid cuts and abortion bans are interconnected issues impacting reproductive health access and outcomes for Latina communities, who are being hit the hardest.