CDC studies on contraception underscore Latina need for expanded access

The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, the only national organization working on behalf the 24 million Latinas, their families and communities in the United States, released the following statement on the Centers for Disease Control studies on emergency contraception use and birth control use over time:
“Latinas face higher rates of unintended pregnancy, and we know that Latinas often skip taking birth control because of cost. These results underscore our community’s continuing need for expanded access to contraception, including emergency contraception and highly effective methods like intrauterine devices.
“These studies show that Latinas are more likely than their white peers to use emergency contraception because of unprotected sex, that Latinas are less likely to use highly effective methods of reversible birth control and more likely to have never used a condom during sex. Taken together, these studies clearly highlight a continuing need to expand access to all methods of contraception for Latinas.”
 
Important statistics from the reports

59 percent of Latinas reported using emergency contraception because they had unprotected sex, compared with 43 percent of white women.
75 percent of foreign-born Latinas and 89 percent of U.S.-born Latinas have had a partner use a condom during sexual intercourse, compared with considerably higher statistics for white (96.5 percent) and black (95.7 percent) women.
Latinas have used highly effective, reversible methods of contraception less than white women — 81 percent of Latinas report most frequently using highly effective, reversible methods, compared with 91.3 percent of white women.
Foreign-born Latinas were up to three times as likely to have used IUDs (20 percent) compared with all other groups. U.S.-born Latinas were also more likely to have used IUDs.

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The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health is the only national organization working on behalf of the reproductive health and justice of the 24 million Latinas, their families and communities in the United States through public education, community mobilization and policy advocacy.