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First-of-its-kind Research Shows Native Americans Support Reproductive Freedom

University of Notre Dame

Commentary:  As confirmation nears on another conservative anti-abortion Supreme Court justice, ground-breaking research shows that Native Americans, like the majority of all Americans, support reproductive freedom.

According to the recently released  “Road to Reproductive Justice: Indigenous Communities,” 89 percent of Native Americans agree that women and families deserve to make their own healthcare decisions without government interference. Seventy-two percent say that they can hold their own moral views about abortion and still trust a woman and her family to make this decision for themselves.

The survey of 302 Native Americans in New Mexico is considered the first original, data-based research exploring the opinions of Native Americans with regard to reproductive health.

“The voices and experiences of Native communities are missing from federal, state and local

conversations about reproductive health,” said Adriann Barboa, policy director of Strong Families New Mexico, one of the organizations behind the research. “Native Americans believe in the reproductive justice values of self-determination and body sovereignty, respect in healthcare decision making, and reproductive healthcare access for all people. They deserve a Supreme Court that’s not in conflict with their values.”

Myths about Native views on abortion and reproductive health care have been used as arguments against access to care by some politicians. However, while colonization, genocide and under-funded health care allowed for forced contraception and forced sterilization in Native communities, families have not wavered from their belief in individual decision making.

"For far too long our Indigenous Communities have been used as guinea pigs,” said Krystal Curley (Navajo/Dine), Strong Families New Mexico leader and executive director of Indigenous Life Ways. “This study flips that dynamic of being tested on and gives decision-making power back to our women and our communities. As a Dine woman, my grandma always said, ‘Us women make the decisions for our families.’”

Further, with Roe v. Wade expected to face dire challenges and potentially be reversed by the Supreme Court, which would disproportionately impact low-income communities, Native American voices must be heard.

“While Indigenous people, along with other people of color and people struggling financially, bear the brunt of abortion restrictions, our voices too often go unheard in the national conversation on abortion. It’s time to center the voices of the vast majority of Native Americans who trust people to make private decisions about their reproductive health care without government interference,” said Terrelene Massey (Navajo), executive director of the Southwest Women’s Law Center.  “As we fight to address our community’s unique health care needs during a pandemic that has taken a devastating toll on Native Americans, we must also commit to fight for their right to comprehensive reproductive health care, including abortion.”

Survey development, research and data analysis were conducted in 2020 by Southwest Women’s Law CenterLatino Decisions, and Strong Families New Mexico, a program of Forward Together.

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Strong Families New Mexico (SFNM) is a program of Forward Together. SFNM brings together organizations and activists statewide to build strong communities and create policies that work for our families. Follow Strong Families on Twitter and Facebook at @StrongFamsNM.