As it is for many, the fight for equal rights is personal to me. Prior to running for office, I served for thirteen years as the Executive Director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, a national organization dedicated to amplifying Latina/e voices in the fight for health, dignity, and reproductive justice.
In my work, I heard story after story about the trauma of an unjust political landscape in which Latinas in states like Florida and Texas were denied basic access to healthcare. I heard stories of sisters splitting birth control pills because they were uninsured and could not afford the cost. I heard stories of people traveling to Mexico to acquire pills to self-manage their own abortion. And I consoled our activists when we lost a beloved leader to cancer because she was denied basic life-saving healthcare. And if we do not show up and vote Yes on Prop 1 in this upcoming election, New Yorkers, too, risk losing freedoms that we have long cherished. These are protections critical to communities like mine, which are largely made up of Latina/e, Asian, and Arab American communities.
