Adelante!

The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) congratulates President-Elect Barack Obama and welcomes all the new members to the Senate and House of Representatives.

I get emotional when I think about the new opportunities those of us working on behalf of reproductive justice with this monumental election. In my 6 years with NLIRH, I have attempted to push a truly progressive agenda for women's health and rights. Over and over again I have heard: Now is not the time and We have to wait for better a political climate.

Today, we can finally say ADELANTE, our time has come. Now the real questions face us. What does this new era mean? What do we want for our families and communities? What does a Latina agenda for reproductive justice and immigrant rights look like? To begin, we have three top requests of the new administration:

1. Repeal the Hyde Amendment, which denies low-income women access to abortion services;

2. End the discriminatory, militaristic and inhumane immigration enforcement practices that are destroying our communities;

3. Support an equitable and affordable plan for comprehensive health care for all.

I'm not naïve enough to believe that this can all be done quickly. I realize that we are entering immensely challenging times. We are fighting two un-just wars in the midst of serious economic turmoil. However I believe that the issues that face our country are not irrelevant to a reproductive justice, pro-family platform—in fact—they are intimately interconnected. Without economic security we cannot exercise our right to healthy pregnancies or adequately plan our families. Without clean air and quality affordable food options we cannot ensure the health of our children.

Now that we have new leadership in place, we advocates, activists and organizers must rise to the occasion. We must take the momentum of this election to our everyday organizing and activism, placing women's ability to care and provide for their families at the center of our platform. Our Latina sisters at California Latinas for Reproductive Justice and COLOR each led Latino-specific messaging and movement-building campaigns that resulted in defeating ballot initiatives that could have jeopardized the health and well-being of women and families in Colorado and California.

As we move forward, let us put our principles of dignity and justice to practice and ensure that the most marginalized women and families are at the center of our policymaking, organizing and advocacy efforts.

Thank you to all of our activists, supporters and allies who have been fighting for reproductive justice with us. Let us toast to a new era of salud, dignidad y justicia para tod@s!

Silvia HenriquezExecutive DirectorNational Latina Institute for Reproductive Health