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Health Disparities
Women of color have higher rates of sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV infection, higher maternal mortality rates, and more limited access to family planning services than White women.
We must address the racial and ethnic disparities in the health care system overall to guarantee every woman the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices.
What are health disparities?
Racial and ethnic health disparities refer to unequal health risks, access to health care, and quality of treatment affecting people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Blacks, Latinos, and Asians in Massachusetts disproportionately face higher rates of chronic illness and mortality than do residents of the state as a whole. For example:
- Black women are four times as likely to die of cervical cancer as White women. Asian women have among the highest rates of cervical cancer in Massachusetts and the U.S.
- The infant mortality rate among Blacks is twice as high as that of Whites.
- HIV/AIDS rates among Blacks are 13 times higher than among Whites, and Latino rates are eight times higher than for Whites.
- Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than any other racial or ethnic group, even though Whites experience higher incidence rates.
What can we do?
NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts supports legislative action to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities. The Disparities Action Network (DAN) is a statewide coalition of leaders and organizations committed to eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities in Massachusetts.
DAN Partner Organizations:
Action for Boston Community Development; Boston Center for Community & Justice; Boston Public Health Commission; Center for Community Health Education Research and Service (CCHERS); Children's Hospital Boston, Office of Child Advocacy; Critical MASS; Community Catalyst; Health Care For All; Latin American Health Institute; The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Association; Massachusetts General Hospital Disparities Solutions Center; Massachusetts Medical Interpreters Association; Mass CONECT, Harvard School of Public Health; NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts; Physicians for Human Rights; SEIU 1199.
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