VP Harris meets with Utah' s Rep Romero about abortion rights - Axios Salt Lake CityLog InLog InAxios Salt Lake City is an Axios company.

VP Harris meets with Utah' s Rep Romero about abortion rights

A gathering of Latina state legislators protecting reproductive rights in their states, convened by Vice President Kamala Harris. (AP) Vice President Kamala Harris state Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, and other Latina state legislators on Friday, to discuss fighting for abortion rights in their own states. State of play: Harris has met with state lawmakers, health care providers and activists to discuss reproductive rights since the Supreme Court in June. This was her first meeting with Latina state legislators, . The six other Latina lawmakers represented Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Nevada, New York, and Texas. What she's saying: "[Harris] really wanted to address abortion and abortion access and how it impacts the Latinx community," Romero, president-elect of the , told Axios. "Even though we have a Republican-controlled Legislature — doesn’t mean that we shouldn't be talking about issues that impact Utahns, like access to health care."Romero said she wanted to get feedback from the federal government and other colleagues about the types of policies lawmakers can introduce in their own states to help women. Context: Utah is one of . Why it matters: Hispanic women in Utah are "far less likely" to have access to health care, according to an by the Utah Women & Leadership Project at Utah State University.About 20% of Utah Latinas say they don't seek health care due to cost. Nationally, about a quarter of abortion patients are Hispanic women, according to data from the . Flashback: Utah's abortion ban was after the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah sued the state to block it from going into effect. The big picture: Democrats are using access to reproductive health care as a motivating issue for voters ahead of midterm elections. What's next: Romero plans to sponsor a bill that would eliminate criminal penalties for health providers who perform abortions. Get more local stories in your inbox with .Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.

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