Transnational Abortion Policy Preferences across the Salvadoran Diaspora

• In Event: Immigrant Political Behavior

Abstract

This paper will present on preliminary results on abortion policy preferences among the Salvadoran diaspora in the United States. The goal of the project is to understand whether country of origin or place of residence influence whether Salvadorans support or oppose legal access to abortion. El Salvador has the harshest anti-abortion laws in the Americas where women face imprisonment for having a miscarriage. Meanwhile, the Salvadoran diaspora predominantly live in states that represent contrasts in abortion policy within the United States. California and Texas are home to the largest Salvadoran populations in the country and these two states represent the polar ends on the abortion issue. This project seeks to evaluate whether migrants import their political beliefs from the home country or whether the context of residence influences their views. Respondents will be recruited through Facebook Ad Sampling, which has found success in recruiting migrant populations in Europe. Despite their large numbers, Salvadorans are severely underrepresented in surveys targeting Latinos. The diaspora survey results will be compared to a survey on abortion in El Salvador. This project will provide insight into how migrants change their political views and how they process issues that are salient on both countries of origin and residence. Furthermore, the implications from the project will address how social remittances begin to form (if they do), and the direction of these transfers of norms and attitudes between origin and residence.

Author

• Jesse Acevedo, University of Denver