Hispanic Heritage Month History Makers Series: Dr. Helen Rodríguez Trías

Happy third week of Hispanic Heritage Month ! This week we will be highlighting doctor and women's rights activist, Dr. Helen Rodríguez Trías.

Dr. Helen Rodríguez Trías was born in 1929, in New York City. Throughout her childhood she lived in both New York and Puerto Rico. During her early years of school she faced discrimination because she was Latine, which became a catalyst for her future work helping underserved communities. Despite the adverse experiences she faced at school from teachers and administrators, she continued on the path to purse a career in the medical field.

Dr. Trías went on to attend the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan to study medicine, and graduated in the year 1960. After completing her residency at the University Hospital in San Juan, she taught at the medical school, and opened up the first infant health clinic in Puerto Rico to address issues surrounding maternal/infant health. Shortly after, Dr. Trías moved back to New York and began working in Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx. While working at Lincoln Hospital Dr. saw firsthand how racism impacted the health of her patients, many of whom were low-income and Black and Latine. During her time at Lincoln Hospital she advocated for better working conditions for hospital workers, and highlighted the importance culturally responsive medical care for Puerto Rican patients. Her advocacy led her to joining the women's health movement that began to build up in the 1970's.

Two issues Dr. Trías championed within the women's health movement were abortion rights and the ending of forced sterilizations. Throughout her career Dr. Trías saw how socio-economic status, race, and gender created disparities in healthcare, particularly when it came to lack of access to safe reproductive healthcare. Women of color who came from low income backgrounds often did not have access to birth control, or were victims of forced sterilization. Witnessing how these issues impacted women in her community led Dr. Trías to become a founder of the Committee to End Sterilization Abuse, and the Committee for Abortion Rights and Against Sterilization Abuse. She also testified to support the passage of federal sterilization guidelines in 1979, which made it a requirement for there to be written informed consent provided in a patients native language.

In the 1980's Dr. Trías held the role of medical director for the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute, where she advocated for women who were living with HIV. She continued to speak out about issues related to women's reproductive health and helped to establish two organizations which were the Women's Caucus and the Hispanic Caucus of the American Public Health Association. Dr. Trías was honored for her contributions to the medical field in January of 2001, where she was awarded the Presidential Citizen Medal. Dr. Trías dedicated her career to assisting women who were overlooked within the medical field because of their race and class. Her incredible advocacy throughout her career and commitment to addressing the needs of vulnerable communities are what make her a hero. If you would like to learn more about Dr. Rodríguez Trías, please click here.