Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega is a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

humanitarian who founded the Federación Mexicana de Asociaciones y Empresas Privadas (FEMAP), which supports a network of clinics, hospitals, and nursing schools in the North of Mexico, based in

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( ; ''Juarez City''. ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is commonly referred to as Juárez and was known as El Paso del Norte (''The Pass of the North'') until 1888. Juárez is the seat of the Ju� ...

. She is a proponent of women's right to access birth control and health care. De La Vega and her late husband, border billionaire, Federico De La Vega, are greatly revered for their impact on the region through their philanthropic efforts focused on propelling education, healthcare, and sports.

Biography

De la Vega had been volunteering for the Red Cross since she was eight. In the 1960s, she raised money for the Mexican

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

. De la Vega began working with women on

family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...

after reading about a poor mother of nine who, when pregnant again, "tried to kill her

fetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal deve ...

by stabbing herself in the stomach." De la Vega visited her in prison and was shocked to find out that this woman did not know anything about family planning or birth control. She helped her obtain legal counsel and she began educating other women in Mexico. In 1973, she began working with women in Juárez, and helped them gain access to family planning and a maternity clinic. De la Vega became a member of the

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

Board. De la Vega founded Federación Mexicana de Asociaciones y Empresas Privadas (FEMAP or Federation of Private Family Planning Associations) and worked as the director of the network of health clinics in Mexico. These clinics increased the number of Mexican women using birth control from 50,000 women in 1982 to 360,000 women using birth control methods in 1987. De la Vega was named a

CNN Hero ''CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute'' is a television special created by CNN to honor individuals who make extraordinary contributions to humanitarian aid and make a difference in their communities. The program was started in 2007. Since 2016, the ...

in 2010. When Juárez became the "murder capital of the world" during the Mexican Drug Wars, De la Vega continued visiting her hospital in the city several times a week. She and her family had recently moved to El Paso because her family was threatened. Vega was awarded the

Woodrow Wilson Award Woodrow Wilson Awards are given out in multiple countries each year by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution to individuals in both the public sphere and business who have shown an outstanding commitm ...

in 2013 from the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washi ...

References

External links

Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega
(video) {{DEFAULTSORT:De La Vega, Guadalupe Arizpe People from Juárez Municipality, Chihuahua Activists from El Paso, Texas Mexican women's rights activists