Pandemic further hinders safe abortion in Latin America

Pandemic further hinders safe abortion in Latin America

By Carlos Christian
April 9, 2020

Calls decreased, but text messages increased. They cannot speak because they hear them. They cannot say in front of their families that they seek help, that they need to abort. Las Comadres, a feminist network in Ecuador that provides information to women who want to terminate their pregnancies with drugs, has had to change its communication channels in recent weeks. Telephone calls are becoming increasingly difficult. Isolation, imposed as a mitigation measure by Covid-19, has limited the freedom of those seeking access to an abortion, but not the determination of those who are determined to do so.

Verónica Vera, one of the sixty Ecuadorians who responds to requests for accompaniment, now through platforms such as Telegram, says that in March requests for support increased by 25%. Women who want to abort will do so even in a health emergency, and the public health system in Latin America seems not ready to respond. “The difficulty of mobilizing due to the measures adopted by the pandemic, the collapsed medical services and the lack of privacy within prolonged confinements could lead to a setback in Latin America,” he warns.

Continued: https://theunionjournal.com/pandemic-further-hinders-safe-abortion-in-latin-america-society/


New Bid to Legalize Abortion in Argentina, With President’s Backing

New Bid to Legalize Abortion in Argentina, With President’s Backing
Activists came close in 2018. This year, President Alberto Fernández is on their side and is expected to present a legalization bill to Congress.

By Daniel Politi
Feb. 22, 2020

BUENOS AIRES — Abortion rights activists in Argentina have formally started the second round in their effort to advance reproductive rights in the land of Pope Francis, buoyed by the hope that the country’s transformed political landscape will put their goal within reach.

Two years ago, activists organized a powerful grass-roots movement that helped persuade the lower house of Congress to vote in favor of legalizing abortion, but the Senate narrowly voted down the bill.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/22/world/americas/abortion-argentina.html


Argentine abortion activists unbowed in regional battle

Argentine abortion activists unbowed in regional battle

AFP
August 9, 2019

One year after Argentina’s Senate defeated a bill to legalize abortion, the country’s feminists are keeping up the fight and leading Latin America’s struggle for abortion rights.

Apart from Cuba, Uruguay and Mexico City, voluntary abortion is illegal in Latin America, although it does take place, clandestinely, in conditions that are usually deplorable.

Continued: https://egyptindependent.com/argentine-abortion-activists-unbowed-in-regional-battle/