Latin America rights activists warned Thursday about the growing political threats against reproductive rights in the region, while in the United States access to abortion is being restricted again.
“What we are seeing is a great setback in the advances achieved after many years of struggle for human rights,” said Paula Ávila-Guillén, executive director of the Women’s Equality Center, during a conference. “What happens in a country has repercussions on others.”
Latin America has a policy mosaic around reproductive rights. El Salvador has one of the most strict abortion laws in the world, imposing penalties for homicide in cases that, according to rights activists, are spontaneous abortions. In contrast, a superior court in Colombia ruled in 2022 in favor of allowing abortion until 24 weeks of gestation.
Many countries in the region limit access to abortion only to women or girls who can demonstrate that their pregnancy is a risk to their life or that it was the result of a violation, which often causes significant delays that exceed the allowed gestational limits.
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In Argentina, where abortion is legal, activists have indicated budget cuts implemented by the government of Libertarian President Javier Milei, an ally of former US president Donald Trump. These cuts have effectively restricted access to abortion and have reduced the contraceptive supply.
“For us, not having access to contraceptives is taking us back to the 1960s. It is a really significant setback,” said Mariela Belski, executive director of Amnesty International Argentina.
Belski explained that state cuts have almost inoperative a national line of help for gender violence. The provinces are already reporting shortage of Misoprostol and Mifepristona, essential medicines for safe abortions, after the government freezes funds for new purchases.
Milei argues that abortion and feminism are part of a “disastrous ideology” and that the State should not spend money on related services.
Argentina is one of the few Latin American countries that allows abortion until 14 weeks gestation without the need to demonstrate that it was due to violation or serious medical reasons.
Milei’s party presented a bill to criminalize abortion last year, less than four years after a previous government legalized it, but the measure failed to gather the necessary support.
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The World Health Organization has estimated that between 5% and 13% of maternal deaths in the world are due to insecure abortions, and that three out of four abortions in Latin America are not carried out in safe conditions.
In the Dominican Republic, where abortion is completely prohibited, Natalia Mármol, leader of Women’s Equality Center programs, said that base movements seek to reduce criminal sanctions in a country that has some of the highest rates of maternal mortality and teenage pregnancy in the region.
“We are going to face setbacks,” said Marble. “We must remember that this is just a moment and that we have to continue fighting so that it does not win more strength.”
With Reuters information
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