LATIN AMERICA
Majority Favours
Legalizing Abortion - But Not for All
Cases
By Daniela Estrada
SANTIAGO (IPS) - The majority of people
surveyed in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and
Nicaragua are in favour of legalizing
therapeutic abortion, but not all forms
of elective abortion, according to a
study by the Latin American Faculty of
Social Sciences (FLACSO).
"There is a shared opinion in the four
countries that abortion is a serious
problem, of public health and equality,"
study coordinator Claudia Dides,
director of the FLACSO-Chile gender and
equality program, told IPS.
Most of the survey respondents believe
that the existing strict abortion laws
need to be revised, particularly for
cases in which the health of the mother
is at risk, and that changes in the law
should be made through referendums,
before congressional debate.
Nevertheless, 69 percent of the
Brazilians surveyed opposed total
legalization of abortion, as did 64.5
percent of the Chileans, 61.4 percent of
the Mexicans and 81.4 percent of the
Nicaraguans polled.
The apparent gap between the
respondents' perception of abortion as a
public health and equality problem, and
their opposition to legalizing all forms
of abortion "has to do with a series of
variables," according to Dides.
Among them she cited the population's
general lack of knowledge about the
issue, the absence of appropriate
treatment for women suffering
complications from botched abortions,
and "the influence of political actors,
such as the Catholic Church hierarchy."
Another important factor is the space
and the treatment that the
communications media give the abortion
debate, she explained.
The initial descriptive analysis of the
"Public Opinion Study on Abortion in
Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Nicaragua" was
presented Tuesday in Santiago, following
similar events in Mexico City and
Managua.
The countries that FLACSO chose for the
study provide unique perspectives on the
issue. In Chile and Nicaragua, abortion
has been illegal without exception since
1989 and 2006, respectively. In Brazil,
meanwhile, abortion is legal in cases
such as pregnancy resulting from rape or
when the life of the mother is in
danger.
Interruption of a pregnancy is legal for
any motive in Mexico City, but in most
of the rest of Mexico it remains
illegal, said Dides.
Notably, some of the Catholic news
outlets in Mexico referred to the FLACSO
study as a survey "sponsored by a
research institute with pro-abortion
tendencies."
The poll consisted of more than 1,200
face-to-face interviews of men and women
older than 18 in rural and urban areas
of each of the four countries. The
participants were asked about their
"opinions, attitudes and knowledge"
about abortion.
A significant percentage of those
surveyed agreed that the voluntary
interruption of a pregnancy "is a
decision of the woman" more than "other
actors who are always expressing their
opinions," said Dides.
In Nicaragua, 30.3 of respondents said
that abortion is "a woman's human
right," slightly below the 32.1 percent
in Brazil. But the portion jumped to
38.7 percent in Chile and 43.5 percent
in Mexico.
The study also shows that "there are
expectations that abortion legislation
will change in the four countries.
People don't want things to continue as
they are," Dides said.
In the case of Chile, 95 percent of
those interviewed said the abortion laws
should be revised, as did 87.8 percent
of Brazilians, 82.8 percent of Mexicans
and 94.2 percent of Nicaraguans.
According to Gloria Maira, member of the
Chilean women's group Articulación
Feminista, the study reaffirms the
belief in the women's movement that the
reasons behind legalizing therapeutic
abortion are fully supported by the
population.
"The study provides a lot of information
about the strategies that women's and
feminist movements can use in the future
to achieve the decriminalization of
abortion in Chile. It talks about the
need for sustained campaigns and
informed debate," she said.
In Maira's view, the study also reveals
that since former dictator Augusto
Pinochet (1973-1990) penalized
therapeutic abortion, Chilean lawmakers
since then have failed to respond to the
population's interests.
"They have always talked about the
political costs of supporting
legislation (in favour of abortion
rights) and what the study proves is
that it is an erroneous perception and
that what they have focused on are other
considerations, not the needs of women
or the opinions of the population," said
Maira.
Meanwhile, Chilean lawmaker María
Antonieta Saa told IPS that "in all
Latin American parliaments, especially
in Central America, there are organized
and militant conservative groups that
want to reverse all the advances made in
the field of women's reproductive and
sexual rights."
Saa, of the opposition centre-left party
Por la Democracia is president of the
Inter-American Parliamentary Group on
Population and Development.
FLACSO plans to continue releasing
results of the survey, and in two months
will publish a book that includes
analysis of the state of research about
abortion, a comparison of legislation,
case studies and media analysis from the
four countries. |
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