182041 Abortion rights with borders: Comparison of access to legal abortion in Mexico City, Nicaragua and Peru

Wednesday, October 29, 2008: 8:30 AM

Angela Heimburger, MPH , Americas Researcher/ Women's Rights Division, Human Rights Watch, New York, NY
Abortion rights have marked borders in Latin America, the region with the highest rate of unsafe abortions in the world. In the last few years the region has seen the gamut of abortion legislation in theory and in practice. In 2007 Mexico City liberalized the capital's law to allow abortion on demand up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. However, only abortion in cases of reported rape is permitted in all 30 states throughout Mexico, and legal access to services is scanty. In Peru, therapeutic abortion is legal to save the woman's life or protect her health. In practice, women rarely have access to legal termination in the public health sector, in spite of various UN rulings and recommendations that urge the Peruvian State to adopt a national level protocol on therapeutic abortion, clarify ambiguities in the law, and inform the public about their rights. In 2006, Nicaragua overturned a century-old penal code provision to become one of only a handful of countries in the world, including Chile and El Salvador, to disallow abortion under any circumstance, producing a chilling effect on emergency obstetric services and even some maternal deaths. What these countries have in common are their citizen demands and State obligations to respect, protect and fulfill abortion rights for women. They also share colonial vestiges and political pressure from religious and conservative groups, among them the Roman Catholic Church, to violate women's rights and impose religious doctrine in these otherwise autonomous, secular countries. This presentation will discuss international legal remedies and advocacy strategies for change.

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify the current situation of legal abortion in Mexico City, Nicaragua and Peru 2. Compare the States' responses to the demand for safe abortion and reproductive rights coupled with pressures from opposition groups 3. Recognize the legal and international human rights obligations of each State to provide reliable information and safe, affordable services for women 4. Articulate advocacy strategies to redress grievances, appeal decisions and ensure protections on the local, national and regional levels

Keywords: Abortion, Latin American

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have conducted fact-finding missions and/or in country follow up in each of three countries lised and have publised reports and/or articles on the subject in my professional position
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.