What have been some of the Consequences of the Debate and Actions by the Various Actors on the Legislation Governing Abortion?

The actors on either side of the debate on the decriminalization of abortion, mainly the Church hierarchy in association with organized conservative groups on the one hand and the feminist movement on the other, attempt to influence the legal sphere. The former, roughly speaking, do so to stop what they regard as a danger to morals and an attack on society’s morality, while the latter do so to oblige the state to provide official recognition of women’s autonomy, respect for human rights and therefore, sexual and reproductive rights, along with the free choice on reproduction that women demand for themselves. This section contains some examples of the actions by players on either side of the debate, which as we have seen earlier, have had an impact on the legislation, policy and specific actions regarding the practice of abortion.

In the majority of the countries in the region, the official thinking of the Catholic Church exerts an enormous influence on state decisions, and the sphere of sexuality and reproduction are no exceptions. Its actions include efforts to prevent the approval of legislation that expands restrictive abortion laws or to reverse existing laws and make them more restrictive, as well as attempt to establish the right to life from the moment of conception in the region’s constitutions. Other initiatives have involved coordinating demonstrations by groups against the decriminalization of abortion, as well as limiting and countering progressive reproductive health messages in the media and non-public institutions with progressive programs. They have also sought to raise the profile of conservative groups in public debates, promote abstinence campaigns and campaigns against the use of condoms, and establish and celebrate the “Day of the Unborn” as a national event (Gutiérrez, 2002). As Hardy and Rebello state, in the Brazilian context, all those who fight for the decriminalization or legalization of abortion want the state to assume a secular position and to separate abortion from religion. We observe however, that although the separation of Church and State has existed in Brazil since the Proclamation of the Republic (1989), the Church still has the power to influence and often define the state’s position, primarily in matters concerning morality and sexuality (Hardy and Rebello, 1996).

In an article describing the family planning policy of the Chilean government since 1960, Alexander and Iriarte (1995) note that in that country, abortion was legalized in the 1930s to save women’s lives or preserve their health. The Catholic Church hierarchy, however, pressured the government to amend the 1980 constitution in order to protect the life of the unborn, effectively prohibiting abortion, despite recognizing the fact that abortion is performed to protect women’s lives.

In the Dominican Republic, another country where abortion is completely prohibited, Ferdinand’s (2001) overview of the politics of health shows that abortion is a subject that has been consistently silenced within health intervention strategies, and the debate over abortion in this country has prevented the practice’s acceptance.  He points out that even though a proposed modification of health law presented in 1991 included the decriminalization of therapeutic abortion, legislators opted not to include it, in the fact of strong opposition from the Catholic establishment. The argument of the Church and its supporters for excluding therapeutic abortion from the law rested on the idea that “the concept of reproductive health could be used to impose sex education, which is considered immoral, decriminalization of abortion, and the promotion of contraception”.  Ferdinand adds that this has meant that abortion is a “non-negotiable [subject] among State powers and religious fundamentalists…which has impeded reform of the legal framework for healthcare of the country”.

In Mexican society, the question of abortion has been the focus of public debate at different times, given the constant presence of various social groups that have insisted on the need to review and update the laws regulating its practice. Nevertheless, these initiatives have encountered the powerful opposition of more conservative social actors, whose moral and religious arguments have had enormous importance in public debate and government spheres. This has meant that the discussion in organizations that frame national health policy, as well as that in legislative organs, has been constantly avoided or delayed (Tarrés Barraza, 1993). However, one should recognize the fact that in Mexico, during the 1990’s, interventions in health and reproductive matters changed positively, particularly after the ICPD took place. Administrative bodies were created for dealing with women and reproductive health, bodies that enjoyed the participation of civil society organizations and managed to incorporate the concepts of right to health, gender perspective, women’s empowerment and the notion of equity into several social programs and policies. Billings et al. (2002) (p.88) pointed out that, “Feminist groups, academics and NGO’s have intensified their struggle for the recognition of reproductive rights and for the support of a woman’s ability to exercise these rights. They have been successful in making the complex phenomenon of abortion and violence against women more visible through initiatives to modify existing laws and norms, by publicizing individual cases, and by supporting women like Paulina, who was denied a legal abortion” although she was a rape victim and followed the legal procedure for obtaining one. (Lamas, 2000). Nevertheless, with the rise to power in 2000 of the National Action Party with its conservative ideology, many of the aforementioned initiatives were discontinued. The attention previously given to women’s health and reproductive rights has been modified and oriented towards pregnancy and childcare. As for abortion, given that Mexico is a country comprised of free, sovereign States, several attempts have been made by groups opposing the decriminalization/liberalization of abortion to ensure that the right to life from the point of conception is acknowledged in local constitutions. This proposal was passed in the state of Chihuahua but was rejected in the states of Baja California and Nuevo Leon. The proposals were blocked in the last two states by other political parties and, above all, by feminist groups (Anonymous, 1998).

In Argentina, it was not until recently that public debate on abortion emerged, characterized by confrontation between the Church’s official thinking and the feminist movement. In 1994, the Argentinean constitutional convention was called to reform the constitution, a process in which the government, linked to the Catholic Church hierarchy, carried out an aggressive campaign with the express purpose of ensuring that the new constitution would totally prohibit abortion. The then president Carlos Menem promoted the inclusion of laws to defend life from the point of conception, which, according to political analysts, had two aims: on the one hand, to deflect the bishops’ criticism of the growing level of unemployment and poverty throughout the country and, on the other, to gain the support of the Church hierarchy as well as the Catholic electorate for the presidential elections of 1995. This situation led the women’s movement to organize and become politically more active in the area of abortion, enabling them to block this initiative (Gogna et al., 2002; Alanis, 1999). Instead, a clause was approved instructing parliament to implement an integral and specialized social security program to protect defenseless children from pregnancy until the end of primary education, and to protect mothers during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Thus, this attempt to totally penalize abortion was transformed into a social policy for the protection of expectant mothers and their families, leaving the door open for future reproductive health programs (Clarín Landi, 1994 quoted in p.130 Gogna et al., 2002). Following a year of debate, despite powerful opposition from the Catholic Church and resulting from the active participation of the feminist movement, a law was passed guaranteeing free access to contraceptives and establishing campaigns to prevent child pregnancy, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, and breast and genital cancers (InterPress Third Word News Agency, 2002).

In Brazil, Rocha (1996) shows that the modification to abortion discussed in Congress in 1995 depended on the balance of forces between the various social and political groups that were extremely active in the debate. On the one hand, initiatives to decriminalize or legalize abortion were advocated by organized women’s groups allied to progressive parliament groups; on the other hand, the official position of the Catholic and Evangelical churches opposed legalization of abortion. Likewise, she notes that political debates and developments, in both Congress and other national and international forums, have led to an adverse reaction from conservative and religious positions. The resulting counter-attack from organized sectors of civil society led to a powerful defense for allowing abortion to be performed according to the grounds specified in the Penal Code. It also led to the denunciation of the severe damage to public health caused by clandestine abortions, the dissemination of the idea that abortion is one of women’s reproductive rights, and the fulfillment of the agreements and commitments derived from the Conferences on Population and  Development and on Women that were signed by the government of Brazil (Rocha, 1996; Casanova Guedes, 2000). Moreover, this country has seen significant advances, because of the continuous, intense work of feminist movements, the participation of women in key government posts related to the health sector and in those bodies responsible for population and women’s policies, which in turn have exerted an influence on the legislative and judicial power. There has also been more active, sensitive participation by the organized medical community in providing services for the legal interruption of pregnancy and within the debate on public opinion. At the same time, conservative groups, as well as conservative medical and legislative personnel, have acquired a more visible profile and have attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to reverse the actions and changes undertaken by Congress (Rayas and Catotti, 20004; Rayas et al., 2004). For their part, Oliveira and Vianna  (1999), in an article based on two studies conducted in Brazil of women that abort, describe how the pressure exerted by the feminist movement in that country was decisive in the implementation of legal abortion services in various Brazilian provinces. These forces prevented a legal mechanism denying access to abortion in those cases already allowed by the Penal Code from being incorporated into the Constitution.

In Nicaragua, although there was wide access to therapeutic abortion services under the Sandinista government, nowadays there is a hostile political climate regarding sexual and reproductive rights and directed toward the practice of abortion in cases permitted by law. This has translated into extremely restricted access to therapeutic abortion services, as a result of barriers imposed by the prevailing lack of definition for this type of abortion, the bureaucratic paperwork required for its authorization, the religious and moralistic positions prevalent among the authorities, doctors’ fears of possible retaliation, and the powerful influence of Catholic Church hierarchy with its wide resources. The case of Rosa mentioned earlier clearly illustrates the existing conditions, as well as the influence of the feminist movement and of certain health professionals who actively responded and achieved the interruption of the pregnancy when the legal system did not respond and the health sector refused to do so (Reproductive Health Matters 2003; Rayas and Catotti, 20004; Rayas et al., 2004).

NGOs in Bolivia have played a key role in activities related to information, education, training, management, defense and resources for abortion. However, they have been affected by the Gag Rule imposed by the United States. In practice, no abortion has been performed according to current legislation and public debate has not been easy given the adverse climate that prevails surrounding this issue. However, as in the case of Rosa, the women’s movement and certain medical allies have responded actively here and collaborated in ensuring that an abortion that the health system refused to provide was performed on a Bolivian girl who had been raped.

In Uruguay, NGO’s with a long history of advocacy and public discussion of abortion collaborated in creating a national alliance to support the reform of the abortion law, which was submitted as part of the Bill for the Defense of Reproductive Health to formulate guidelines to define treatment in health institutions. This alliance includes various sectors, such as medical and parliamentary bodies, political parties, academics, doctors, various religious groups, unions, networks of young people, and human rights groups (Rayas and Catotti, 20004; Rayas et al., 2004). In this country, one of the striking features is the work carried out by the doctors who formed “Health Initiatives against Abortion in Risky Conditions,” which has undertaken research on the implications of abortion and maternal mortality, along with work on the attitudes of health professionals regarding abortion. The Women and Health group in Uruguay (MYSU) has documented these events (http://www.chasque.net/frontpage/comision/dossieraborto/cap5_1.htm).

Finally, it is worth pointing out that the pro-decriminalization/legalization movement has expanded in many countries in the region through the creation of networks and alliances between various feminist or liberal, democratic groups, both at the national and regional level, and in many of them, other actors such as doctors, lawyers and academics have been incorporated. Examples include the following organizations: the 28th of September Campaign for the Decriminalization of Abortion in North America and the Caribbean, The Latin American Consortium of Emergency Contraception, The Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights (CLADEM), The Network of Health for Latin American and Caribbean Women, The Latin American Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology Societies (FLASOG), which has founded a committee on sexual and reproductive rights, the National Alliance for the Right to Decide (ANDAR) in Mexico, and REDSAUDE in Brazil (Rayas and Catotti, 20004; Rayas et al., 2004; http://www.andar.org.mx; http://www.redesaude.org.br;http://www.flora.org.pe;http://www.cidhal.org/cidhalesp.html; http://www.lasdignas.org.sv/quehacemos/programas.php).

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