Sociodemographic Profile and Motivations of Women Who Resort to Abortion

As several authors have shown, abortion is an old-age, widespread practice that has been observed in all countries, in both rural and urban contexts, in poor and rich strata, among married and unmarried women or women of different ages and at different times in their reproductive lives. Its practice is also influenced by social, economic, demographic and cultural factors (United Nations, 1994; Mundigo and Shah, 1999). An article on the world status of women that have had abortions shows that its incidence may vary according to age, marital status, educational level, socioeconomic group and rural or urban socialization (Bankole et al., 1999).

However, as Llovet and Ramos (2001) so rightly point out, it is important to note that studies on abortion contain a universalistic slant, given the view that abortion and pregnancy are experiences that are perceived and undergone in the same way by all women. These studies also place a heavy emphasis on individual logic as the central motor guiding the decision-making process leading women to have an abortion. According to the authors, both positions should be reconsidered, since the interruption of pregnancy responds primarily to behavior patterns that have been socially constructed and molded. Resorting to abortion or not depends on the particular social realities of each country, its legal status, access to quality reproductive health services, material and cultural conditions and women’s expectations for their lives.. It also depends on the obstacles they face in exercising their sexuality and motherhood, and therefore their sexual and reproductive rights, freely. The interaction between socially determined logic and the logic of individual actions is still an issue that must be approached with greater rigor and greater depth.

Despite this, having an abortion is often the only and last resort for many women faced with an unwanted or unforeseen pregnancy. This is due either to legal, social, cultural institutional or other barriers, such as those related to access to contraception, the recognition or non-recognition of pregnancies outside wedlock, the exercise of sexuality regardless of reproductive purposes, and the acceptance or transgression of the moral prescriptions related to this practice (Guillaume, 2004). Hence the importance of considering the different patterns of abortion in different contexts and above all among different groups within the female population. This would enable one to identify the risk conditions and the needs and possibilities for prevention and treatment for each population group within the sphere of their sexual and reproductive lives. It would also help to reduce the negative health consequences that abortion has for many Latin American and Caribbean women since it is practiced in an unsafe manner that reflects the gender inequity and social inequality of the region.

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