Résumé : In Brazil, Sister Ivone Gebara, a Catholic nun, wants the government to legalize abortion to prevent thousands of women from dying from illegal abortions. In fact, illegal abortions are responsible for 20% of deaths of female adolescents and more than 10% of maternal deaths every year. In 1991, Brazilian hospitals treated almost 400,000 women for complications of illegal abortions. Illegal abortions are the 10th leading reason for hospital admissions. 1-3 million women undergo illegal abortions each year in Brazil. The nun sees the legalization of abortion as a means to reduce violence against life. Her call for legalization of abortion has resulted in wider discussion of abortion within the church. Abortion is allowed only if the pregnant women was raped or her life is in danger. In case of rape, she must seek permission to undergo abortion from a judge. Staff at the only hospital allowed by law to perform abortions have performed only 40 abortions in 3 years. Women use knitting needles, sticks, and over-the-counter drugs to induce abortion. Many women use the synthetic prostaglandin misoprostol, because it causes uterine contractions. Misoprostol does not always succeed, however. The coordinator of obstetric nursing at the Sao Paulo School of Medicine reports congenital malformations of the hands and feet of infants whose mothers used misoprostol to induce abortion. Both women who have an abortion and those who help to bring on an abortion may be put in prison for up to 3 years. A former health secretary of the State of Sao Paulo says that the health system puts women low on their priority list. Two senators, a Social Democrat and a member of the Community party, put off bills in congress calling for abortion to be legalized. Less than 25% of their colleagues, who tend to be male, agree with them. Almost 50% of the Social Democrats do not want abortion legalized.
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