
In recent years, states across the United States have passed legislation creating stringent constraints on abortion access. This has caused a remarkable increase in the numbers of women seeking abortion care outside of the U.S., in particular in Latin American countries.
Recently, a report by National Public Radio examined the rise of abortion access in Latin America brought about by the restrictions in the U.S. The report uncovered that due to the constraints on abortion in the U.S., more and more women are taking the dangerous journey to countries such as Mexico and Guatemala in pursuit of safe and legal abortion.
It is estimated that between 2014 and 2016, there was a 17 percent increase in the number of U.S.-funded abortion-related services provided in Latin America. The reasons for the increase are varied, but the greatest factor is the increasing restrictions on abortion access in the U.S., particularly in states such as Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. Several of the counties that saw the largest increases in abortion-related services are located in border states.
The dangerous journey that women undertake to receive safe and legal abortion care has serious implications for both their safety and well-being. In order to make the long journey, many women are forced to endure dangerous and unsafe journeys with inadequate access to medical care. Additionally, language barriers, lack of money and limited access to transportation are all factors which make the journey even more difficult.
Although the rise in access to safe and legal abortion care in Latin America provides much needed relief, it is important to recognize that such a trend should not be necessary. The increasing constraints that have been placed on abortion access in the U.S. have caused women to go to extreme lengths to receive needed healthcare, resulting in immense suffering and trauma. It is imperative that women in the U.S. are given access to safe and affordable abortion services in order to avoid such tragedies. [ad_1]
Some abortion legal rights advocates in the U.S. are searching for inspiration from their counterparts in Latin American international locations the place abortion entry has expanded in current yrs.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Though abortion constraints distribute throughout the United States, abortion entry has been increasing in Latin The us. Some abortion rights advocates in the U.S. are now turning to the south for tips and assist. NPR’s Sarah McCammon reviews.
SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE: As an immigrant from Colombia to the United States, Paula Avila-Guillen has viewed the two international locations shift even further apart on abortion rights.
PAULA AVILA-GUILLEN: Ideal now, we are in quite unique paths.
MCCAMMON: Avila-Guillen is executive director of the Women’s Equality Center in New York, which is effective on abortion legal rights throughout the Americas. She notes that above the past couple several years, her colleagues in Colombia, Argentina and Mexico have noticed victories possibly by using the courtroom or by laws.
AVILA-GUILLEN: And in the United States, we are heading backwards. So I believe that there is a pretty very important instant to study from each other, to trade thoughts.
MCCAMMON: This week, abortion rights advocates from various Latin American countries and the U.S. fulfilled in Washington to do just that.
Unidentified Group: (Chanting in Spanish).
MCCAMMON: With the U.S. Capitol as a backdrop, they gathered in D.C.’s Freedom Plaza, chanting and tossing inexperienced handkerchiefs into the air.
Unidentified Man or woman: (Talking Spanish).
(CHEERING)
MCCAMMON: The bandanas have come to be a symbol of reproductive rights in Latin America, a image they hope will spread throughout the U.S. as limitations spread throughout lots of states. In the meantime, Latin American anti-abortion rights activists, like Julia Regina de Cardenal, are drawing inspiration from past summer’s U.S. Supreme Court decision upending abortion legal rights.
JULIA REGINA DE CARDENAL: This has repercussion in the total environment.
MCCAMMON: Regina de Cardenal, who spoke by telephone from El Salvador, qualified prospects a group affiliated with Human Existence Worldwide, an organization dependent in the U.S. that encourages abortion restrictions close to the planet.
REGINA DE CARDENAL: For us, it was the very best news that the United States ultimately obtained to notify their citizens that killing babies in the womb is not a human correct.
MCCAMMON: For abortion rights supporters in Latin America, the goal is to grow accessibility even in those people international locations in which it can be currently legal. One particular concept, Avila-Guillen suggests, is to set up funds like people in the U.S. that assistance sufferers pay out for factors like vacation and child treatment.
AVILA-GUILLEN: One of the issues that we are struggling with is how we carry out successfully these regulations.
MCCAMMON: She states they’re also working to bolster networks that source abortion drugs across the location. Maria Antonieta Alcalde is director of the abortion rights group Ipas in Latin The united states and the Caribbean.
MARIA ANTONIETA ALCALDE: We have been performing for a lot more than a year, constructing people networks that are doing the job from Mexico in Texas, but in other states. And we know that there are means to place the materials in the palms of ladies.
MCCAMMON: With a ruling in Texas predicted any day that could curtail obtain to abortion pills, Latin American activists say they’re getting ready to work throughout borders to help people in the U.S.
Sarah McCammon, NPR News, Washington.
(SOUNDBITE OF MENAHAN Road BAND’S “SILKWORM”)
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