“The rich abort, the poor die” – NRK Urix – Foreign News & Documentaries

Her uncle sexually abused her since she was six years old. And when she was ten, she got pregnant.

However, extremist Christians believe that she should have given birth to the child. Some of them demonstrated in front of the hospital where the abortion took place, calling her a “murderer”.

The tragic case has received much attention in Brazilian and international media the last time. But this type of case is far from unique here in Brazil.

According to BBC Brazil On average, an average of six girls between the ages of 10 and 14 have an abortion.

In principle, abortion is prohibited in Brazil. But exceptions can be made if the mother’s life is in danger or if she has been raped. Intercourse with a child under the age of 14 is defined as rape in the Penal Code.

The strictest in the world

Among Latin American women of childbearing age, only about 3 percent live in countries with free abortion. Shows numbers of Guttmacher Institute. Therefore, the region has the strictest abortion laws in the world.

In six countries, abortion is prohibited in all circumstances. These countries are Nicaragua, Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, Suriname, and the Dominican Republic.

In most countries in the region, abortion is prohibited, but exceptions are made in special cases.

In the following Latin American countries, abortion is free: Cuba, Uruguay, Puerto Rico, Guyana, and French Guiana. Displays an overview of BBC.

But as the reactions to the case of the 10-year-old girl here in Brazil show: There is a growing demand here in Latin America for a relaxation of strict abortion laws.

Church and male

The Argentine supporter of abortion Rita Segato believes that it is a mixture of macho culture and church power that makes the opposition to abortion so strong in this part of the world:

– Why is it so important to maintain the current system on this particular issue? she asks.

– Yes, because the right of women to decide about their own body threatens some of the most powerful forces in Latin America: the macho culture and the Catholic Church. And there are often two sides of the same problem, she writes on her blog.

This explanation is heard by advocates of abortion in Latin America. “It is first and foremost about power and influence. Respect for life to be born comes second,” they say.

But in a region where Christianity is still very strong, abortion is an important issue of faith for millions of people. This is probably the most important explanation for why politicians in all fields have doubted the issue of free abortion.

“The poor die”

Although Latin America has the strictest abortion laws in the world, the number of abortions is among the highest in the world by. habitant. But the numbers are highly uncertain because millions of women have their fetuses removed through illegal interventions.

This is the greatest of all tragedies in the history of extremely strict abortion laws in the area.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, 95 percent of all abortions in Latin America are unsafe. The number of women who die, often under cruel suffering, is among them highest in the world. And about a million women are hospitalized each year due to complications following an unsafe abortion.

It is not surprising that the poor are the main victims of this sad fate. The wealthy travel to countries where there is free abortion and perform the procedure in safe conditions.

A well-known expression in the debate on abortion in Latin America is, therefore, this: “The rich abort. The poor die. ”

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