Despite Legal Restrictions, Many Brazilian Women Have Abortions

A new survey conducted in Brazil and coordinated by Debora Diniz, a member of IWHC’s Board of Directors, reveals that despite its current criminality, "one out of seven urban women age 18-39 has had an abortion." That amounts to "approximately 5 million Brazilian women who’ve gotten abortions," Denise Hirao writes at Akimbo. Of those women, 55 percent, more than 2.5 million women, "were hospitalized due to complications of the procedure" thanks to the fact that "the restrictive laws in Brazil [mean] women who manage to get abortions frequently are subjected to unsafe and unsanitary conditions."

"The survey reveals the face of the woman who has an abortion," Diniz said. "She is not someone else, she is one of us. She is our colleague, our neighbor, our sister, our mother. In general, she has a partner and follows a religion." Hirao asks, by supporting anti-choice laws "are [Brazllian officials] really saying that 5 million women should be incarcerated?" Technically, I guess they are.

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