Life-threatening Abortions: A Frequent Practice in Brazil

It should come as no surprise that a country whose population is 74% Roman Catholic bans abortion. In Brazil, the prohibition of abortion dates back to 1940. Today, the procedure can only be legally practiced if medical complications threaten a woman’s life, or when a pregnancy results from incest or rape. Due to this law, women who do not meet one of these conditions and who desire to have an abortion must routinely go through precarious and unlawful means, such as taking a drug cocktail or going to an unlicensed clinic. Unsafe abortions occur with such great frequency that the government’s critics insist that the law places millions of women at serious risk yearly. They demanded that the authorities show some responsibility and protect the health of women by legalizing abortion. Standing in the way of change is the Roman Catholic Church’s dogma, which dominates public opinion. As an institution, the Church itself stands opposed to the decriminalization of abortion, and uses the threat of excommunication as a means to frighten those in government who hope for progress.

A Dangerous Status Quo

A recent national survey conducted by the University of Brasília shows that one out of five women under the age of forty has had an abortion. The Health Ministry reports that approximately 1,000,000 illegal abortions are performed a year, and an estimated 200,000 women annually must seek hospital attention due to complications arising from these illicit abortions. The problem may be even more serious than the study indicates because it does not take into account the large number of abortions performed at private clinics. An International Planned Parenthood Federation investigation carried out in Brazil found that over 5,000 women die, and at least 800,000 women must be hospitalized after undergoing these illegal procedures every year. Roughly half of the illegal abortions are induced by prescription-related drugs, while the other half are performed in clandestine, often unsanitary clinics.

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate John Garcia