Juniper Publishers | Journal of Gynecology and Women’s Health -Abortion as a Public Health Problem
JUNIPER PUBLISHERS- JOURNAL OF GYNECOLOGY AND WOMEN’S
HEALTH
Journal of Gynecology and Women’s Health-Juniper
Publishers
Authored by Sebastião Junior Henrique Duarte*
Abstract
In Brazil, abortion is
considered a crime, with rare exceptions even abortion is one of the
main causes of maternal mortality. It should be an emphasized that among
the most frequent reasons for abortion are pregnancies due to rape,
that is, sexual violence. This situation requires measures to combat
this type of violation of the human rights of women. Another important
gap that leads women to resort to abortion as a means of controlling
procreation refers to the unmet needs of family planning, requiring
attention by the public health system, access to more diversified
methods of family planning, and reproductive care for the rational use
of services that perform legal abortion, thereby reducing maternal
mortality, in accordance with the commitments made by the leaders of the
United Nations towards sustainable development objectives.
Keywords: Women’shealth; Sexual and reproductive health; AbortionIntroduction
In Brazil, abortion is considered a crime, except in three situations:
- When the pregnancy presents a risk of death for the mother,
- When the fetus has anencephaly and
- Gestation due torape. Stands out that the sexual violence is the main reason for legalized abortions.
The Organization of American States has defined
violence against women as any act based on gender that causes physical,
sexual or psychological harm or suffering and even death, regardless of
whether it occurred in the public (public place, work, etc.) or in the
private (home) [1].
It is stands out that violence against women results
in a public health problem throughout the world. Thus, the United
Nations leaders listed the 17 sustainable development goals, where
number five refers to gender equality and the empowerment of all women.
Targets include: elimination of all forms of violence against all women
and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and
sexual and other forms of exploration; Ensure universal access to sexual
and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance
with the Program of Action of the International Conference on
Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the
documents resulting from its review conferences [2].
The literature shows the magnitude of violence,
expressed annually in 12 million people suffering from sexual violence.
In the United States, the estimate is 680 thousand rapes each year,
while in Brazil government statistics record 8.7 rapes per 100,000
inhabitants [3].
Abortion stemming from sexual violence against women,
therefore, will continue to be a practice that puts women at risk of
death who do not have access to health services. As a result, reducing
maternal mortality will continue to be a challenge.
In consideration the relevance of the issue and
contributing to studies that reveal the importance of public policies to
address violence against women, this study aims to discuss abortion as a
public health problem.
The Context
Each year, thousands of women die worldwide from the
complications of abortion, which is a major cause of death in this
population group, especially in developing countries.
Abortion can be a common practice even among women
who have not suffered some form of sexual violence, especially when
there is a lack of contraception. Except for pregnancy through
rape, there are those unplanned pregnancies. Then there is concern that
every woman has access to family planning methods, which is a resource
for avoiding abortions.
In the United States, limiting access to public
contraceptive services has led to unplanned pregnancies, abortions and
has an impact on the infant mortality rate [4].
Brazil has a public policy of family planning aimed at ensuring sexual
freedom and guaranteeing sexual and reproductive rights. However, it is
questionable whether the entire population is aware of the most diverse
methods of reproductive control, and whether public health services
offer appropriate methods to each person [5,6].
By 2015, 64% of married women have used some
contraceptive method, and about 40% of women living in developing
countries use some method to control procreation. However, it is
estimated that 12% of these women had unmet family planning needs. Of
the total, 22% are in developing countries, and 30% or more are in the
countries of Africa, Haiti & Samoa [7].
Access to contraceptive methods is the main strategy
to prevent unwanted pregnancies and reduce the number of maternal deaths
related to frequent pregnancies, short birth intervals, gestational
complications, and reduction of unsafe abortion [8,9].
It should be noted that there are inequalities
between access to family planning services and women from disadvantaged
social classes, according to the Brazilian national health survey. The
data call attention to the need for equity in access to the means of
birth control [10].
The highest frequency of abortions was recorded in
the two Brazilian regions with the lowest human development index.
Therefore, it is assumed that women with low schooling are unaware of
the right to public access to family planning methods, and ignorance
also leads to contraceptive use, low adherence, unwanted pregnancies and
the possibility of induced abortion [10].
The practice of abortion is undeniable, as emphasized
in this study. Reducing the occurrence of induced abortions requires
more coercive measures for sexual crimes against women, in order to
reduce the number of rapes, and to ensure the human rights of women.
Conclusion
Certainly that unsafe abortion in Brazil will
continue to be a maternal death and that access to family planning means
and the implementation of coercive policies to combat sexual violence
constitute measures to address the historical problem of women.
Acknowledgement
This article is part of the research entitled “Social
representation of health professionals regarding family planning”.
National Counselof Technological and Scientific Development,
Institutional Program of Scientific Initiation Scholarships.
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