Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic may accentuate existing problems, hindering access to legal abortion, with a consequent increase in unsafe abortions. This scenario may be even worse in low- and middle-income countries, especially in Latin America, where abortion laws are already restrictive and access to services is already hampered. Our objective was to understand how different countries, with an emphasis on Latin Americans, have dealt with legal abortion services in the context of the COVID-19. Thus, we conducted a narrative review on abortion and COVID-19. The 75 articles included, plus other relevant references, indicate that the pandemic affects sexual and reproductive health services by amplifying existing problems and restricting access to reproductive rights, such as legal abortion. This impact may be even stronger in low- and middle-income countries, especially in Latin America, where access to legal abortion is normally restricted. The revision of sources in this article underlines the urgent need to maintain legal abortion services, both from women's perspective, in support of their reproductive rights, but also from that of the international commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Thereby, Latin American countries must place reproductive rights as a priority on their agendas and adapt legislation to accommodate alternative models of abortion care. Furthermore, our results underscore the need for clear information on the functioning of sexual and reproductive health services as essential for understanding the impact of the pandemic on legal abortion and to identify the groups most affected by the changes.
Highlights
Despite the ample heterogeneity, Latin American countries share a common ambiguity surrounding interventions in the reproductive process
We carried out a narrative review of the literature produced on the subject up until March 10th 2021, in the following databases: LitCovid, Global Index Medicus (GIM), Virtual Health Library (BVS, in Portuguese) and Journal Storage ( JSTOR)
The review focused on countries in Latin America; it adopted a broader and comparative approach, to contemplate what has been done in other countries regarding the abortion services during COVID-19 times
Summary
Latin American countries share a common ambiguity surrounding interventions in the reproductive process. The hegemonic value systems in these countries are anchored in religious patriarchalism, with a markedly conservative position on abortion [1,2], contributing to the amplification of socioeconomic gender inequalities 3. Illegal in most countries, is widely practiced 6. In this context, the COVID-19 epidemic may be accentuating existing problems, weakening the regular provision of contraception, and hindering the already restricted access to legal abortion, with a consequent increase in unsafe abortions. The COVID-19 epidemic may be accentuating existing problems, weakening the regular provision of contraception, and hindering the already restricted access to legal abortion, with a consequent increase in unsafe abortions
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