Abstract
BackgroundIn Argentina, abortion has been decriminalized under certain circumstances since the enactment of the Penal Code in 1922. Nevertheless, access to abortion under this regulatory framework has been extremely limited in spite of some recent changes. This article reports the findings of the first phase of an operations research study conducted in the Province of Santa Fe, Argentina, regarding the implementation of the local legal and safe abortion access policy.MethodsThe project combined research and training to generate a virtuous circle of knowledge production, decision-making, and the fostering of an informed healthcare policy. The project used a pre-post design of three phases: baseline, intervention, and evaluation. It was conducted in two public hospitals. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire (n = 157) and semi-structured interviews (n = 27) were applied to gather information about tacit knowledge about the regulatory framework; personal opinions regarding abortion and its decriminalization; opinions on the requirements needed to carry out legal abortions; and service’s responses to women in need of an abortion.ResultsFirstly, a fairly high percentage of health care providers lack accurate information on current legal framework. This deficit goes side by side with a restrictive understanding of both health and rape indications. Secondly, while a great majority of health care providers support abortion under the circumstances consider in the Penal Code, most of them are reluctant towards unrestricted access to abortion. Thirdly, health care providers’ willingness to perform abortions is noticeably low given that only half of them are ready to perform an abortion when a woman’s life is at risk. Willingness is even lower for each of the other current legal indications.ConclusionsFindings suggest that there are important challenges for the implementation of a legal abortion policy. Results of the study call for specific strategies targeting health care providers in order to better inform about current legal abortion regulations and to sensitize them about abortion social determinants. The interpretation of the current legal framework needs to be broadened in order to reflect a comprehensive view of the health indication, and stereotypes regarding women’s sexuality and abortion decisions need to be dismantled.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1742-4755-11-72) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
In Argentina, abortion has been decriminalized under certain circumstances since the enactment of the Penal Code in 1922
Results of the study call for specific strategies targeting health care providers in order to better inform about current legal abortion regulations and to sensitize them about abortion social determinants
The interpretation of the current legal framework needs to be broadened in order to reflect a comprehensive view of the health indication, and stereotypes regarding women’s sexuality and abortion decisions need to be dismantled
Summary
In Argentina, abortion has been decriminalized under certain circumstances since the enactment of the Penal Code in 1922. An estimated 400,000 clandestine abortions take place in Argentina each year, more than one abortion for every two live births [1,2] While these figures suggest the ineffectiveness of criminalization as a strategy to discourage women from terminating their pregnancies, information on maternal morbidity and mortality clearly show the adverse consequences that these abortions – most of which are unsafe as a consequence of illegality – have for women’s health and lives. To continue the descending rate observed from 1990 until present, the MMR for 2015 is estimated at 40/100,000 live births This trend indicates that the rate will be 2.3 times higher than the commitment of the country with Millennium Development Goal 5 (MDG 5) [6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
