For abortion rights advocates in the U.S., Latin America has long been a cautionary example:
鈥淭he people dying from the abortion ban in El Salvador? They鈥檙e women whose doctors are afraid to operate on an ectopic pregnancy,鈥� law professor Michelle Oberman says.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e women whose doctors are afraid to treat their breast cancer with chemotherapy. The single biggest cause of maternal death? It鈥檚 suicide by a pregnant teenager.鈥�
But now, it鈥檚 the United States that鈥檚 restricting abortion access.
Meanwhile, in Latin America, attitudes about legalizing access to abortion have been expanding.
鈥淵ou can see the change of attitudes towards this public opinion,鈥� Cora Fernandez Anderson, a political scientist, says. 鈥淚t just only took two more years and then abortion is legalized.鈥�
Today, On Point: The U.S. moving in one direction, much of the world in another. We talk about why.
Guests
, law professor at Santa Clara University. Author of
, assistant professor of comparative politics at Mount Holyoke College. Contributor to Ms. Magazine, where she covers the reproductive rights debate in Latin America. ()
, On Point news analyst. ()
Also Featured
, regional director for Latin America & the Caribbean at the Center for Reproductive Rights. ()
Related Reading
Journal of Law and the Biosciences: 鈥溾�� 鈥� 鈥淔or the past 50 years, abortion opponents have fought for the power to ban abortion without little attention to how things might change when they won.鈥�
Ms. Magazine: 鈥溾�� 鈥� 鈥淲ith the recent inclusion of abortion rights in the Chilean Constitution, a first of its kind in the hemisphere, the growth of Latin American feminisms is seemingly unstoppable.鈥�
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