The figures that we did not know about the law on abortion

In early August, a series of data compiled by the Department of Statistics and Health Information of Chile (DEIS) which report on the status and actual application of law 21.030 on voluntary termination of pregnancy. This month, the IVE law, as it is also called, which regulates abortion on three grounds at six years old since its promulgation and the estimates that were made at one time regarding the effects it would have on the health of thousands of women are far from today’s figures.

A document published in 2021 by a team of asesoría técnica parlamentaria available in the Biblioteca del Congreso, explains that, de acuerdo con cifras no oficiales el número de abortos en Chile al momento de la promulgación de la Ley IVE variaba entre 60 mil y 300 mil per year. Figures that do not agree at all with the latest reports from the Minsal which speak of only 3,000 abortions under the protection of the law until June of last year.

From the Chilean Association for the Protection of the Family (APROFA), they pointed out that, “During the implementation of the law, 3,000 cases per year were planned, however, 3,300 interventions were carried out between 2018 and 2022.” Specialists from the organization dedicated to the protection and education of sexual and reproductive rights added that These figures do not reflect a drastic decrease in the number of abortions in Chile, but rather the fact that a high percentage of terminations of pregnancy are carried out clandestinely. Apart from a law that was simply not enough.

In this context of phantom figures and little clarity on what is really happening at the national level, the question of the conscientious objection of doctors and health institutions jump, for experts, as one of the great shortcomings of the IVE Law. The Department for Women and Gender Equality reported that 4 out of 10 obstetricians in the public system declare themselves to be conscientious objectors for rape —which allows them to exonerate themselves from part of their obligations as doctors treating a pregnant woman when she opts for an abortion—while in the event of an abortion risk of life of the mother and fetal inviability the percentages are respectively 15% and 23%.

These data become particularly alarming when combined with the profile of those who abort in Chile. According to information also provided by the Ministry of Women and Gender Equity 84% of abortions are currently performed within the public system in which many physicians are conscientious objectors, and The average age of women who abort because of rape is 13 years old.

Faced with this scenario of girls left helpless by a law that today does not protect their rights, Fernanda Cabrera, midwife member of the education sector of APROFA, explains that over the past four years, different organizations of civil society followed the IVE law which revealed the obstacles that hinder its proper implementation. “One of them is misinformation about the possibility of accessing this law and what it entails,” says Fernanda.

He adds, however, that Another important obstacle for girls and women is related to the lack of education and training of health professionals involved in the implementation of this standard. “This makes it even more complex for citizens to access information and exercise their right to decide,” he adds. Fernanda confirms that there is currently broad support for conscientious objection, both among health personnel and in the institutional sphere. “In the case of rural or isolated areas, this leaves pregnant women without professionals capable of properly enforcing the law” Explain.

And it is that, even if the regulations that regulate conscientious objection are clear when they affirm that conscientious objection can never mean the non-provision of information and a correct orientation to users, in practice , as Fernanda explains, there are various realities in relation to the issue. The experience of women and girls who opt for abortion is often far from what the law recommends. “The monitoring of the IVE law that has been drawn up has shown that there are multiple realities throughout the country, one of them being territories in which 100% of professionals are conscientious objectors, which leaves deprived those who want access to the law”, he comments.

A particularly worrying situation considering that many women who opt for abortion in Chile are girls or teenagers. Fernanda clarifies that “It is essential that we can make progress in monitoring the proper application of the law.” For this, APROFA and the Ministry of Women and Gender Equity, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, have generated a manual to carry out this work and, in addition, they are developing a series of days of training in different regions of the country dedicated to health education. professionals on the application of the IVE law and the proper exercise of conscientious objection.

And that’s it, even though today the World Health Organization has recommended diversify the possibilities and pharmacological doses perform atsafe abortions, In our country and in the world, there are actors who are going in another direction. With 2022 marked by the repeal of abortion law in the United States with the reversal of the Roe vs. Wade and, just weeks after learning of statements by Republican Party Chairman Arturo Squella regarding his party’s intention to “take ownership” of Law 21.030, raise awareness of rights and duties implied by abortion law is urgent.

Fernanda Cabrera of APROFA explains that terminations of pregnancy are historically had a significant social burden . The specialist specifies that the connotation usually given to abortion has a multiplicity of causes, it can in particular be associated with gender inequalities which are reproduced throughout the world. “In this sense, the IVE Act and the three causes, they are an advance on sexual and reproductive rights,” he comments. “And yet it is always insufficient to respond to reality termination of pregnancy in Chile and in the region”.