Not the church, not the state
In Latin America, debate is raging over reproductive rights. According to an article titled "The Gender Wars" in the January-February issue of
NACLA: Report on the Americas, the debate has participants from widely ranging political perspectives. The Catholic Church is against any form of birth control, but it tries to appeal to anti-imperialist sentiment among the people. For example, the bishopric of Argentina has referred to abortion as a "modern biological colonialism inspired by powerful nations that impose their decisions on those of weaker peoples who cannot make themselves heard". In Chile, a group of conservative senators drafted a position paper in preparation for the Fourth UN Conference on Women in Beijing. They defined the family as the stable union of men and women within marriage. They declared that homosexual families were not "part of Chilean reality" and that reproductive rights presented reproduction in a "purely animal context". While the church is left behind in the dark ages in relation to reproductive rights, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank want to see "family planning" in the form of population control. They are not concerned about the welfare of individuals; they promote population control in accordance with their economic strategy, arguing that it is a mechanism for reducing poverty and making possible women's participation in the work force. President Fujimori of Peru last year announced that the government would create access to family planning for poor families. However, there is reason for concern over what the family planning will entail, given that the real aim of population control is assisting the interests of the major banks. The World Bank imposes policies that will maximise Third World governments' debt repayments, which results in further exploitation of the people. In 1993, a government document recommended vasectomies for men and tubal ligation for women for Peru's growing population of hungry, uneducated and unemployed people — whom it referred to as the "social surplus". While the debate continues in these circles, the reality for the majority, and the opinions of the majority, are quite clear. A poll in Peru last year showed that while 95% of the population believed in God, 80% agreed with using contraception. According to NACLA, "the Church considers abortion a 'grave sin' yet it is widely practiced in the region. Given the difficulties of access to contraceptive methods, abortion has become a major form of birth control in Latin America. In Chile there are an estimated 170,000 abortions a year. One out of every two pregnancies in Mexico and one out of every three in Peru ends in abortion. Since abortions are performed clandestinely and often in less than optimal conditions, this is also a pressing health issue for Latin American women. Abortion is the fourth most common cause of maternity deaths and the third most common cause of hospitalization in Mexico. In Colombia, 74.5% of maternal deaths are the result of botched abortions." The churches' concern over birth control is linked with the desire to maintain the family and "family values". However, this is quite hollow when you look at the reality — in the poorest sections of Latin America, it is common for women to bring up children on their own. In Chile, 40% of all families are not headed by a married couple. It is understandable that more and more women's organisations within the region are defining themselves as "feminist". Women are playing an increasingly important role in leading the grassroots movement for social change. Latin American feminists recognise that reproductive rights are about enabling women — not the church and not the state — to control their own lives.
By Trish Corcoran