Large parts of the Amazones are on fire. Grote delen van de Amazones afgebrand

Large parts of the Amazones are on fire. Grote delen van de Amazones afgebrand

Venezuelan women plead for catch up with Latin America in abortion legislation

Caracas, Oct 01, ABN (Tessa Marsman)- On the Day for the legalization of abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean various Venezuelan women organizations with support of counselors of state committees asked for a change in articles 76 and 84 of the Venezuelan constitution in order to legalize abortion this Friday on Plaza Bolivar the center of Caracas. The plead comes after a recent legalization in Mexico in succession of Cuba, Puerto Rico and Guyana.

The changes in the constitution must form part of the 33 changes that Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez is proposing and must amplify the existing law that permits abortion in case of death menace of the mother or violation with a free choice of abortion in case of emotional stress or a lack of economical resources.

State representative in the committee on violence against women, Asia Villegas, who was present to support the Venezuelan call for legal abortion under all circumstances said that “ Penalization of abortion and occultation in education of something that is the reality in our poor communities means that we are indifferent to what is happening”. She calls for state organized formation and education on the theme.

In all Latin American countries women marched this Friday to “become boss over their own body”

in the decision to undergo an abortion. In El Salvador and Nicaragua women asked for the legalization of therapeutic abortion. According to the organizing organization, Concertación Feminista Prudencia Ayala abortion in El Salvador is crime since 1998.

In Agentina, Parguay and Uruguay, just like in Venezuela, workers, mothers and professionals claimed total legalization of abortion in a march to the Plaza de Mayo.

In Latin America illegal abortion is a serious health issue. An estimated 4.140.000 abortion of which 95% is illegal and insecure is yearly taking the life of more than 10.000 mostly poor women and is the principal cause of death during pregnancy in the region, according to the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organisation.

In Venezuela there is no estimation available of deaths due to abortions, but “the number of early pregnancy is every year higher and alarming, and the risk of dying during a pregnancy of young women between 15 and 19 is two times higher than women between 20 and 30 and this risk is even 5 times higher below the age of 15 years old”, states Asia villegas, in a declaration to the press.

“In my barrio José Felix Ribas in Petare there is a case close by in which a girl in the fifth grade, the girl is twelve years old, got pregnant”, tells Rosa Blanco, member of womens group Manuelita Sáenz.

“The school told her to no longer come to classes and the mother keeps her home now in embarrassment. It was a mother that took good care of her daughter. She brought her to school every day”, explains Blanco, community organizer and grandmother.

On a continental level Venezuelan women groups like Manuelita Sáenz (MS) maintain connections with other womens groups for example in Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia, “especially since we have the suport of the Bolivarian Government”, says Bertha Valesquez, member of MS. “Abortion is a case of public politics rather than personal space, therefore it is important to make international connections, unfortunately the influence of the Catholic church is still very big”

To inform the women of Latin America international exchange of testimonies are important, adds Gladys Parentelli. “On this continent there are many women that are not intellectual. These women do not read treaties,” Perntelli explains. “But if there are testimonies circulating that there are women that went on the streets, this gives information to women that went through an abortion”.

Besides that Latin American women organizations also rotate information. “We inform other womens organizations if for example an Argantinian judge approved an abortion under special circumstances”. Explains Parentelli.

In Chili, El Salvador, Vatican and Nicaragua are the only countries in the world where all forms of pregnancy interruption is banned even when mother and child are under the risk of malformation or death.

The womens groups offered a signed declaration and a modification of the constitutional laws to the Venezuelan National Assembly.