About 1.2M Brazilian Women Hospitalized In Last Five Years For Illegal Abortion-Related Complications, Report Says

About 1.2 million women in Brazil have been hospitalized in the last five years with infections, vaginal bleeding and other complications resulting from illegal abortions, according to a report released on Wednesday by the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Reuters reports.

The report, based on data from Brazil's Ministry of Health, found that about one million abortions are conducted in the country annually, including illegal abortions and miscarriages. About 230,000 women seek treatment from the country's health system annually for abortion-related complications, including hemorrhaging and perforation of the vaginal wall and uterus. The report also found that about five women die from complications that arise from unsafe procedures for every 100,000 live births.

Maria Jose Araujo, a member of the panel of health experts that presented the report, said the number of illegal abortions among young women is increasing. According to the report, about 3,000 girls ages 10 to 14 were hospitalized for complications resulting from abortions in 2005 and more than 46,000 girls ages 15 to 19 sought treatment. Araujo added that black, indigenous and lower-income women disproportionately seek abortions in Brazil.

"Legal prohibition does not eliminate the practice of abortion, everybody knows this," Carmen Barroso, director of IPPF's Western Hemisphere Region, said, adding that IPPF is in favor of developing a program to offer pregnant women information and counseling even if abortion remains illegal in the country.

Brazilian Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao on Monday at a ceremony for a new family planning program renewed his promise to initiate a debate on abortion. "The government will get the issue rolling so women can decide," Temporao said (Welsh, Reuters, 5/30).

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