Black women in Brazil more vulnerable to abortion, study shows

Black women are 46 percent more likely to have an abortion than white women, across all ages. This means that, for every 10 white women who have an abortion, approximately 15 black women face the same situation.

The figures can be found in the study Abortion and Race in Brazil, 2016 to 2021, included as an article in the journal Ciência e Saúde Coletiva, published by the Brazilian Association of Collective Health (Abrasco). It is a race-based analysis in the National Abortion Survey, carried out in 2016, 2019, and 2021.

The article points out that, when observed in detail, racial inequalities are consistent over time. They display the same trends across in editions of the survey, across all possible combinations, and they remain the same when different methods are used.

“There are racial inequalities in all editions of the National Abortion Survey. Black women always have the highest number of abortions. Black women are always the most vulnerable to abortion and consequently to unsafe abortion. So this result adds to other surveys on racial inequalities in reproductive rights, as black and brown women are the ones who die from unsafe procedures the most. This is an important debate that points to the need for decriminalization,” says Emanuelle Góes, co-author of the study and associate researcher at research foundation Fiocruz in Bahia state. Researchers from the University of Brasilia (UnB) and Columbia University, in the US, also signed the article.

Criminalization

The study estimates that one in five black women and one in seven white women will have had an abortion by the age of 40 from 2016 to 2021, and lists the implications of criminalization.

First, criminalization prevents women from accessing health services to have an abortion, leading them to resort to unsafe methods and exposing them to significant and unnecessary risks, as the methods recommended by the World Health Organization are simple and safe.

Second, complications from unsafe abortion go untreated because women fear reporting them. According to the article, criminalization causes a huge number of women to avoid exercising their rights to treatment, regardless of the cause of their health problem, for fear of reprisals.

Finally, it hinders the prevention of abortion. “On the one hand, criminalization prevents the issue from being discussed in the appropriate settings. Discussing abortion can be seen as an apology for crime and that alone is enough to stop positive discussions that could result in prevention. On the other hand, criminalization does not allow the health care network to provide adequate care for women in order to prevent repeat abortions,” the text reads.

Decriminalization

On Friday (22), Supreme Court chief Justice Rosa Weber, announced her vote regarding the motion on the matter, which outlines the decriminalization of abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy.

As it stands today, abortion is only allowed in Brazil under three conditions: rape, risk to the life of the pregnant woman, and anencephalic fetuses. In all other circumstances, abortion is illegal.

Supreme Court chief Justice announced her vote regarding the motion on the matter, which outlines the decriminalization of abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy - José Cruz/Agência Brasil - José Cruz/Agência Brasil