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Women's Health
'DIY abortion tutorials' shock Chile amid debate on easing ban
Warning: Some people may find the contents of this report distressing.
A SERIES OF ‘DIY abortion tutorials’ has shocked Chileans amid a debate on easing the ban on terminations in the country.
In the videos, women give ‘tips’ on how to end an unwanted pregnancy – by being intentionally hit by a car, falling down “a steep set of steps” or hitting your stomach on a fire hydrant.
The clips were released in by Miles, a NGO aiming to rally support for an attempt by the president Michelle Bachelet to ease the abortion ban in Chile – where the laws are considered among the most restrictive in the world.
Miles director Claudia Dides told the Guardian:
Clandestine abortions are carried out in Chile and abortions will continue with or without politicians or a law.
What we want is for abortions to be safe.
Miles said an estimated 120,000 illegal abortions are performed in Chile every year. Many women buy the drug misoprostol on the black market to end first-trimester pregnancies.
Bachelet, a doctor and former head of UN Women, is calling abortion to be allowed in cases of rape, where the woman’s health is in danger and situations when a foetus is unviable. The bill is expected to face strong opposition.
Warning: Some people may find these videos distressing
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