Adolescent fertility rates in Latin America and the Caribbean surpass the world average, and more than 1 in 3 women in the region give birth before the age of 20. In rural areas, the adolescent birth rate is even higher. Peer education is one strategy for reaching large numbers of youth in rural areas.
January 22nd marked the 39th anniversary of one of the most significant legal decisions of the 20th century, Roe v. Wade. This landmark ruling from the United States Supreme Court legalized abortion and changed the course of history for women in this country. Yet women in Latin America and the Caribbean continue to struggle for this basic reproductive right.
For all of President Barack Obama’s pledges that he stands for universal human rights, the fundamental rights of women are likely to be left off the table when he visits leaders in Latin America this week.
A United Nations Economic and Social Council meeting concluded last week with unequivocal support for comprehensive sex education throughout Latin America and the Caribbean to help stem the HIV epidemic and promote overall health.
Tolerance, apparently, is Enemy Number 1, especially in places where the Catholic Church’s sphere of social and political influence is intact, but waning.
As countries around the world celebrated International Women’s Day last week, the Bolivian government launched a new equal rights and opportunities plan for women.
Watch video of McCain squirming for eight long seconds in response to a birth control question, Birth control prices continue to rise, Catching up on RH issues in Latin America.
Most Latin American countries do not explicitly acknowledge sexual and reproductive rights in their Constitutions. But some Constitutional Courts have still been able to find protection for legal abortion and other reproductive health issues.
The new “Health Agenda for the Americas” is more significant for what it omits: sexuality education, safe abortion access, emergency contraception, and measures to combat domestic violence, than for what it addresses.
The Uruguayan Senate voted Tuesday to decriminalize first-trimester abortions. President Tabare Vazquez has threatened to veto the bill if it passes the House of Representatives.
