Making Abortion Safer in Uruguay

New York Times (June 28, 2016), From Uruguay, a Model for Making Abortion Safer, by Patrick Adams:

The scourge of Zika has put pressure on Latin American countries to reconsider their restrictions on abortion.  Uruguay in particular presents a picture of what is possible. 

In 2002, Uruguay set about to address the problem of the unsafe back-alley abortions that had contributed in large measure to its shocking maternal mortality rate, especially among the poor, and had burdened its health system with heavy costs.  A pilot program was initiated in a Montevideo hospital to provide women with factually accurate information about the use of the drug misoprostol, originally developed to treat ulcers, to terminate a pregnancy.  Doctors could not prescribe misoprostol for pregnancy terminations or advise women whether or not to use it, but they could legally provide women with factually correct information about its effects. 

The women who participated in the program avoided the threat of death from post-abortion sepsis, the hallmark of back-alley abortions.  They also presented no severe complications from abortion. 

With the program came a change in public perceptions.  Abortion, formerly considered criminal, began to be associated with health and human rights.  Eight years later, the model was expanded to public facilities throughout the country.  Many see the program as pro-life, given that the death of a mother reduces the likelihood of her children's survival. 

Pilot program similar to that begun in Montevideo are not operating in Uganda and Tanzania.