By Ricardo Zamora
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Thousands of Argentine women of all ages suffer at the hands of negligent or abusive reproductive healthcare services each year, Human Rights Watch reported Tuesday.
In a report titled “Illusions of Care: Lack of Accountability for Reproductive Rights in Argentina,” Human Rights Watch explained that doctors and clinics place unnecessary obstacles that women must satisfy before they can access healthcare services to which they are entitled, such as contraception, voluntary sterilization procedures, and abortion after rape. Such obstacles include financial barriers, a husband’s permission for treatment, and unnecessary delays and referrals to other clinics. This results in speculative access to medical treatment, at best.
Human Rights Watch also reported that doctors who deny women treatment or impose arbitrary requirements are often not penalized.
Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, stressed that “women need dependable care throughout their reproductive lives but in Argentina it’s more like a lottery: You might be lucky enough to get decent care but you are more likely to be stuck with deficient — or even abusive — services.”
Even female victims of rape experience difficulty obtaining abortions or other, less intrusive, medical services. As a result, up to 40% of pregnancies in Argentina terminate by unsafe abortions. Vicanco reports that “Unsafe abortion has been the leading cause of maternal mortality in the country for decades.”
Vivanco believes that while Argentina’s reproductive health policies are not perfect, they would be much more effective in preventing maternal suffering if implemented and that the Argentine Government is not exerting sufficient effort in monitoring how the policies are implemented and is not punishing doctors who violate them.
The Argentine government responded positively to the publication of “Illusions of Care” and has taken steps to address many of the concerns it highlights. However, it has yet to take action. For example, in May, the National Health Ministry created a educational telephone service which logged complaints and provided information about where to find reproductive health care services. Human Rights Watch reports that, in June, one day after the Ministry announced that it would ensure that abortions where carried out for women threatened by pregnancy and those who have been raped, the government retracted its statements, noting that such treatments were not guaranteed.
“The Argentine government seems to be slowly waking up to the notion that laws on reproductive health mean nothing unless they are enforced,” Vivanco Said. “But unless changes are constant and clear, women and girls will continue to suffer and, in some cases, die.”
For more information please see:
Human Rights Watch – Argentina: Guarantee Women’s Access to Health Care – August 10, 2010
Human Rights Watch – Illusions of Care – August 10, 2010
United Press International – Argentine Healthcare Failing Women? – August 10, 2010
