Aborto: saúde das mulheres

Abstract

"Abortion is a public health issue." This is the opinion of health workers, feminists, managers and ministers of State in Brazil. Despite the vocal furor on the topic, public debate on the decriminalization of abortion moves forward at a slow pace. The main counterforce is a moral one, an overlay of religious and philosophical beliefs upon the democratic legal order. The recent decision of the Federal Supreme Court to allow abortion in cases of anencephaly of the fetus was the single legal alteration of the Penal Code in 70 years. There are bills in Congress proposing the unrestricted criminalization of abortion -even in the event of risk of death for women or victims of rape.Fearful of the criminal law, but convinced of their choices, women have abortions. By the age of 40, one in five women has had at least one abortion. Abortion is an unrequited health need. Women die, become ill, suffer physically and psychically due to abortions performed in unsafe and illegal conditions. This perverse situation with adverse consequences for women's health can be proven by studies that explore different facets of the illegality of abortion on women's lives. This was the joint task of the researchers who submitted their research to this thematic issue on abortion.The topic has elicited increasing interest among researchers from different fields of knowledge. Affirmative action by funding agencies is essential to stimulate research on strategic issues for public health and the Unified Health System, as is the case with abortion and women's health. Invitations to bid Nos. However, there are challenges facing research on abortion in Brazil. Illegality makes women fearful of talking about their experiences. The stigma of crime contributes to low-quality care for women having abortions and intimidates health professionals who work in legal abortion services. There is a silence that is forced upon women and health professionals. Insecurity surrounds researchers at all stages of their field research -how to protect women, how to ensure the confidentiality of their experiences, how to protect them from the risk of a police investigation are new and disturbing dimensions for the research teams. This context of risk and prohibition has called for creative solutions and new methodologies for research into abortion.The magnitude of illegal and unsafe abortion challenges public health researchers to address the political controversy with the use of academic research. We should not expect the moral dilemma of abortion to be settled by a reasonable moral agreement on such diverse beliefs. Our reasoned efforts should concentrate on the production of scientific evidence demonstrating the consequences of criminalizing abortion upon the life and health of women. Debora Diniz and Greice MenezesGuest editors

Algumas Considerações Acerca da Legalização do Aborto no Brasil

“…É com base nesta afirmação que diversas pessoas têm sustentado seu posicionamento a respeito da legalização do aborto no Brasil. No entanto, as discussões a respeito deste assunto ainda caminham a passos lentos, sendo a principal força contrária uma sobreposição de crenças religiosas e filosóficas à ordem jurídica democrática (Diniz & Menezes, 2012).…”

“…Há quem dirá que, embora a legislação brasileira ainda tenha muito que avançar, é necessário reconhecer que já avançou bastante. Contudo, vale mencionar que existem atualmente diversos projetos de lei no Congresso Nacional que propõem a criminalização irrestrita do aborto -inclusive em caso de risco de morte para as mães ou de estupro (Diniz & Menezes, 2012). Ou seja, a discussão a respeito da legalização ou não do aborto parece estar longe de ter um fim.…”

“…A ilegalidade da prática pode fazer com que as mulheres não se sintam seguras para falar sobre suas histórias. Além disso, a insegurança pode acompanhar os pesquisadores em todas as etapas da pesquisa, uma vez que eles não têm como oferecer sigilo ou medidas de proteção às mulheres que integram os estudos (Diniz & Medeiros, 2010;Diniz & Menezes, 2012). Contudo, destaca-se uma preocupação compartilhada pelos pesquisadores no que se refere à proteção da integridade das mulheres que participam e evolvem-se nas pesquisas (Ministério da Saúde, 2009).…”