Libertad’s Fight for Reproductive Liberties
Interview Story for the course "Fundamentals of International Journalism"
Photo by Agencia Uno
It is a hectic afternoon in downtown Santiago. Libertad Méndez (37) is on her way to work at a public healthcare center in one of Santiago’s most vulnerable neighbourhoods. From the backseat of her Uber and accompanied by the philharmonic symphony of honking cars and spiraling curves, Libertad dissects her curriculum with meticulous detail. A medical doctor with a specialization in gynecology, president of the Primary Care Workers’ Union, member of the Chilean Network of Professionals for the Right to Choose Abortions, spokeswoman for Feminist Medics, and mother of a 7-year-old.
This past month marked a tremendous milestone for Libertad. The Lower Chamber of Deputies approved the idea of legislating the decriminalization of abortion up to 14 weeks. “It’s a long way before reaching full decriminalization and eventual legalization, but this is a first step in the right direction.” Abortion has been legal in Chile since 2017 only under the following three conditions: if the fetus is unviable, if the woman’s life is at risk, or if the pregnancy resulted from rape. But even if the conditions are met, there are still many barriers and obstacles women have to face before receiving an abortion. “The Constitutional Tribunal approved the right for an institutional conscientious objection, where institutions –or buildings, how I prefer to call them– such as the Catholic University of Chile and other private clinics associated with Churches, can directly oppose to carry this medical intervention.” The public health system is not safe either. According to Libertad, “half of public health professionals are conscientious objectors”, resulting in most women having to resource to illegal and unsafe means to interrupt their pregnancies.
The untold story of underground abortions
When the media reports on underground abortions, they generally tend to emphasize on the deaths that result from such malpractice. But Libertad warns us that death is not the only outcome for these women. “There are many other complications: the trauma, the burden of committing a crime, the obscurantism, the fear of being deceived and receiving a different drug component that leads to severe allergies…”
Despite the doubling of prices during the pandemic, underground abortions have been on the rise. After the government distributed defective birth control during 2020, more than 140 unintended pregnancies were reported. Moreover, the processing of abortions in the public healthcare system slowed down significantly. “Appealing for an abortion due to rape requires at least 5 testimonies to corroborate the episode and the other two conditions require the confirmation of 2 specialists and medical exams that are not covered in all the country.” With inter-city travel restrictions and a public healthcare system on the verge of collapse, many women resourced to this costly black market.
Abortions abroad: Chile’s socioeconomic gap
Not everyone goes through all this trouble. It is of popular knowledge that Chilean socialites access abortions with ease, not only through contacts, but many travel abroad, beyond Latin America at times. “You can either go on vacation to Europe or receive a teratogenic drug that may lead to a malformed baby and a forced pregnancy.”
Former Minister of Health, Helia Molina, summarized this stark inequality in an interview to a local newspaper in 2013: In all of the posh and “bekakt” clinics, many conservative families have had their daughters go through an abortion and pass it off as an appendicitis. 8 years later, Libertad reflects that the situation is still pretty much the same. “As long as abortions remain illegal, poor women will keep on dying and rich girls will keep on living.”
An uncertain future for reproductive rights
“Considering the extreme globalization and liberalism that has been installed in Chile for the past 30 years, you would expect us to be more advanced in these types of policies.” Libertad has a hypothesis to this dilemma. “By having a high concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, these few are able to control certain laws –not just those regarding morality and values.”
Libertad reveals with full knowledge of the facts that there are economic groups in Chile that finance legislators who preach against abortions and vote against pro-women’s rights laws. “Most of these lawmakers have been very close to illegal abortions themselves! I truly believe this is not about their spirituality or their religiosity. The great majority of these lawmakers just want to keep their positions and keep their source of income.”
In recent years, these antagonistic narratives towards reproductive rights have been channeled in extreme-right movements across Latin America, and Libertad fears that in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, Chile might follow a similar path. “There are political candidates that completely disregard scientific evidence, international organizations, the WHO… Some even propose the abolition of the Ministry of Women and Gender Equity. This puts us all in great danger –women, men, and everyone in between.”
Rays of hope
“Hey you, people from the first world, help us!” Libertad laughs as she gets off her Uber. “I just want to remind people that women are still dying because of illegal abortions. In short, we are fighting to move away from the Middle Ages. If we don’t achieve it now, maybe in the near future, but we have to keep on fighting and stay hopeful.” As if reflecting the prophetic nature of her name, Libertad waves goodbye and fades away as she is hugged by the afternoon sunrays of Santiago’s spring.
