In the last month, two powerful and influential entities have weighed in on how to deal with growing concerns over the zika virus in Latin America. While health officials investigate whether the virus is linked to a devastating birth defect, the United Nations has been urging Latin American countries to loosen their abortion laws.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis turned heads last week when he suggested that the Vatican's stance on artificial birth control would be softened somewhat in light of the crisis.
But on the subject of abortion, the Pontiff remains implacable, calling it “a crime,” “an absolute evil” and something “the Mafia does.”
Nevertheless, evidence is mounting that mosquito-borne zika is responsible for a surge in Latin American babies born with microcephaly, a condition marked by abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains. And the health crisis has reignited the debate over reproductive rights in several Latin American countries.
So will the crisis spell an end to some of the most restrictive abortion laws on the globe? WLRN Latin America correspondent Tim Padgett offers some insights in the following interview:
QUICK FACTS
- The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the zika outbreak a global public health emergency on Feb. 1, noting the association of the virus with two neurological disorders: microcephaly in babies and Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disorder that can cause paralysis.
- Despite mounting evidence that zika is linked to microcephaly in babies, health officials have not definitively established a link between the virus and the birth defect.
- Worldwide, Brazil is the hardest-hit by microcephaly. Brazilian officials recently confirmed that most of the 508 confirmed cases of microcephaly reported in the country are likely related to the ongoing zika outbreak.
- Of the seven countries where abortion is illegal under all conditions, five are in Latin America: Chile, The Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. (The other two are in Europe: Malta and Vatican City.)
