Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark Volume 1 Article 1 October 2015 Reproductive Rights in Latin America: A Case Study of Guatemala and Nicaragua Katherine W. Bogen Clark University Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.clarku.edu/surj Part of the Comparative Politics Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Latin American Languages and Societies Commons, Maternal and Child Health Commons, Medical Humanities Commons, Medicine and Health Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Regional Sociology Commons, Rural Sociology Commons, Women's Health Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Bogen, Katherine W. (2015) "Reproductive Rights in Latin America: A Case Study of Guatemala and Nicaragua," Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark: Vol. 1 , Article 1. Available at: https://commons.clarku.edu/surj/vol1/iss1/1 This Manuscript is brought to you for free and open access by the Scholarly Collections & Academic Work at Clark Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark by an authorized editor of Clark Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Reproductive Rights in Latin America: A Case Study of Guatemala and Nicaragua Cover Page Footnote Thank you to Professor Posner, of the Clark Political Science department, who provided methodological guidance as well as literature for this study, and whose intellectual support and passion helped lead this project to its' completion. This manuscript is available in Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark: https://commons.clarku.edu/surj/vol1/iss1/1 Social Sciences Reproductive Rights in Latin America: A Case Study of Guatemala and Nicaragua Katherine W. Bogen Katherine Bogen is a senior studying Political Science, English, with a concen- tration in Latin American and Latino Studies. She uses these three disciplines to examine global issues. Katherine completed her Honors Tesis on women’s reproductive health, primarily focusing on the efect of authoritarian regimes and democratic transition movements in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Katherine has done additional research on the use of rape and sexual violence as a tactic of war, and independent research on gender and race in mentoring relationships in university and business settings. After Clark, Katherine hopes to pursue a Ph.D in Policy or Public Health to contribute to her understanding of feminist social issues, women’s rights, reproductive healthcare, and international reproductive health policy. Abstract Te lack of access to contraceptives and legal abortion for women throughout Nicaragua and Guatemala creates crit- ical healthcare problems. Moreover, rural and underprivileged women in Guatemala and Nicaragua are facing greater limitations to birth control access, demonstrating a classist aspect in the global struggle for female reproductive rights. Some eforts have been made over the past half-century to initiate dialogue on the failure of medical care in these nations to adequately address issues of maternal mortality and reproductive rights. Te women’s reproductive health movements of Nicaragua and Guatemala have struggled to reach an efective solution to this problem. As a result, women of Nicaragua and Guatemala are falling below the human development goals of organizations such as Planned Parenthood and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to ensure universal access to birth control and a subsequent reduction in each nation’s maternal mortality rate. Introduction – Purpose Parenthood work to enhance ac- mortality has declined since the late Statement and Research cess to birth control and education 20th century, it remains a problem Question services worldwide, some nations in Nicaragua and Guatemala, espe- are still at a disadvantage in the face cially among religious societies and Te purpose of this paper is of crippling social conservatism as a low-income, ethnic minority groups. to examine the success of reproduc- result of religious sentiment. More According to a Gallup world tive rights movements in Nicaragua importantly, restricted access to poll conducted in 2009, 84% of and Guatemala, and their rela- abortion and contraceptive services adults in Nicaragua and 88% of tionships to the socio-political and in Latin America have contributed adults in Guatemala consider reli- cultural ideologies, as well as class to very high maternal mortality rates gion an important part of their daily divisions on a national level. Te in both Guatemala and Nicaragua. lives, respectively (Gallup Global Planned Parenthood Who We Are In 2010, the Central Intelligence Reports 2009). Despite superf- mission statement declares that for Agency ranked Guatemala as having cially similar degrees of religious many individuals around the world, the 65th worst maternal mortality penetration, the religious aspects access to vital reproductive and rate in the world with 120 deaths of Nicaraguan society have been sexual healthcare and information is per 100,000 mothers. Te same year, much more aggressive in preventing blocked. According to Planned Par- Nicaragua was ranked 77th worst women’s health reforms, including enthood, this is a result of poverty, with 95 deaths per 100,000 mothers abortion rights. Te presence of the lack of basic services, politics, or war. (Central Intelligence Agency 2010). Church in Guatemala has provided Although programs like Planned While the prevalence of maternal necessary support for new women’s 1 Social Sciences reproductive rights legislation by reasons why Nicaragua has been and the current alienation of fem- advocating for greater availability of unable to diminish their own class inist and reproductive rights move- birth control and more widespread divisions, as well as what this says ments by major political parties in availability of sex education. My re- about the impact of socioeconomic Nicaragua represents an unwavering search project seeks to discover how inequality in the felds of reproduct- rejection of abortion and a dismissal the infuence of religion has afected ive rights and women’s health. of female body-autonomy, which is the reproductive rights movement in defned as the freedom of women Nicaragua and Guatemala, why the Background and Preliminary to decide the fate of their bodies as reactions of each nation have varied Discussion well as their pregnancies. As a result, so greatly, and how each country has more women in Nicaragua have Eforts in Guatemala and been able to utilize religion to pursue turned to illegal abortion leading to Nicaragua to establish greater access their political objectives. complications and potentially in- to birth control and abortion in In addition to discrepan- creasing the maternal mortality rate. order to reduce the number of cies between the efects of religion Tese themes indicate that maternal mortalities have varied in in Guatemala and Nicaragua, class the social stance towards women’s their success. Although Guatemala divisions have also caused a partition reproductive rights can greatly has taken strides since the late 20th in the advancement of the women’s impact the capacity of governments century to provide sex education, reproductive rights movements in to pursue progressive reforms. birth control, and post-abortion care both nations. While Guatemala has Furthermore, the Nicaraguan case to women, it still has not succeeded a larger indigenous population than demonstrates the limiting efect in legalizing abortion except in the Nicaragua, both nations sufer from that religious sentiment can have on case of maternal endangerment. high rates of income inequality and the reproductive rights movement, Moreover, access to contraceptives is substantial class division resulting especially when pertaining to abor- limited for women living in rural ar- from pre-existing ethnic conficts. As tion rights. It is also clear that class eas, representing a class separation in such, women belonging to indi- divisions and inequalities within the Guatemalan reproductive rights genous minorities sufer not only Nicaragua and Guatemala have movement. However, initiatives in reduced access to reproductive rights greatly limited the capacity of rural Guatemala to reduce maternal mor- but also political apathy from other and indigenous women to access tality have established a socio-polit- ethnic groups within both nations. birth control. Finally, eforts must ical dialogue on the importance of Tis tension has fostered a repressive continue in the area of women’s re- female health and safety. Tis shift environment for underprivileged productive rights in order to guaran- in focus from one of condemnation advocates of female body-autonomy tee universal access to contraceptives of female sexuality to protection and reproductive rights. Te poor and abortion. Tese research results of maternal health and bodies may in both Guatemala and Nicaragua and analyses can be used to shape increase access to and utilization of are sufering more than the elite, social approaches to body-autonomy birth control services, proving that demonstrating the pervasiveness and reproductive rights as well as to solutions to this health issue are of class divisions throughout all reduce maternal mortality. achievable in Latin America. aspects of life, even pregnancy and Conversely, in Nicaragua, a healthcare. However, Guatemala has strong