Escenas claves de la lucha por el derecho al aborto en Argentina / Key arenas in the struggle for abortion rights in Argentina

RESUMEN La enorme movilización por el derecho al aborto legal, que se produjo en 2018 en Argentina, es la coronación de una lucha de muchos años que tuvo sus hitos, como todo movimiento emancipatorio y también sus marchas y contramarchas, pero nunca fue abandonada. En este artículo recorremos algunas de las acciones que jalonaron esa historia, que comienza con las pioneras de los años setenta, para continuar con las luchas después de la recuperación de la democracia, con la Comisión por el Derecho al Aborto; luego con las experiencias de Mujeres Autoconvocadas por el Derecho a Decidir, y la Asamblea por el Derecho al Aborto, hasta llegar a la actual Campaña por el Derecho al Aborto Legal, Seguro y Gratuito, que logró en 2018, que el proyecto de ley que despenaliza y legaliza el aborto llegara al Congreso de la Nación.

ABSTRACT The huge mobilization seen in 2018 around the right to legal abortion in Argentina is the crowning point of a struggle that has been going on for many years, and that like any emancipatory movement has had different milestones as well as victories and setbacks, but that has never been abandoned. This article considers some of the actions that have marked that history, beginning with the pioneering women of the seventies, and continuing with the Commission for the Right to Abortion [Comisión por el Derecho al Aborto] after the restoration of democracy in the 1980s, followed by the experiences of Women Coming Together for the Right to Choose [Mujeres Autoconvocacadas por el Derecho a Decidir], the Assembly for the Right to Abortion [Asamblea por el Derecho al Aborto], and the present Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe and Free Abortion [Campaña por el Derecho al Aborto Legal, Seguro y Gratuito], which succeeded in getting the bill that decriminalizes and legalizes abortion treated in the National Congress.

O aborto inseguro é um problema de saúde pública / Unsafe abortion is a public health problem

A prática do aborto provocado, ou também denominado intencional, sempre esteve presente na humanidade. Pode-se dizer que essa prática é tão antiga quanto a existência humana.No Brasil, o aborto inseguro é considerado um problema de saúde pública, pois representa a quarta causa de morte materna. Muitas vezes o aborto provocado é visto apenas como um problema médico, e os aspectos psicológicos e sociais são negligenciados. Esta revisão teve como objetivo analisar as pesquisas que abordam o aborto provocado ou inseguro no Brasil. Este estudo trata de revisão da literatura, exploratória e retrospectiva, utilizando o tema aborto provocado. As estatísticas de aborto inseguro no Brasil e no mundo apresentam semelhanças no que se refere a uma grande diminuição do número de abortos provocados nas últimas décadas. Entretanto, o aborto provocado, pela sua ilegalidade e pelas condições inseguras em que são realizados, constitui uma questão de saúde pública neste país.

The practice of induced abortion, or also called intentional, was always present in the humanity. We can say that this practice is as old as human existence. In Brazil, abortion is considered a public health problem because it represents the fourth leading cause of maternal death. Often abortion is seen as only a medical problem, and the psychological and social aspects are neglected. This review aimed to analyze the researches that approach the unsafe abortion in Brazil. This study deals the literature review, exploratory and retrospective studies, using the unsafe abortion issue. The statistics of unsafe abortion in Brazil and around the world have similarities with regard to a large decrease in the number of induced abortions in recent decades. However, induced abortion, by its illegality and the unsafe conditions in which they are made, constitutes a public health issue in this country.

The German Social Democratic Party(SPD) and the Debate on the Fertility Decline in the German Empire (1870~1918) / 의사학

This paper aimed to examine the debate over the fertility decline in the German Empire, focusing on the role of the SPD. During the German Empire, the fertility rate dramatically declined and the growing awareness of a continuous decline in the birth rate prompted a massive debate among politicians, doctors, sociologists, and feminist activists. The fertility decline was negatively evaluated and generated consciousness of crisis. However, it was not the only way to face this new phenomenon. Indeed, the use of birth control among the upper class was interpreted as a part of a modernizing process. As the same phenomenon reached the working class, it suddenly became a social problem and was attributed to the SPD. The debate over the fertility decline in imperial German society ridden with a fierce class conflict was developed into a weapon against the SPD. Contrary to the assumption of conservative politicians, the SPD had no clear-cut position on this issue. Except for a few politicians like Kautsky and the doctors who came into frequent contact with the workers, the "birth strike" was not listed as the main interest of the SPD. Even Clara Zetkin, the leader of the Social Democratic women's organization viewed it as a concern of the individual person which could not be incorporated in the party program. The women's organization of the SPD put priority on class conflict rather than issues specific to women. As a result, the debate over the birth rate decline within the SPD was not led by the women themselves. There could have been various means to stimulate the birth rate. Improvement in the welfare system, such as tax relief for large families, better housing conditions, and substantial maternity protection, could have been feasible solutions to the demographic crisis. However, Germany chose to respond to this crisis by imposing legal sanctions against birth control. In addition to paragraphs 218-220 of the German criminal law enacted in 1872 which prescribed penal servitude for anyone who had an abortion or people who helped to practice it, Paragraph 184.3 of the civil code was enacted in order to outlaw the advertising, display, and publicizing of contraceptives with an 'indecent' intention, although selling or manufacturing contraceptives was not forbidden. Such a punitive approach was especially preferred by the government and conservative parties because it was easy to implement and "cheap" in comparison with the comprehensive social welfare program. What made the SPD different from other conservative parties was the fact that the SPD opposed the government's attempt to prohibit contraception by means of strengthening a penal code. According to the SPD, it was not only morally unacceptable, but also technically impossible for the government to intervene in family limitation. Moreover, politicians from the SPD criticized that such a punitive policy targeted the working class because the upper echelon of the society could easily evade the ban on contraceptives. However, the SPD did not proceed to draft comprehensive social welfare measures in order to fight the fertility decline. The miserable condition of working class women remained as an invisible social phenomenon even within the SPD. The German women who could not find the proper means to practice contraception were driven to have abortions. Annually, hundreds of the women were accused of practicing abortion and imprisoned. In sum, German society ran about in confusion and did not know how to properly respond to the unprecedented decline in fertility. By defining the fertility decline just as a social disease due to moral decay and influence of socialism, German society lost a chance to rationalize itself. Given that women, the main actors, had no way to take part in the debate over this issue, it is not surprising that German society fought against the symptom of the disease, not against its root.

El aborto dentro del contexto social / The abortion within the social context

El artículo aborda el problema del aborto como fenómeno social, algunos antecedentes históricos y su situación mundial y cubana actual. Se expone la manera mediante la cual la educación sexual y reproductiva puede ayudar a que el aborto no se convierta en un método anticonceptivo y a disminuir la realización de este proceder, que no es inocuo...

Present article approach the abortion problem as a social phenomenon, some historical backgrounds and its world and Cuban present situation. The way by which the sexual and reproductive education may help for that abortion not becomes in a contraconceptive method and to decrease the carrying out of this not innocuous procedure...

Aborto en la adolescencia. Consideraciones bioéticas en torno a la decisión de abortar / Abortion in adolescence. Bioethical considerations regarding the decision to have an abortion

El aborto inducido no es un problema fácil de evaluar. La dificultad radica en que una conducta social no puede ser explicada por las opiniones de sus actores. Depende del sistema de relaciones sociales donde está inmersa, las relaciones jurídicas y morales, las instituciones que influyen sobre ella y del soporte económico y tecnológico del país. Es difícil conocer la problemática real del aborto en la adolescencia en nuestra región, pues en la mayoría de los países latinoamericanos y caribeños este proceder es ilegal o tiene serias restricciones. Solo Cuba, Puerto Rico, Canadá y Estados Unidos tienen estadísticas confiables, ya que el aborto está despenalizado. Pese a las prohibiciones, se estiman en varios millones el número de abortos ilegales que ocurren cada año. Uno de los principales dilemas éticos del aborto en la adolescente es enfrentar el principio de la autonomía de la joven para demandar el aborto y la respuesta que la sociedad le conceda. Estudios realizados reportan gran peso de la familia en la toma de la decisión de abortar, también coinciden con que el deseo de no interrumpir los estudios y no estar preparada para asumir la maternidad constituyen razones importantes en las que se basa esta decisión. Llama la atención el poco peso que se le reconoce a los grupos de pares en la toma de la decisión de abortar, lo cual discrepa respecto al peso encontrado a estos en la génesis de otras conductas de riesgo como es el inicio precoz de las relaciones sexuales.

Induced abortion is not a problem easy to be evaluated. What is difficult about it is that a social behavior cannot be explained by the opinion of its actors. It depends on the system of social relations where it is immersed, the juridical and moral relations, the institutions influencing on it, and the economic and technological support of the country. It is really difficult to know the problematic of abortion in adolescents in our region, since in most of the Latin American and Caribbean countries this procedure is ilegal or it has serious restrictions. Only Cuba, Puerto Rico, Canada and the United States have reliable statistics, due to the fact that abortion is legal. In spite of the prohibitions, it is estimated that millions of ilegal abortions are performed every year. One of the main ethical dilemmas of abortion in adolescence is to face the principle of the adolescent's autonomy to demand abortion and the answer given by society. Some studies report the role played by the family in the decision making at the time of aborting. Some of the important reasons for their decision are that they want their daughters to continue studying and that they consider they are not prepared yet to be mothers. It is stressed the little attention payed to the peer groups in the decision making, which differs from the weight given to them in the genesis of other risk behaviors, such as the beginning of early sexual relations.

Medical ethics in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Recent trends in biomedical technologies have been associated with increasing discussion about ethical aspects of the new knowledge in many societies, including the Islamic Republic of Iran. Medical ethics has a long history in our country, and great Iranian physicians laid special emphasis on teaching and practising traditional ethics. In recent decades, great strides have been made in biomedical ethics, especially in the fields of education, research and legislation. We present a brief history of medical ethics in our country. Current activities and topics of future plans are also discussed

History of son preference and sex selection in India and in the west.

In the history of mankind, there was a time when women dominated the world. In due course of time, as the patriarchal societies evolved, the status of women gradually declined. Sons were preferred to daughters. In India, the Brahmin community promoted such customs and rituals, which gave more and more importance to sons eg. Lighting the funeral pyre of the father was told to be a pre-condition for salvation of his spirit. Similarly, in western civilization also women were considered to be weak. In consonance with such a mind-set man has been trying various techniques for sex-selection since antiquity eg. for acquiring a son choosing a special day, time and posture for sexual intercourse, special diet, charms and amulet and prayers etc. In Vedas also punsavana karma has been described as a technique for acquiring a son. Apart from these techniques, female infanticide has also been used as a way to create a male dominated, son-worshipping society. On development of the technique of ultrasonography as an example of progress of science and technology, man has devised a new way of killing females in womb itself, which has resulted in continuous decline in female: male sex ratio in India. To stop this, Indian Govt. promulgated PNDT Act 1994. But considering the widely prevalent practice of use of various regimen of sex-pre-selection by people as well as unscrupulous medical practitioners, Govt. of India has amended this Act (2002). Still, as authors have found in one of their studies, sex-selection drugs are being used widely by north Indians for getting a son. Here, it should be noted that sex-selection methods are being used in west also. But the perspective is different. There, it is not used for female feticide or for acquiring a son. Rather, it is more an effort towards demonstrating the control of man over the NATURE.

Abortion in Korea Since 1945 / 의사학

Since prehistorical era, the human has desired to control reproduction artificially. However, abortion, one of the productive methods has been prohibited to a certain degree by law in some countries, but the operation of abortion has been done in practice. Also, controversial arguments on legitimacy of abortion have been raised. In Korea, physicians operates abortions more than 2 million times each year. In spite of serious social problems, arguments on abortion have not been common yet. The efforts to find a good solution for abortion have not been very sufficient. Therefore, this study is to investigate the concerns for the conditions of abortion since 1945 (this year is the independent one from Japan's government) through a historical perspective and to suggest the efficient direction in policy. Since 1945, many women have had no choice but abortion for their basic life. The Korean government of legislated the Crimes of Abortion in Criminal Law in 1953. However, the number of women who underwent abortion increased since 1962 due to the governmental Family Planning Policy. In addition, the Mother and Fatherless Child Health Act was enacted in 1973 that tolerated abortion to some extent. The disparate treatment of abortion between Criminal Law and the governmental policy fueled the confusion to potentially pregnant women. The first reason why Korean women choose abortion is wrongful pregnancy. Compared to other countries, in Korea, abortion were operated for sex selection. To conclude, it is important to be implement positive sex education, proper contraception education by government and social publicization of arguments on abortion.