Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 27 augusT 2019
Venezuela crisis pushes women into 'forced motherhood'

By CHRISTINE ARMARIO where women line up be-
Associated Press fore dawn.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) "I don't want to have more
— Dr. Saturnina Clemente kids," said Yailyn Salas, 20,
pulls up to the small clinic the mother of a 9-month-
in the impoverished Cau- old son in the line. "I want to
caguita neighborhood close the shop."
armed with one of Ven- Among the millions of Ven-
ezuela's most sought-after ezuelans who have cho-
commodities: Hormonal sen to flee are thousands
implants to prevent preg- of pregnant women. In
nancy. Colombia, over 26,000
In a country where contra- Venezuelan women have
ceptives are in short supply, given birth since August
word in the shantytown on 2015. That surge is straining
the outskirts of Venezuela's Colombia's already frag-
capital spreads quickly. ile health care system and
The lucky get on a list run testing the nation's mostly
by community leaders. The welcoming approach to-
less fortunate hope there ward Venezuelan migrants.
will be extras. In recent months, the may-
The veteran doctor has 104 or of one large Colombian
implants and there won't city likened Venezuelans to
be enough for everyone. As In this photo taken July 25, 2019, women listen to a nurse before getting hormonal implants to "a poor baby factory" while
prevent pregnancies at a clinic in the impoverished Caucaguita neighborhood on the outskirts of
a physician at the nation's Caracas, Venezuela. a popular newspaper col-
largest pediatric hospital, Associated Press umnist implored migrants
Clemente knows first-hand to "stop giving birth."
that the consequences for mom and her older sister new rights and state ob- organizations and women's "If you don't stop reproduc-
those who don't get one frantically call their mother. ligations," said Rachel Elf- rights groups contend the ing like you are, it's going
are high. They need 40,000 bolivars, enbein, the author of an rate could now be as high to be even harder to see
"It's a sense of impotency, the equivalent of about $3, upcoming book on social as 28%. A study of four hos- you as an opportunity for
of frustration," she says. "You in order to do the simple programs created under pitals last year found that growth instead of a prob-
see that it's not enough, test at a nearby laboratory. Chávez for women. "But over a quarter of all births lem," journalist Claudia Pa-
that the demand is much "The situation in this coun- when it came to imple- recorded were to teenage lacios wrote. Ramírez found
higher." try isn't one for having chil- mentation, if and where it mothers. out she was pregnant at 14
As Venezuela's crisis deep- dren," Ramírez says, bal- happened, it was patchy." The most recent U.N. world with her boyfriend of one
ens, women are bearing ancing her baby daughter President Nicolás Maduro population report estimates year. Condoms and birth
the brunt of the nation's up- on one hip. "I'm still a girl has struggled to advance Venezuela's teen pregnan- control pills were either
heaval. Despite promises myself." his predecessor's agenda cy rate is about 85.3 per impossible to find or too
by the socialist government During the late Hugo amidst a crippling eco- 1,000 adolescents ages 15- expensive. When she told
to provide every woman Chávez's presidency, Ven- nomic contraction worse 19. That figure would mark her boyfriend the news,
access to family planning, ezuela's government ex- than the U.S. Great Depres- a slight decline, though is Ramírez said he responded
recent surveys and inter- panded services aimed sion. Few if any women still still over double the global coldly. He was 23 and al-
views with health profes- at helping poor mothers get cash transfers except rate. By comparison, Co- ready a father. He told her
sionals indicate access to by providing monthly cash for occasional "bonuses" lombia's rate is 66.7 per that he couldn't handle an-
contraceptives remains in- transfers. Chavez lavished equivalent to a dollar or 1,000 teens ages 15-19. other responsibility.
comprehensive. praise on women and two. Maternal death rates "We don't know what the She hasn't heard from him
International organizations hailed the so-called "revo- rose over 65% between reality is in 2019," said Nel- since.
like the U.N. Population lutionary mothers" who 2015 and 2016. mary Díaz, a program di- Adolescent moms under
Fund have begun stepping would help promote his vi- "Under Maduro we've seen rector the Civil Association 15 are twice as likely to die
in by importing tens of thou- sion. an unprecedented set- for Family Planning, an or- during pregnancy. Though
sands of contraceptives this The 1999 constitution he back," Kislinger said. ganization that runs several Ramírez had access to pre-
year, but their work is still advanced guarantees "full Health professionals be- clinics and has operated natal care, doctors none-
limited. It's an ordeal with family planning services" to lieve Venezuela could cut since 1986. "That worries us." theless had to perform an
increasingly international women among a host of its high maternal mortality After years of denying the emergency C-section after
ramifications, as a growing other benefits. rate by a third doing one existence of a humani- the baby's heartbeat be-
number of pregnant wom- "The socialist revolution thing: Providing contracep- tarian crisis, Maduro has came irregular.
en flee to countries like Co- should be feminist," he de- tives. recently begun allowing "She was born practically
lombia seeking care they clared. The extent of Venezuela's international aid. While a dead," Ramírez said, her
cannot get in Venezuela. Despite those initiatives, birth control shortage and large part of the emergen- soft voice turning somber.
"Women are getting preg- Chávez's government the impact on women is cy assistance has gone to- Ramírez's ordeal to find
nant and don't have op- made only modest ad- difficult to quantify in part ward food and medicine, birth control isn't unusual.
tions," said Luisa Kislinger, vances, at best, in improv- because the government a small portion is going to- An independent survey of
a women's rights activist. ing contraceptive access. has not released informa- ward reproductive health. 151 pharmacies consulted
"They're forced into moth- Government data shows tion on key indicators like The U.N. Population Fund over a five-month period
erhood." that teenage pregnan- teenage pregnancy since has imported 45,000 hor- last year found some con-
Nicol Ramírez is 15 and al- cies continued to steadily 2012. According to those monal implants so far with traceptives like the patch
ready a mother. Her name increase during his time in now dated figures, just over the government's authori- could not be found at all
is on Clemente's list, but to power. 23% of all births in Venezu- zation. An estimated 17,000 in Venezuela, while others
get an implant she needs "There was a major ad- ela were to women under have been distributed thus including birth control pills
to show a negative preg- vance with the constitu- the age of 20. far at hospitals and clinics are experiencing near-to-
nancy test. The young tion, with getting all these Some independent health like the one in Caucaguita tal shortages.q