Some of the most restrictive abortion policies in the world are in effect in countries in Central and South America. Most Latin American countries permit abortion only to save a woman’s life, with El Salvador and Chile restricting abortion under any circumstance. Nevertheless, countries in this region report some of the highest rates of abortion worldwide, due to significant unmet needs for contraception and resulting high rates of unplanned pregnancies. Most abortion procedures are unsafe, and an average of one unsafe abortion occurs for every three live births.^[1] South America is the continent with the highest incidence ratio of unsafe abortion worldwide.^[2]

As in other regions, gender-based violence presents serious health risks to women in Latin America and creates significant obstacles to the delivery of comprehensive reproductive-health care. In Nicaragua, for example, a study of 360 women indicated that 52% reported physical abuse by their male partners and 21% reported a combination of emotional, physical and sexual abuse.^[3]