When abortion is a crime

This two-page fact sheet is adapted from a 2013 Ipas report investigating the impact of criminal abortion laws on women, their families and health-care providers in three South American countries—Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina.  The report documents cases of women and health-care providers arrested, detained and sometimes imprisoned for terminating pregnancies. It recommends the repeal of laws that criminalize abortion and the elimination of barriers to access to safe and legal abortion.