Zika and Abortion Access in Latin America

Because Zika infection during pregnancy can lead to fetal abnormalities, several Latin American countries have urged women to avoid pregnancy during the epidemic. However, in most of these countries, abortion is not legally accessible — and in several, access to contraception is also limited. Women on Web (WoW) is an international nonprofit organization that assists women by providing access to safe medical abortions with telemedicine support. To assess the impact of national pregnancy advisories about Zika transmission, investigators calculated the number of abortion requests to WoW before versus after these national warnings to avoid pregnancy.

In 7 of 8 countries with indigenous Zika transmission, legally restricted abortion, and advisori…