The rape survivors facing an ‘impossible choice’ in Brazil
Paloma had just cobbled together enough money for a clandestine abortion when the coronavirus pandemic shuttered much of Brazil.
The 27-year-old had been raped late last year by an ex-boyfriend who remained a close family friend. The mother of two found out she was pregnant a few weeks later, after moving from her native Bahia to Minas Gerais, a nearby state, for work.
"I didn't know what to do," recalls Paloma. "The only thing I was certain of was that I didn't want this child."
Brazil has strict laws on abortion. Terminations are only allowed in cases of rape, when the mother's life is at risk or when the foetus has the defect anencephaly - a rare condition that prevents part of the brain and skull from developing.
While Paloma was entitled to an abortion by law, like many women in Brazil, she was not entirely clear on her rights.
She worried she would have to report the rape to the police in order to access a legal abortion - a tactic commonly used to steer women away from the procedure. But she feared retaliation from her rapist. "I was really worried about the safety of my children," she explains as her decision to save up for a clandestine termination.
Clandestine abortions are risky: when performed without sound medical oversight, they can lead to complications and endanger women's lives. If found out, women can also face up to four years in jail.
But Paloma did not know where else to turn and started saving the 3,700 reais ($660; £515) she needed for the clandestine procedure - a sum that is over three times Brazil's minimum monthly salary.
A doctor was going to fly in from Rio de Janeiro, over 900km (560 miles) away from her new home in Minas Gerais, to perform the termination. Then, the Covid-19 pandemic paralysed Brazil, shutting airports, bus stations and health centres.
By late April, Paloma was over 23 weeks pregnant. "When everything closed, it became really difficult to travel - it all became so complicated," she recalls.
With the process dogged by delays, Paloma turned to the internet in search of options one last time. She stumbled upon Milhas pela Vida das Mulheres, a network helping women access safe abortions.
The group helped her understand her rights and pointed her to one of the few legal abortion clinics still operating during the pandemic. For Paloma, it was a fortuitous turn of events. "I was going to risk my life and I may not have been alive today," she says of the clandestine abortion she was planning to have.
Curbed access
Many Brazilian women have not had the same luck as Paloma during the pandemic. Early on, the crisis sharply curtailed access to legal terminations as many abortion clinics shuttered. Data collected by activists suggests that, of the 76 registered clinics providing legal abortion across Brazil, only 42 remained open during the pandemic.
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