The Troubling State of Abortion Rights in Ecuador · Global Voices
Dominic Fernández

This text is part of the 49th edition of #LunesDeBlogsGV (Monday of blogs on GV) on April 13, 2015.
Underage pregnancy has been rising in Ecuador for the past several years, while abortion even in cases of rape or incest remains criminalized. According to the State Prosecutor, 98 percent of rapes in Ecuador last year occurred within family circles, and 271 took place on the campuses of schools and colleges.
Writing on the blog Plató Mundo, Valeria Coronel and Antonio Jurado took a look at a recent controversial statement by a government official:
El comentario realizado por Alexis Mera (Asesor Jurídico del Estado), en diario El Comercio: “El Estado debe enseñar a las mujeres que es preferible que retrasen su vida sexual y retrasen la concepción para que puedan terminar una carrera” […] denota una falta de conocimiento ante las estadísticas reales de esta problemática y sus causas. Su opinión es grave y alarmante porque solo se refiere a la mujer, […] esto es un reflejo claro de la sociedad machista en la que vivimos.
Nuestra cultura simboliza una falta de educación grave, que sigue atentando directamente a la imagen de la mujer dentro de la sociedad. Éste es el verdadero problema que se debería combatir.
The remark made by Alexis Mera (Legal Counsel for the State), in the newspaper El Comercio: “The state must teach woman that is preferable to delay their sexual life and postpone conception so they can finish their degree” […] denotes a lack of knowledge about the real statistics of the problem and its origin. His opinion is serious and alarming because he only refers to the woman, […] this is an obvious reflection of the sexist society in which we live.
Our culture symbolizes the serious lack of education, which continues directly attacking women image in society. This is the real issue that must be confronted.
In March 2015, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) urged Ecuador to decriminalize abortion in cases of rape and incest.
Continue reading this text here.