The landscape of unwanted pregnancy and abortion in highland Bolivia, 1982-2010

Abstract

Bolivia holds one of the highest rates of unwanted pregnancy and abortion in Latin America, yet little is known about women’s experiences with these phenomena. Based on personal interviews and policy reports, Kimball traces a broad history of abortion in the Andean cities of La Paz and El Alto between 1982 and 2010. The chapter argues that women’s experiences with abortion and post-abortion care contributed to changes in reproductive health policy and services over the period. Kimball further demonstrates that women’s experiences with abortion were imbued with particular stress and strain, due primarily to abortion’s illegal and stigmatized status in Bolivia.