Campaigners, urging Latin American governments to reconsider their policies on contraception, fear that the spread of Zika virus will lead to rise in women's deaths from unsafe abortions as well as the predicted surge in brain-damaged babies.
According to The Guardian, several governments in the region have advised women to postpone getting pregnant for up to two years, which reproductive health groups say is impossible in countries where birth control is not easily available and many women fall pregnant through sexual violence.
Giselle Carino, deputy director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation's (IPPF) western hemisphere region, said that they are urging government to make contraception more easily accessible, especially to low-income groups.
Carino said that they must expand access to safe abortion services and that they need an awareness campaign so women know about the risk of Zika and are aware of their options if they find themselves pregnant.
