The Dominican Republic has seen a concerning trend of increasing abortions in recent years, with official data revealing an average of over 32 abortions per day since 2019, Diario Libre reports. The newspaper stresses that the figures used for the story are about abortions reported by healthcare facilities and do not include statistics or estimates on clandestine procedures.
Abortions are banned in the Dominican Republic and penalized by law. Nevertheless, there is yet to be a case of prosecution of a physician for performing a successful abortion.
Profamilia, a local organization, has repeatedly called for the decriminalization of abortion under these circumstances, arguing that it is necessary to protect women’s health.
Pro-abortion activists over the years have desisted and instead have backed legislative efforts to decriminalize abortion in cases where the woman’s life is at risk, the pregnancy is not viable, or the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. Yet even to these exceptions there has been strong opposition from religious groups.
The latest Penal Code bills that have passed in one of the two houses of the Congress have not included changes to the ban on abortions.
Over the years, any mention of authorizing abortion has met with strong opposition primarily from religious groups, with some exceptions. Highly respected Jesuit priest, the late Padre Jose Luis Aleman had always said abortion was a public health issue, not a religious topic.
Diario Libre reports that according to the Ministry of Public Health’s Repository of Information and Health Services Statistics (Riess), at least 67,455 abortions have been recorded in the last five years. The highest number of abortions occurred in 2019, with a total of 15,402 cases.
While the number of reported abortions has decreased slightly in the past three years, thousands of women continue to undergo the procedure annually. These figures account for abortions due to natural causes and maternal health complications.
The Dominican Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology reported in July 2024 that approximately 25,000 women are hospitalized annually due to complications from unsafe abortions. The Dominican medical societies have campaigned in favor of the three exceptions. Same for former presidents of the Dominican Medical Association (CMD).
When broken down by age groups, women aged 20 to 24 have the highest rates of abortion. Notably, the number of abortions among girls under 15 has increased significantly. Between January and March 2024, there were 10 cases reported, while between April and June, the number jumped to 51. From July to August, an additional 18 cases were recorded. This equates to an average of two abortions per week among girls under 15.
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Diario Libre
10 September 2024