Dr. Vinicio Calventi, director of the Maternidad Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia, the largest Dominican maternity hospital, said that the only way to reduce the number of abortions in the Dominican Reublic is to prevent them by educating the women. He said they should be able to use contraceptives in order to avoid them. Also, he does not favor legalizing abortion, as this would not reduce the number of abortions performed yearly. In this country, over 80,000 abortions a year are carried out. Dr. Calventi says there are no statistics on the number of deaths caused by the clandestine abortions, since the physician will hide the real reason of death if the mother dies. Recently, the Senate passed a bill that increases from six months to three years the minimum jail penalty for the mother and those assisting her with the abortion.
