This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/26/world/americas/brazil-teen-pregnancy-Bolsonaro.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Brazil Under Bolsonaro Has Message for Teenagers: Save Sex for Marriage | Brazil Under Bolsonaro Has Message for Teenagers: Save Sex for Marriage |
| (1 day later) | |
| RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s far-right government has a message for adolescents as the nation grapples with a stubbornly high teenage pregnancy rate and rising H.I.V. infections: Save sex for marriage. | RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s far-right government has a message for adolescents as the nation grapples with a stubbornly high teenage pregnancy rate and rising H.I.V. infections: Save sex for marriage. |
| “Our young people, by and large, are having sex as a result of social pressure,” Damares Alves, the minister of human rights, family and women, said recently as she encouraged abstinence. “You can go to a party and have lots of fun without having sex.” | “Our young people, by and large, are having sex as a result of social pressure,” Damares Alves, the minister of human rights, family and women, said recently as she encouraged abstinence. “You can go to a party and have lots of fun without having sex.” |
| To formulate her policy, Ms. Alves has made clear she consulted closely with the team behind a campaign called “I Chose to Wait,” started by evangelical pastors with a large social media following. In doing so, she has incited a heated debate about reproductive rights and sex education in Latin America’s largest nation. | |
| Critics say the government’s new emphasis on abstinence blurs the line between church and state and could lead young people to make poorly informed decisions about sex that may be detrimental to their health. | Critics say the government’s new emphasis on abstinence blurs the line between church and state and could lead young people to make poorly informed decisions about sex that may be detrimental to their health. |
| “We have 20 years of public health studies all around the world that show not only that abstinence policies are ineffective but that they have nefarious consequences when it comes to teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases,” said Debora Diniz, a Brazilian law professor and reproductive rights activist. “We’re making public policy based on religious beliefs.” | “We have 20 years of public health studies all around the world that show not only that abstinence policies are ineffective but that they have nefarious consequences when it comes to teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases,” said Debora Diniz, a Brazilian law professor and reproductive rights activist. “We’re making public policy based on religious beliefs.” |
| The government’s emphasis on abstinence follows a presidential campaign in 2018 during which sex and sexuality was a dominant theme. | The government’s emphasis on abstinence follows a presidential campaign in 2018 during which sex and sexuality was a dominant theme. |
| President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies accused their leftist rivals of encouraging teenagers to have sex at a young age. He also condemned a school campaign against homophobia that was designed, but never implemented, by his leftist predecessors. He called it a “gay kit” intended to “pervert” students. | President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies accused their leftist rivals of encouraging teenagers to have sex at a young age. He also condemned a school campaign against homophobia that was designed, but never implemented, by his leftist predecessors. He called it a “gay kit” intended to “pervert” students. |
| His message was powerfully effective at mobilizing evangelical voters, a growing and politically powerful constituency in Brazil. | His message was powerfully effective at mobilizing evangelical voters, a growing and politically powerful constituency in Brazil. |
| The government’s abstinence campaign is being led by Ms. Alves, an evangelical pastor who calls herself “extremely Christian” and is among Mr. Bolsonaro’s most popular and visible cabinet members. | The government’s abstinence campaign is being led by Ms. Alves, an evangelical pastor who calls herself “extremely Christian” and is among Mr. Bolsonaro’s most popular and visible cabinet members. |
| Experts say the campaign could undermine the progress Brazil has made in curbing teen pregnancy. | Experts say the campaign could undermine the progress Brazil has made in curbing teen pregnancy. |
| The country’s teenage pregnancy rate, which peaked in the 1990s at about 80 per 1,000 births, followed the global downward trend in recent decades, but remains stubbornly high, at about 62 per 1,000 births, well above the global average of 44 per 1,000, according to a United Nations report issued last year. The rate in the United States was 18 per 1,000 in 2017. | The country’s teenage pregnancy rate, which peaked in the 1990s at about 80 per 1,000 births, followed the global downward trend in recent decades, but remains stubbornly high, at about 62 per 1,000 births, well above the global average of 44 per 1,000, according to a United Nations report issued last year. The rate in the United States was 18 per 1,000 in 2017. |
| Another pressing health care challenge that could be adversely affected by the campaign is curbing H.I.V.’s spread. Brazil earned global accolades for its maverick efforts to fight the disease at the beginning of this century, including ignoring global patents to make generic versions of lifesaving medicine. But in recent years, the virus has been spreading at a rate experts call alarming. | Another pressing health care challenge that could be adversely affected by the campaign is curbing H.I.V.’s spread. Brazil earned global accolades for its maverick efforts to fight the disease at the beginning of this century, including ignoring global patents to make generic versions of lifesaving medicine. But in recent years, the virus has been spreading at a rate experts call alarming. |
| In 2018, there were 43,941 new cases reported, according to Brazil’s health ministry, a 41 percent increase compared to the number of cases recorded in 2014. | In 2018, there were 43,941 new cases reported, according to Brazil’s health ministry, a 41 percent increase compared to the number of cases recorded in 2014. |
| Ms. Alves, who did not respond to a request for an interview, defended her ministry’s abstinence campaign in a recent essay published in the newspaper Folha de São Paulo, stressing that it would complement, rather than replace, existing initiatives, which include providing access to contraceptives and condoms. | Ms. Alves, who did not respond to a request for an interview, defended her ministry’s abstinence campaign in a recent essay published in the newspaper Folha de São Paulo, stressing that it would complement, rather than replace, existing initiatives, which include providing access to contraceptives and condoms. |
| “We’re working across ministries to offer additional material as people make decisions,” she wrote, adding that the government did not wish “to impose, but rather to inform, which strengthens autonomy.” | “We’re working across ministries to offer additional material as people make decisions,” she wrote, adding that the government did not wish “to impose, but rather to inform, which strengthens autonomy.” |
| Laryssa Pereira de Souza, 15, who had a baby last year, said the abstinence message could conceivably resonate with evangelical teens, but she predicted it would be dismissed by most adolescents. | Laryssa Pereira de Souza, 15, who had a baby last year, said the abstinence message could conceivably resonate with evangelical teens, but she predicted it would be dismissed by most adolescents. |
| Laryssa, raised in a conservative evangelical family in Rio de Janeiro, struggled to tally all her classmates who had children. | Laryssa, raised in a conservative evangelical family in Rio de Janeiro, struggled to tally all her classmates who had children. |
| “Almost all my friends at school got pregnant,” she said while bouncing her 7-month-old son, Arthur Bernardo, on her lap. Like many girls her age, Laryssa took advantage of home schooling programs that allow teenage mothers to stay enrolled in classes. | “Almost all my friends at school got pregnant,” she said while bouncing her 7-month-old son, Arthur Bernardo, on her lap. Like many girls her age, Laryssa took advantage of home schooling programs that allow teenage mothers to stay enrolled in classes. |
| “Here, things are very liberal,” she said. “What we need is better access to pills and those things,” she added, referring to birth control. | “Here, things are very liberal,” she said. “What we need is better access to pills and those things,” she added, referring to birth control. |
| Ms. Alves has provided few details about the budget and scope of the abstinence campaign, which is to be rolled out next month. In defending the approach, Ms. Alves said abstinence campaigns in the United States have been effective. | Ms. Alves has provided few details about the budget and scope of the abstinence campaign, which is to be rolled out next month. In defending the approach, Ms. Alves said abstinence campaigns in the United States have been effective. |
| Leslie Kantor, a professor at the School of Public Health at Rutgers University, and a leading expert on teen pregnancy, said the minister’s claim is demonstrably untrue based on the findings of dozens of studies on the issue, which has been the subject of a fierce political fight in the United States since the 1980s. | Leslie Kantor, a professor at the School of Public Health at Rutgers University, and a leading expert on teen pregnancy, said the minister’s claim is demonstrably untrue based on the findings of dozens of studies on the issue, which has been the subject of a fierce political fight in the United States since the 1980s. |
| Sex education programs that emphasized abstinence, Dr. Kantor said, have tended to exclude information pertinent to gay and bisexual people and provided misleading information about the efficacy of condoms and contraceptives. She said the idea of limiting, or delaying, sex education might seem politically expedient, but is ultimately a bad idea. | Sex education programs that emphasized abstinence, Dr. Kantor said, have tended to exclude information pertinent to gay and bisexual people and provided misleading information about the efficacy of condoms and contraceptives. She said the idea of limiting, or delaying, sex education might seem politically expedient, but is ultimately a bad idea. |
| “The risk is people are not going to get sex education later on,” she said. “If you don’t get it in school, you’re not going to get it at the altar either.” | “The risk is people are not going to get sex education later on,” she said. “If you don’t get it in school, you’re not going to get it at the altar either.” |
| The abstinence campaign is being rolled out at a time when information about sex education and reproductive rights is being restricted in Brazil. | The abstinence campaign is being rolled out at a time when information about sex education and reproductive rights is being restricted in Brazil. |
| Last year, Mr. Bolsonaro asked the Health Ministry to recall a reproductive health pamphlet that included details of human anatomy, which the president deemed improper for children. | Last year, Mr. Bolsonaro asked the Health Ministry to recall a reproductive health pamphlet that included details of human anatomy, which the president deemed improper for children. |
| And also last year, the country’s main internet providers began blocking access to the website of Women on Waves, an abortion rights organization that provides information about reproductive health and in some cases makes abortion pills available to women in countries where their use is illegal. | And also last year, the country’s main internet providers began blocking access to the website of Women on Waves, an abortion rights organization that provides information about reproductive health and in some cases makes abortion pills available to women in countries where their use is illegal. |
| Internet providers said they blocked the website in response to a judicial order. They refused to say who sought the order and to identify the judge who issued it. | Internet providers said they blocked the website in response to a judicial order. They refused to say who sought the order and to identify the judge who issued it. |
| Rebecca Gomperts, an Amsterdam-based physician who founded Women on Waves, said the group’s website still receives more visits from users in Brazil than any other country. | Rebecca Gomperts, an Amsterdam-based physician who founded Women on Waves, said the group’s website still receives more visits from users in Brazil than any other country. |
| During a recent week, she said, 78,000 people in the country managed to access the site despite the block. Dr. Gomperts said that is a sign that women in Brazil — where abortion is illegal with a few exceptions, including cases of rape — are in dire need of reliable reproductive health information. | During a recent week, she said, 78,000 people in the country managed to access the site despite the block. Dr. Gomperts said that is a sign that women in Brazil — where abortion is illegal with a few exceptions, including cases of rape — are in dire need of reliable reproductive health information. |
| The only other countries where internet providers have blocked access to Women on Waves are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and South Korea, Dr. Gomperts said. | The only other countries where internet providers have blocked access to Women on Waves are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and South Korea, Dr. Gomperts said. |
| Dr. Gomperts said she was baffled by the censorship in Brazil, which has strong protections for freedom of information. | Dr. Gomperts said she was baffled by the censorship in Brazil, which has strong protections for freedom of information. |
| “Brazil is a huge country and there is a huge need,” she said. “If you are censoring scientifically accurate information about best medical practices, which is what we’re providing, it means you are leaving information that may not be correct and that may be harmful.” | “Brazil is a huge country and there is a huge need,” she said. “If you are censoring scientifically accurate information about best medical practices, which is what we’re providing, it means you are leaving information that may not be correct and that may be harmful.” |