I wrote several months ago about teenage pregnancy in Chile. Today, I want to talk about how class and classism get involved in girls right to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy. I also want to mention the idiosyncrasies of a country that has non progressive laws on birth control, legalized prostitution, and a ban on abortions.
Last year, Chile’s President signed a law that would allow the morning after pill to be distributed in clinics to women 14 and older. Last week this was reversed by the Supreme Court. The pill will continue to be available but only with a doctor’s prescription at local pharmacies for around 25 USD. To those reading in the US or other places abroad this may not seem like a huge sum; however, for many in Chile this is a sizeable amount. The decision, in a nut shell, will allow those higher on the socio-economic scale to continue to have access while shutting out the poor.
