Task sharing in abortion care in Latin America

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Human Rights Law
• Reproductive Health Policy

Background:

• Unsafe abortion is a critical public health and human rights issue in Latin America.
• Physician-exclusive models limit abortion service access, especially in underserved areas.
• A gap persists between legal reforms and actual service availability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the impact of provider eligibility on abortion care access in Latin America.
• To assess the normative and clinical safety of expanding provider roles in abortion care.
• To propose a regional reform agenda for aligning regulations with international standards.

Main Methods:

• Review of global evidence on task sharing in abortion care.
• Comparative analysis of legal and regulatory frameworks in 14 Latin American countries.
• In-depth examination of abortion care reforms in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Ecuador.

Main Results:

• Expanding provider eligibility for abortion care is clinically safe.
• Task sharing is normatively required to fulfill States' obligations to health, equality, and life.
• Current provider models structurally limit access, particularly for rural and Indigenous populations.

Conclusions:

• Task sharing in abortion care is an essential strategy, not merely an efficiency measure.
• Reforming provider eligibility is crucial for aligning domestic regulations with World Health Organization standards.
• A regional agenda is needed to improve abortion care access and uphold human rights.